Lynne Irene Spears ( Bridges; born May 4, 1955) is an American author and mother of pop singer

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...

, as well as producer Bryan Spears and child star

Jamie Lynn Spears Jamie Lynn Marie Spears (born April 4, 1991) is an American actress and singer. From 2005 to 2008, Spears played Zoey Brooks on the Nickelodeon teen sitcom ''Zoey 101''. She is the younger sister of singer Britney Spears. Beginning in December ...

Biography

Early life and family

Lynne Irene Bridges was born on May 4, 1955, in

Magnolia, Mississippi Magnolia is a city in Pike County, Mississippi and the county seat. The population was 2,420 at the 2010 census. Magnolia is within the McComb, Mississippi McComb micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Magnolia was founded in ...

, to Lilian Irene Portell (1924–1993), a British woman of English and Maltese descent, and Barney O'Field Bridges (1919–1978), an

American G.I. G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force and general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or " ...

In 1945, her parents met and married in Portell's native London.Ancestry of Her daughter, Including Lynne Spears.
/ref> Spears' maternal great-grandfather, Edward Portell, had immigrated to the United Kingdom from Malta while the country was a colony of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. Spears has an older brother, Barry "Sonny" Bridges (born 1951). Their older sister, Sandra Bridges Covington (1947–2007), died of

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

. In July 1976, she married

Jamie Spears James Parnell Spears (born c. 1953) is the father of American singers/actresses Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears and producer Bryan Spears. Early life and family James Parnell Spears was born in Kentwood, Louisiana, to June Austin Spears (1 ...

. They divorced in May 2002 and reconciled without remarrying around 2010. They were seen still united in 2014, but were evidently completely separated by 2020. They have three children: son Bryan Spears (born 1977) and daughters

(born 1981) and

(born 1991). They also have five grandchildren: grandsons Sean Preston Federline (born 2005) and Jayden James Federline (born 2006) from Britney, granddaughters Maddie Briann Aldridge (born 2008) and Ivey Joan Watson (born 2018) from Jamie Lynn, and Sophia Alexandra Spears (born 2011) from Bryan. Spears owned and operated a

day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

Kentwood, Louisiana Kentwood is a rural town in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, near the Mississippi state line. The population was 2,198 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical Area. Kentwood is best known as the home ...

and later worked as a school teacher.

Books

Spears has co-written two books with her daughter Britney. The first, ''Heart to Heart'', was published in 2000 as a biographical book about Britney. '' A Mother's Gift'' was a novel released in 2001 and has been adapted into a TV movie, ''Brave New Girl''. A 2008 memoir, '' Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World'', followed, detailing the public scrutiny that the Spears family faced after Britney's mental breakdown and Jamie Lynn's teen pregnancy.

Personal life

Spears is a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

, and openly discussed this in her memoir. She has been identified as a Catholic alongside her youngest daughter Jamie Lynn and two of her granddaughters, Jamie Lynn's daughters. Spears' older daughter, Britney, announced on August 5, 2021, that she also became initially Catholic. However, by September 5, 2022, Britney would identify herself as an atheist. In November 2021, Spears requested $650,000 in legal fees from Britney's estate.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spears, Lynne 1955 births Living people 20th-century American writers 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American people of English descent American people of Maltese descent People from McComb, Mississippi People of Maltese-British descent People from Kentwood, Louisiana Lynne Southern University alumni Alumni of the University of Reading American Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism Catholics from Louisiana Catholics from Mississippi