Grand Theft Auto IV theme by III MANC III
Download: GTAIV_5.p3t
(11 backgrounds)
| Grand Theft Auto IV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Rockstar North[a] |
| Publisher(s) | Rockstar Games |
| Producer(s) | Leslie Benzies |
| Programmer(s) |
|
| Artist(s) | Aaron Garbut |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Composer(s) | Michael Hunter |
| Series | Grand Theft Auto |
| Engine | RAGE |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
|
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the eleventh entry overall. Set in the fictional Liberty City, based on New York City, the single-player story follows Eastern European war veteran Niko Bellic and his attempts to escape his past while under pressure from high-profile criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main islands, and the neighbouring state of Alderney, which is based on New Jersey.
The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot and by vehicle. Throughout the single-player mode, players control Niko Bellic. An online multiplayer mode is also included with the game, allowing up to 32 players to engage in both cooperative and competitive gameplay in a recreation of the single-player setting.[b] Two expansion packs were later released for the game, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, which both feature new plots that are interconnected with the main Grand Theft Auto IV storyline, and follow new protagonists.
Development of Grand Theft Auto IV began soon after the release of San Andreas and was shared between many of Rockstar's studios worldwide. The game introduced a shift to a more realistic and detailed style and tone for the series. Unlike previous entries, Grand Theft Auto IV lacked a strong cinematic influence, as the team attempted an original approach to the story. As part of their research for the open world, the development team conducted extensive field research in New York, capturing over 100,000 photographs and several hours of video. The developers considered the world to be the most important element of the game; though not the largest map in the series, they considered it comparable in scope due to its verticality and level of detail. The budget climbed to over US$100 million, making it one of the most expensive video games to develop.
Grand Theft Auto IV was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in April 2008, and for Windows in December. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at the narrative and open-world design. Grand Theft Auto IV broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history at the time, earning US$310 million in its first day and US$500 million in its first week. Considered one of the most significant titles of the seventh generation of video games, and by many critics as one of the greatest video games of all time, it won year-end accolades, including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. It is among the best-selling video games with over 25 million copies sold by 2013. The game generated controversy, with criticism directed at the game's depiction of violence and players' ability to drink-drive. Its successor, Grand Theft Auto V, was released in September 2013.
Gameplay[edit]
Grand Theft Auto IV is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective.[2] Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. It is possible to have several active missions running at one time, as some require players to wait for further instructions or events. Outside of missions, players can freely roam the game's open world and complete optional side missions.[3] Composed of the fictional city of Liberty City, the world is larger in area than most earlier Grand Theft Auto series entries.[4] At the beginning of the game, players can only explore the first island—composed of Dukes and Broker—with all other islands unlocking as the story progresses.[5]
Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, and may run, jump, swim or use vehicles to navigate the game's world. There is a first-person perspective option when using vehicles. In combat, auto-aim and a cover system can be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter can be fully regenerated by consuming food or drinks, using medical kits, or calling for paramedics.[6] If players commit crimes, the game's law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a "wanted" meter in the head-up display (HUD). On the meter, the displayed stars indicate the current wanted level (for example, at the maximum six-star level, efforts by law enforcement to incapacitate players become very aggressive). Law enforcement officers will search for players who leave the wanted vicinity. The wanted meter enters a cool-down mode and eventually recedes when players are hidden from the officers' line of sight.[7]
The game's cover system allows players to move between cover, to fire blindly, aim freely, and target a specific enemy. Individual body parts can also be targeted.[8] Melee attacks include additional moves, such as dodging, blocking, disarming an opponent and counter-attacking. Body armour can be used to absorb gunshots and explosive damage, but is used up in the process. When health is entirely depleted, gameplay stops, and players respawn at the nearest hospital.[6]
The single-player mode lets players control an Eastern European war veteran, Niko Bellic. During the story, Niko meets and befriends various new characters. They can then perform favours for Niko whenever he asks; for example, his cousin Roman, who owns a taxi service, can send one of his cabs to take Niko to any destination around the city. Cabs are always available during gameplay for quick travel to a destination. Throughout the course of the game, players are also faced with morality choices, which alter the storyline appropriately depending on the player's choice. While free roaming the game world, players may engage in context-specific activities such as bowling or darts. Other available activities include a vigilante mini-game, and in-game television programming.[9][10][11] Niko has a cell phone for contacting friends and starting activities.[12] The cell phone is also used to access the game's online multiplayer mode, and to enter cheat codes.[13] To access the in-game Internet, which allows Niko to send and receive emails and set up prospective dates with potential girlfriends, Niko can use Internet cafés located around the city.[14] The game also features a subway system, allowing players to quickly traverse through the game's world.[15]
The online multiplayer mode for Grand Theft Auto IV allows up to 32 players[b] to freely roam across the map. Players decide which game mode they wish to play, including deathmatches and street races. Both cooperative and competitive game modes are available, split into ranked and unranked matches.[16] For players to level up through ranks, in-game money has to be earned. The game also features a Free Mode, in which players have the entire map open to explore, with no end goal or mission to complete. Hosts of the game can control many variables, such as police presence, traffic, and weapons.[17] The multiplayer mode was discontinued on Windows in 2020.[18]
Synopsis[edit]
Setting[edit]
Grand Theft Auto IV takes place in 2008, within a redesigned version of Liberty City. The design of the city focuses on a recreation of four of the boroughs of New York City: Broker (based on Brooklyn), Dukes (Queens), Bohan (The Bronx), and Algonquin (Manhattan). The setting also includes the neighbouring state of Alderney (based on New Jersey).[19] Initially, bridges are locked down due to a terrorist threat, and police constantly pursue players if the bridges are crossed. The blockades are lifted as the story progresses, allowing the player to traverse between islands safely.
Grand Theft Auto IV is set in the fictional "HD Universe", which mirrors and parodies the real world. The previous games formed fictional universes of their own,[c] which despite having many similarities with the HD Universe, are considered to be different continuities. Hence, the Liberty City depicted in Grand Theft Auto IV is different from its previous renditions, and the game itself serves as a reboot for the series. The new timeline established by Grand Theft Auto IV would continue with two expansion packs, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, and a sequel, Grand Theft Auto V, as well as its online component, Grand Theft Auto Online.[21][22][23] The handheld game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is also considered part of the HD Universe, because it features the same map as Grand Theft Auto IV, except for Alderney.[24]
Plot[edit]
Niko Bellic, an Eastern European ex-soldier,[25] arrives in Liberty City aboard a cargo ship, the Platypus, to escape his criminal past, pursue the American Dream, and search for the man who betrayed his unit to an ambush during a war ten years prior. Reuniting with his cousin Roman, he discovers that his tales of riches were lies concealing his small, dirty apartment, unprofitable taxi company, gambling debts, and disputes with loan sharks. Niko begins assisting Roman with his problems, which leads him to make his first criminal contacts in the city. He befriends Yardies second-in-command Little Jacob and is forced to work for Vlad Glebov, Roman's Russian loan shark, whom Niko eventually kills upon learning he had slept with Roman's girlfriend, Mallorie.
In retaliation, Niko and Roman are kidnapped by Russian mobsters on orders of their boss Mikhail Faustin and his lieutenant, Dimitri Rascalov. Indifferent to Vlad's murder, Faustin releases them and employs Niko as a hitman, eventually ordering him to kill the son of Russian crime lord Kenny Petrović. When Petrović threatens retaliation, Dimitri convinces Niko to assassinate Faustin. However, he then betrays and brings Niko to his former employer, Ray Bulgarin, who accuses Niko of stealing from him during a botched human trafficking job years earlier. Niko denies the allegation and a firefight ensues, allowing Dimitri and Bulgarin to escape.
Dimitri's men burn down Niko and Roman's apartment and taxi company, forcing them to flee to Bohan. While Niko finds work with several local drug lords, Dimitri kidnaps Roman in a failed attempt to lure Niko into a trap. Later, Niko discovers that his romantic interest, a woman named Michelle, is a government agent, who then entraps him into working for her agency. In exchange for the murders of several known or suspected terrorists, the agency clears Niko's criminal record and assists him in searching for the traitor he seeks. Niko and Roman's fortunes improve when the latter receives a large amount of insurance money from his destroyed business, which he uses to rebuild it and buy an apartment in Algonquin. Roman also proposes to Mallorie, who accepts.
While working for the Irish Mob, Niko befriends gangster Patrick "Packie" McReary and helps him and his brothers carry out various jobs, including a major bank robbery. Niko is later hired by Ray Boccino, a caporegime in the Pegorino crime family, to oversee a diamond deal, which goes awry. Boccino repays Niko by helping him find his ex-comrade Florian Cravic, now known as Bernie Crane, who claims he was not the one to betray their unit. Niko concludes that the traitor was Darko Brevic, the only other survivor. Niko continues working for the Mafia in Liberty City and eventually earns the trust of Don Jimmy Pegorino, who orders Niko to kill Boccino after suspecting him of being a police informant. Niko also helps Packie kidnap Don Giovanni Ancelotti's daughter to ransom her for the diamonds, but Bulgarin intercepts the exchange. In the ensuing firefight, the diamonds are lost.
Eventually, the government agents find Darko in Romania and bring him to Liberty City for Niko to decide his fate. Afterwards, Niko is summoned by Pegorino for one final favour: to help with a highly lucrative heroin deal in collusion with Dimitri. Niko must either agree to work with Dimitri or exact revenge on him.[26] If Niko goes through with the deal, Dimitri betrays him again,[27] kills Pegorino,[28] and attempts to kill Niko via an assassin at Roman's wedding, but accidentally kills Roman;[29] Niko retaliates by tracking and murdering Dimitri.[28] If Niko chooses to exact revenge, he kills Dimitri aboard the Platypus,[30] prompting a furious Pegorino to target Niko but accidentally kill Packie's sister Kate, whom Niko had been dating, at Roman's wedding;[29] Niko retaliates by tracking and murdering Pegorino.[31] Later, either Mallorie or Roman tells Niko that Mallorie is pregnant.
Development[edit]
Preliminary work on Grand Theft Auto IV began in November 2004,[32] a month after the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.[33] Rockstar president Sam Houser felt that following up San Andreas was "a nightmare".[34] Rockstar North, the core 220-person team behind the game, co-opted studios owned by parent company Rockstar Games to facilitate development between a full team of over 1,000,[35] including 50 employees at Rockstar NYC, 40 at Rockstar Lincoln, 10 at Rockstar San Diego, and around 600–700 working part-time internally and externally.[36] Some key members of the development team worked 12-hour days during production, often without holidays.[35] The team decided to continue the numbering scheme absent from the previous two main games to represent the same leap in production as Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999) to Grand Theft Auto III (2001).[33] Development of Grand Theft Auto IV ceased by 21 April 2008 when the game was submitted for manufacturing.[37] Producer Leslie Benzies estimated that the budget of the development efforts exceeded US$100 million, making Grand Theft Auto IV one of the most expensive video games ever made.[35]
Research and open world design[edit]
The game's setting, Liberty City, is based on New York City. The team did not look at the previous renditions of Liberty City as inspiration, wanting it to retain the "general feel" but nothing else.[38] The map is roughly three times the size of Grand Theft Auto III's.[38] The developers originally considered using the entire state of New York, before restricting it to Manhattan, and then expanding it out again. They considered including more suburbs with woods, and would regularly vote on which areas to include.[39] Art director Aaron Garbut said that the team chose the setting because of the detail and variety it provided, describing New York as "an amazing, diverse, vibrant, cinematic city".[40] Writer Dan Houser added that the team "wanted to be somewhere where we had a foothold" due to the amount of research required for the world; Rockstar Games's main headquarters are located in New York.[41] The team consciously avoided a precise recreation of New York City to allow for more enjoyable game design,[32] selecting the areas that they felt "characterised it the best".[40] Garbut wanted to capture a caricature of the city as he felt that most people were familiar with "the highlights" from film or literature but did not need to know the areas precisely.[40] The city was not built with specific missions in mind; the area was created first, and missions implemented later.[42]
To achieve a realistic environment, 60–70 employees from Rockstar North travelled to New York for research: first at the beginning of the project in March or April 2005 for a week and a half,[39] and a smaller trip in 2007.[38] Police officers who previously worked the beat drove the team around Washington Heights.[39] A full-time research team based in New York handled further requests for information, such as the ethnic minority of a neighbourhood or videos of traffic patterns. Videos shot in New York were played on televisions at the Rockstar North offices "so while they worked they could look up and there was New York".[39] Benzies claimed that the team took over 100,000 photographs on location in New York,[35] though Garbut estimates that they took around 250,000.[38] They also studied architectural plans for apartments, used satellite images to determine city block layout, researched sales figures for models of cars, and read books that detailed the city's infrastructure, including its subways, sewers, and garbage disposal.[43] Hove Beach is based on Brighton Beach, which Sam Houser found "pretty incredible" and unusual; the name is based on the English city Brighton and Hove, made up of the former neighbouring towns Brighton and Hove.[44] Houser appreciated that Brighton Beach was home to several Eastern Europeans due to the nature of the game's characters.[44]
Dan Houser described Liberty City as "the biggest character" of the game.[40] The Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City is more detailed and larger in size than most earlier entries in the series; although smaller than San Andreas, the setting of the previous main game, the developers considered it comparable in scope due to city's verticality, number of buildings, and level of detail.[45] The team wanted less dead spots and irrelevant spaces, such as the wide open deserts in San Andreas.[32] They wanted the game to be "a more focused experience" than San Andreas, and Dan Houser felt that the limited activities of New York allowed this.[33] The team felt that the addition of Niko's mobile phone added to the immersion of the world and represented society's shifted focus on phones.[33] The in-game brands and products are designed over several years; the billboards were implemented in the game around six months prior to release.[38]
Story and character development[edit]
The game's script, written by Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries, is about 1,000 pages.[35] Approximately 660 actors provided voices for the game over 80,000 lines of dialogue.[39] After conceiving the character and setting, Dan Houser spoke with his brother Sam Houser and Leslie Benzies to bounce story ideas before writing a rough synopsis, a six-paged, detailed document. Once the synopsis was reworked, the designers broke it into missions, represented by a large flow document demonstrating each section. The writers then work on the introductions to the missions; the gameplay dialogue comes much later.[41] Unlike previous Grand Theft Auto games, Grand Theft Auto IV does not have cinematic influences. "We were consciously trying to go, well, if video games are going to develop into the next stage, then the thing isn't to try and do a loving tribute or reference other stuff," said Dan Houser.[41] He said that the writers wanted something "fresh and new and not something that was obviously derived from [a] movie".[41] Dan Houser felt that the quality of the writing had to improve alongside the advancements in graphics and technology. He noted that the improvements in facial animation allowed for slower-paced cutscenes.[40] The unique dialogue that plays when a mission is retried was to ensure that the gameplay felt "less canned and less like Groundhog Day".[40]
Dan Houser described Niko Bellic as "a more rounded character" than those in previous games.[40] He felt that his dual personality—often saving innocent people, while also being a "cold-hearted killer"—made him more relatable.[40] He also felt that Niko's unfamiliarity with Liberty City allowed for the player to relate to him more, only driven by his vague past and relationship with Roman. When deciding on Niko's background, the writers felt that being an immigrant could lead to more dangerous situations, and therefore more enjoyable missions; after discussions with criminal experts, Dan Houser found that "the real scary characters are not born in America anymore".[40] He felt that Niko's outsider view of American culture was "fun".[40] The team wanted Niko to be "more of an anti hero than a hero, capable of making positive actions within his criminal world".[46] They wanted his demeanour to reflect the weight of his past and choices.[46]
Niko's design underwent a few changes, but was finalised early in development.[47] His outfit underwent several changes based on Eastern Europeans, particularly photographs of men fighting in winter wars in Yugoslavia and Chechnya. The primary motivation for the design was a face to convey the appropriate emotions and a body that could move nicely with the new animations.[40] The in-game purchasable outfits were also designed to fit with the character.[33] The team ensured that the gameplay choices presented to the player were not too extensive, as they still had to make sense to the character, who is driven by the people around him. Dan Houser felt that the missions in San Andreas had become too linear, and wanted to present choices to the player in Grand Theft Auto IV.[40]
The writers found that Niko needed a motivation to come to America, so they created his cousin, Roman. Dan Houser felt that the two could not be brothers as there would be a deeper level of familiarity than necessary. He described the two as a double act, with Roman's fantasist charm playing off Niko's tough cynicism. The team gave other non-playable characters (NPCs) more definable behaviours and dialogue to make them feel more alive. The writers initially considered having a smaller group of characters, but found that the story became boring and that players were less likely to explore the world. The stranger characters found in the game world were based on the "crazy people" that populate New York, according to Dan Houser, which in previous games were only able to be captured through radio stations or mild pedestrian behaviours.[38] The team based the ethnicities, clothing, and behaviours of the NPCs on the photographs and videos that they captured around New York, divided into different areas;[40] they created mood boards for each location.[38] The NPCs also converse in different languages.[39]
Art design[edit]
Grand Theft Auto IV sees a shift in the series to a more realistic and detailed style and tone, partly a result of the transition to consoles which offered high-definition graphics and the new and improved capabilities of such consoles. The development team worked to represent the upgrade in quality across all design aspects while maintaining the coherence of the previous games.[32] The team took the game's development as an opportunity to "strip things back and start again", refining the art style without losing the style of the series;[40] they distanced the game from the "cartoon-like style" of its predecessors while creating a new style that was consistent across all aspects of the game.[48] Garbut found the increased demand of detail brought on by the advanced technology daunting.[49] A technique used to make the visuals look real was to avoid harsh edges, instead blending surfaces together to make the world look dirty and lived-in.[50] The props department created multiple variations of different objects to make the world more interesting and unique.[40] G
White Blaze
White Blaze theme by sXnc
Download: WhiteBlaze.p3t
(no backgrounds)
Redirect to:
This page is a redirect. The following categories are used to track and monitor this redirect:
|
Goldorak
Justice League of America
Justice League of America theme by Skyhawke
Download: JLA.p3t
(6 backgrounds)
Redirect to:
This page is a redirect. The following categories are used to track and monitor this redirect:
|
Lair: Asylian
Lair: Asylian theme by SCEA/VASG
Download: LairAsylian.p3t
(3 backgrounds)
P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip
Instructions:
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
PAIN: Hung Lo
PAIN: Hung Lo theme by Idol Minds/SCEA
Download: PAINHungLo.p3t
(1 background)
P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip
Instructions:
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Sports
Sports theme by SCEE
Download: Sports.p3t
(4 backgrounds)
Redirect to:
This page is a redirect. The following categories are used to track and monitor this redirect:
|
TurboTime
TurboTime theme by goggles182
Download: TurboTime.p3t
(4 backgrounds)
P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip
Instructions:
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan theme by JiNx
Download: LindsayLohan.p3t
(8 backgrounds)
Lindsay Lohan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lohan in 2023 | |
| Born | Lindsay Dee Lohan July 2, 1986 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse |
Bader Shammas (m. 2022) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Aliana Lohan (sister) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Labels | |
| Website | lindsaylohanofficial |
Lindsay Dee Lohan (/ˈloʊ.ən/ LOH-ən;[a] born July 2, 1986)[4] is an American actress, singer-songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera Another World at the age of 10, and her breakthrough came in the 1998 Walt Disney Pictures film The Parent Trap. The film's success led to appearances in subsequent Disney projects; the television films Life-Size (2000) and Get a Clue (2002) and the big-screen productions Freaky Friday (2003) and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004). Lohan's early work won her childhood stardom, while the teen comedy sleeper hit Mean Girls (2004) affirmed her status as a teen idol and established her as a leading Hollywood actress.[5]
Lohan signed with Casablanca Records and released two studio albums, the platinum-certified Speak (2004) and gold-certified A Little More Personal (Raw) (2005). She also starred in the comedies Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005) and Just My Luck (2006). To show her range, Lohan began choosing roles in independent films such as A Prairie Home Companion and Bobby (both 2006) and Chapter 27 (2007). Her reported behavior during the filming of the 2006 dramedy Georgia Rule marked the start of a series of personal struggles that plagued her life and career for most of the next decade. She became a fixture in the tabloid press for her frequent legal issues, court appearances, and stints in rehabilitation facilities. This period saw her lose several roles, adversely affecting her career and public image. In an attempt to return to acting, she appeared in Liz & Dick (2012) and The Canyons (2013).
In 2013, under the guidance of Oprah Winfrey, Lohan filmed the docu-series Lindsay (2014), which depicted her returning to work. She subsequently made her stage debut in the London West End production of Speed-the-Plow (2014), starred in the second season of the comedy series Sick Note (2018), and served as a panelist in the first season of Masked Singer Australia (2019). Between 2016 and 2018, she opened three beach clubs in Greece, which were the focus of the MTV reality television series Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club (2019). After signing a multi-picture deal with Netflix, Lohan starred in the romantic comedies Falling for Christmas (2022) and Irish Wish (2024).
Early life[edit]
Lindsay Dee Lohan was born on July 2, 1986, in the Bronx, one of the five boroughs of New York City,[4][6] and grew up in Merrick and Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, New York.[7] She is the eldest child of Dina (née Sullivan)[8] and Michael Lohan.[9] Her father, a former Wall Street trader, has been in trouble with the law on several occasions.[10][11] Her mother is a former singer and dancer.[12] Lohan has three younger siblings, all of whom have been models or actors: Michael Jr., who appeared with Lohan in The Parent Trap in 1998, Aliana, known as "Ali", and Dakota "Cody" Lohan. Lohan is of Irish and Italian heritage, and she was raised as a Roman Catholic. Her maternal antecedents were "well known Irish Catholic stalwarts" and her great-grandfather, John L. Sullivan, was a co-founder of the Pro-life Party on Long Island.[13] She began home-schooling in grade 11.[14]
Lohan's parents married in 1985, separated when Lindsay was three, and later reunited.[10][15] They separated again in 2005 and finalized their divorce in 2007.[16][17]
Career[edit]
Beginnings (1989–2002)[edit]
Lohan began her career as a child model with Ford Models at the age of three.[18][19] She modeled for Calvin Klein Kids and Abercrombie, and appeared in over 60 television commercials for brands like Pizza Hut and Wendy's, as well as a Jell-O spot with Bill Cosby.[18][19] By the age of 10, when Lohan played Alexandra "Alli" Fowler in the television soap opera Another World, Soap Opera Magazine said she was already considered a show-business veteran.[18][19][20]
Lohan remained in her role on Another World for a year, before leaving to star in Disney's 1998 family comedy The Parent Trap, a remake of the 1961 movie. She played the dual roles of twins, separated in infancy, who try to reunite their long-divorced parents, played by Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson.[21][18] The film earned $92 million worldwide and received largely positive reviews.[22][23] Lohan received unanimous acclaim for her debut performance. Critic Kenneth Turan called Lohan "the soul of this film as much as Hayley Mills was of the original", going on to say that "she is more adept than her predecessor at creating two distinct personalities."[24] The film won Lohan a Young Artist Award for best performance in a feature film as well as a three-film contract with Disney.[18][19][25] At the age of 14, Lohan played Bette Midler's daughter in the pilot episode of the short-lived series Bette, but she resigned her role when the production moved from New York to Los Angeles.[21][26] Lohan starred in two made-for-TV movies: Life-Size alongside Tyra Banks in 2000, and Get a Clue in 2002.[18][19] Emilio Estefan and his wife, Gloria Estefan, signed Lohan to a five-album production deal in September 2002.[27]
Worldwide recognition (2003–2005)[edit]
In 2003, Lohan starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the remake of Disney's family comedy Freaky Friday, playing a mother and daughter who switch bodies and have to take on each other's roles. At Lohan's initiative, her character was rewritten and changed from a Goth style to be more mainstream.[28] Her performance was met with significant praise. Critic Roger Ebert wrote that Lohan "has that Jodie Foster sort of seriousness and intent focus beneath her teenage persona."[29] Freaky Friday earned Lohan the award for Breakthrough Performance at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards and, as of 2015[update], it remained her most commercially successful film, earning $160 million worldwide as well as an 87 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[30][31][32] Her role required her to learn how to play the guitar and to sing. She recorded a song for the film, "Ultimate", which was released to Radio Disney to help promote the film. The song peaked at number 18 on Radio Disney's Top 30.
In 2004, Lohan had lead roles in two major motion pictures. The first film, Disney's teen comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, earned a domestic box office total of $29 million, with Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo commenting that it was "well above expectations as it was strictly for young girls."[33] But the film was not met with critical acclaim.[34] Robert K. Elder of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "though still a promising star, Lohan will have to do a little penance before she's forgiven for Confessions."[35] Her second lead role that year, in the teen comedy Mean Girls, marked Lohan's first movie independent of Disney. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $129 million worldwide and, according to Brandon Gray, "cementing her status as the new teen movie queen."[33][36][37] Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Lohan is sensitive and appealing, a solid locus for audience sympathy."[38] David Rooney from Variety said that "Lohan displays plenty of charm, verve and deft comic timing."[39] Lohan received four awards at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards for Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, including Breakout Movie Star.[40] Mean Girls also earned her two awards at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.[41] In 2021, The New Yorker critic Richard Brody placed Lohan's performance in Mean Girls at number eleven in his list of "The Best Movie Performances of the Century So Far".[42]
With Mean Girls, Lohan's public profile was raised significantly. Vanity Fair described how she became a household name. Paparazzi began following her, and her love life and partying became frequent targets of gossip sites and the tabloid media.[43][44] Following the film, which was scripted by former Saturday Night Live writer-actress Tina Fey and featured several Saturday Night Live performers, Lohan hosted the show three times between 2004 and 2006.[18] In 2004, when Lohan was 17, she became the youngest host of the MTV Movie Awards.[45][46]
Lohan's debut album, Speak, was released in the United States on December 7, 2004. The album was the first high-seller from Casablanca Records in several years, selling 1 million units in the United States. The album received mostly negative reviews, with critics commenting that Lohan "isn't a bad singer, but not an extraordinary singer either."[47] In the United States, the album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, selling 261,762 copies in its first week.[48] In Germany the album debuted at number 53 and took four weeks to complete its chart run. The first two singles from Speak, "Rumors" and "Over", were both successes, with "Over" topping the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, where it stayed for three weeks. The song also did well internationally in countries such as Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. "Rumors" peaked at number six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and also did well in Australia and Germany, where it reached number 14. The music video for "Rumors" was nominated for Best Pop Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. Both songs received heavy airplay on MTV's Total Request Live.[49]
Lohan returned to Disney in 2005, starring in the comedy Herbie: Fully Loaded, the fifth film in the series with the anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle Herbie; she played a college graduate who finds Herbie, the living car, at a junk yard. The film earned $144 million worldwide, but it received mixed reviews.[50][51] Stephen Holden of The New York Times called Lohan "a genuine star who ... seems completely at home on the screen", while James Berardinelli wrote that "as bright a starlet as she may be, Lohan ends up playing second fiddle to the car."[52][53] In 2005, Lohan became the first person to have a My Scene celebrity doll released by Mattel. She also voiced herself in the animated direct-to-DVD film My Scene Goes Hollywood: The Movie, based on the series of dolls.[54]
Lohan's second album, A Little More Personal (Raw), was released in December 2005. It peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart, and was eventually certified Gold.[55][56] Lohan co-wrote most of the songs on the album, which received a mixed critical response.[57][58] Slant Magazine called it "contrived ... for all the so-called weighty subject matter, there's not much meat on these bones."[58] Lohan herself directed the music video for the album's only single, "Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father)", which features her sister Aliana Lohan.[59] The video is a dramatization of the pain Lohan said her family suffered at the hands of her father.[59] It was her first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 57.[60]
Mature film roles and career setbacks (2006–2011)[edit]
Lohan's next widely released film, the romantic comedy Just My Luck, opened in May 2006 and, according to Variety, earned her over $7 million.[61] The opening weekend box office takings of $5.7 million "broke lead actress Lindsay Lohan's winning streak" according to Brandon Gray.[62] The film received poor reviews and earned Lohan her first Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Actress.[63][64] Following Just My Luck, Lohan focused on smaller roles in more mature, independent movies.[65] Robert Altman's ensemble comedy A Prairie Home Companion, based on humorist Garrison Keillor's works, in which Lohan co-stars with Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, had a limited release in June 2006. Peter Travers wrote for Rolling Stone that "Lohan rises to the occasion, delivering a rock-the-house version of 'Frankie and Johnny.'"[66] Co-star Streep said of Lohan's acting: "She's in command of the art form" and "completely, visibly living in front of the camera."[67] The Emilio Estevez ensemble drama Bobby, about the hours leading up to the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, was released in theaters in November 2006. Lohan received favorable comments for her performance, particularly a scene alongside Sharon Stone.[68][69] As part of the Bobby ensemble cast, Lohan was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.[70]
Lohan's next appearance was in Chapter 27 as a John Lennon fan who befriends Mark David Chapman, played by Jared Leto, on the day he murders Lennon. Filming finished in early 2006, but the film was not released until March 2008 due to difficulties in finding a distributor.[71][72][73] In May 2007, the drama Georgia Rule was released. In the film, Lohan portrays an out-of-control teenager whose mother (Felicity Huffman) brings her to the house of her own estranged mother (Jane Fonda). Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Lohan hits a true note of spiteful princess narcissism."[74] During filming in 2006, Lohan was hospitalized, her representative saying "she was overheated and dehydrated."[75] In a letter that was made public, studio executive James G. Robinson called Lohan "irresponsible and unprofessional." He mentioned "various late arrivals and absences from the set" and said that "we are well aware that your ongoing all night heavy partying is the real reason for your so-called 'exhaustion.'"[76] In 2007, Lohan was cast in the film Poor Things,[77][78][79][80] which she ultimately lost.[81]
In January 2007, production on the film I Know Who Killed Me was put on hold when Lohan underwent appendix surgery.[82][83][84] While Lohan was in rehab, she continued shooting the film, returning to the facility at night.[85][86] Shortly thereafter, Lohan withdrew from a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance, her publicist stating that Lohan needed to "focus on getting better."[87][88] Lohan was replaced in The Edge of Love in April 2007, shortly before filming was to begin, with the director citing "insurance reasons" and Lohan later explaining that she "was going through a really bad time then."[89][90][91] Lohan withdrew from a scheduled appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in which she had been due to promote I Know Who Killed Me, a psychological horror-thriller in which she stars as a stripper with a dual personality.[92] The film premiered in July 2007 to what Entertainment Weekly called "an abysmal $3.5 million."[93] It earned Lohan dual Golden Raspberry awards for Worst Actress, with Lohan coming first and second, tying with herself.[94] Hollywood executives and industry insiders commented that it would be difficult for Lohan to find employment until she could prove that she was sober and reliable, citing possible issues with securing insurance.[95][96][97]
In May 2008, Lohan's single "Bossy" was released onto digital outlets, and reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. That month, she made her first screen appearance since I Know Who Killed Me, on ABC's television series Ugly Betty.[98] She guest starred in four episodes as Kimmie Keegan, an old schoolmate of the protagonist Betty Suarez.[99] In the comedy Labor Pains, Lohan plays a woman who pretends to be pregnant. During the shoot, Lohan's manager worked with the paparazzi to encourage the media to show her work, as opposed to partying.[100] It was originally planned for a theatrical release, but instead appeared as a TV movie on the ABC Family cable channel in July 2009, another "setback for the star" according to Variety.[101] The premiere received 2.1 million viewers, "better-than-average" for the channel according to E! Online.[102] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times wrote that "this is not a triumphant return of a prodigal child star. ... [Labor Pains] never shakes free of the heavy baggage Ms. Lohan brings to the role."[103] Lohan was a guest judge on US TV style contest Project Runway sixth-season premiere episode, which aired in August 2009.[104]
Lohan narrated and presented the British television documentary Lindsay Lohan's Indian Journey, about human trafficking in India. It was filmed during a week in India in December 2009, and transmitted on BBC Three in April 2010.[105][106] The BBC was criticized for having hired Lohan, and while reviewers called the documentary compelling, they also found Lohan's presence to be odd and distracting.[107][108][109] Lohan said: "I hope my presence in India will bring awareness to the really important issues raised in making this film."[110] In April 2010, Lohan was let go from the film The Other Side where she had been set to star, with the director saying she was "not bankable."[44][111][112]
In June 2010, Lohan was the subject of a fashion shoot in the photographer docu-series Double Exposure on Bravo.[113] Robert Rodriguez's action exploitation film Machete opened in September 2010. In the film, Lohan's character takes drugs, is naked in much of her appearance, and later dons a nun's habit while toting a machine gun. Its critical reviews were mixed. The Washington Post described her character as "a campier, trampier version of herself – or at least her tabloid image."[114] Premiere.com said she was "terrible" while Variety called it "her best work in some time."
Britney Spears theme by JiNx Download: BritneySpears.p3t
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. Spears has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. She has earned numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award, 15 Guinness world records, six MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards (including the Millennium Award), the inaugural Radio Disney Icon Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her heavily choreographed music videos earned her the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
After appearing in stage productions and television series, Spears signed with Jive Records in 1997 at age fifteen. Her first two studio albums, ...Baby One More Time (1999) and Oops!... I Did It Again (2000), are among the best-selling albums of all time and made Spears the best-selling teenage artist of all time. With first-week sales of over 1.3 million copies, Oops!... I Did It Again held the record for the fastest-selling album by a female artist in the United States for fifteen years. Spears adopted a more mature and provocative style for her albums Britney (2001) and In the Zone (2003), and starred in the 2002 film Crossroads. She was executive producer of her fifth studio album, Blackout (2007), often referred to as her best work.[2] Following a series of highly publicized personal problems, promotion for the album was limited, and Spears was involuntarily placed in a conservatorship.
Subsequently, Spears released the chart-topping albums, Circus (2008) and Femme Fatale (2011), the latter of which became her most successful era of singles in the US charts. With "3" in 2009 and "Hold It Against Me" in 2011, Spears became the second artist after Mariah Carey in the Billboard Hot 100's history to debut at number one with two or more songs. She embarked on a four-year concert residency, Britney: Piece of Me, at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to promote her next two albums Britney Jean (2013) and Glory (2016). In 2019, Spears' legal battle over her conservatorship became more publicized and led to the establishment of the #FreeBritney movement.[3] In 2021, the conservatorship was terminated following her public testimony in which she accused her management team and family of abuse.[4]
In the United States, Spears is the fourth best-selling female album artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era,[5] as well as the best-selling female album artist of the 2000s.[6][7][8] She was ranked by Billboard as the eighth-biggest artist of the 2000s.[9] Spears has had six number-one albums on the Billboard 200[10] and five number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100: "...Baby One More Time", "Womanizer", "3", "Hold It Against Me", and "S&M (Remix)". Other hit singles include "Oops!... I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U", "Toxic", "Gimme More", and "Piece of Me". "...Baby One More Time" was named the greatest debut single of all time by Rolling Stone in 2020. In 2004, Spears launched a perfume brand with Elizabeth Arden, Inc.; sales exceeded $1.5 billion as of 2012[update].[11] Forbes listed Spears as the world's highest-paid female musician in 2001 and 2012.[12][13] By 2012, she had topped Yahoo!'s list of most searched celebrities seven times in twelve years.[14] Time named Spears one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Spears placed first in the Time reader poll.[15][16]
Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi,[17] the second child of James "Jamie" Parnell Spears and Lynne Irene Bridges.[18] Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portell, was English and born in London, and one of Spears' maternal great-grandfathers was Maltese.[19] Her siblings are Bryan James Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears.[20] In her memoir The Woman in Me, Spears wrote that her paternal grandmother, Emma Jean Spears, was sent to an asylum by Spears' paternal grandfather. Their three-day-old baby had died and Emma Jean was overwhelmed by grief. While at the asylum, she was put on lithium; subsequently, she shot herself over the child's grave.[21]
Born in the Bible Belt, where socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a particularly strong religious influence,[22] she was baptized as a Southern Baptist and sang in a church choir as a child.[23] As an adult, she has studied Kabbalist teachings.[24] On August 5, 2021, Spears announced that she had converted to Catholicism. Her mother, sister, and nieces Maddie Aldridge and Ivey Joan Watson, are also Catholic.[25] However, on September 5, 2022, after Spears' ex-husband, Kevin Federline, and youngest son did an interview defending her father's actions during her conservatorship, she stated: "I don't believe in God anymore because of the way my children and my family have treated me. There is nothing to believe in anymore. I'm an atheist y'all".[26]
At age three, Spears began attending dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform as a solo artist at the annual recital. Aged five she made her local stage debut, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. During her childhood, she also had gymnastics and voice lessons and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows.[27][28][29] In gymnastics, Spears attended Béla Károlyi's training camp.[30] She said of her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, ... I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age".[28]
When Spears was eight, she and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to audition for the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club. Casting director Matt Casella rejected her as too young, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears' singing and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School.[31]
Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the off-Broadway musical Ruthless! She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show Star Search and was cast in a number of commercials.[32][33] In December 1992, she was cast in The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, and Keri Russell. After the show was canceled in 1994, she returned to Mississippi and enrolled at McComb's Parklane Academy. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in Clueless with all the cliques. ... I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."[28][34]
In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join the female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided that he wanted to pitch her to record labels, for which she needed a professional demo made. He sent Spears an unused song of Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, saying that audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany."[35]
Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph.[35] Senior vice president of A&R Jeff Fenster said about Spears' audition that "it's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal ... For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'—is extremely important. And Britney had that."[28] Spears sang Houston's "I Have Nothing" (1992) for the executives, and was subsequently signed to the label.[36] They assigned her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month; he reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney".[37] After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger; more adult contemporary". She felt secure with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me."[28] She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop, and Rami Yacoub, among others.[28]
After Spears returned to the United States, she embarked on a shopping mall promotional tour, titled L'Oreal Hair Zone Mall Tour, to promote her upcoming debut album. Her show was a four-song set and she was accompanied by two back-up dancers. Her first concert tour followed, as an opening act for NSYNC.[38] Her debut studio album, ...Baby One More Time, was released on January 12, 1999.[28] It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over 10 million copies in a year.[39] It became the biggest-selling album ever by a teenage artist.[29]
"...Baby One More Time" was released as the lead single from the album on September 29, 1998. Originally, Jive Records wanted the associated music video to be animated; however, Spears rejected this idea, and suggested the final concept of a Catholic schoolgirl.[37] The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for two consecutive weeks in January–February 1999. It sold more than 10 million copies, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.[40][41] "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[42] The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies.[43] It would later become the 25th-most successful song of all time in British chart history.[44] Spears is the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the UK.[45] The album's third single "(You Drive Me) Crazy" became a top-ten hit worldwide and further propelled the success of the ...Baby One More Time album. The album has sold 30 million copies worldwide,[46] making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. It is the best-selling debut album by any artist.[47][48]
On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining ...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics.[49] It also generated some controversy due to her racy outfits.[50] An extension of the tour, titled (You Drive Me) Crazy Tour, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show.[34]
Oops!... I Did It Again, Spears' second studio album, was released in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the US, selling 1.3 million copies, breaking the Nielsen SoundScan record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist.[51] It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide to date,[52] making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said that "the great thing about Oops! – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition."[53] The album's lead single, "Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and many other European nations,[45][54] while the second single "Lucky", peaked at number one in Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.[55]
The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book, Britney Spears' Heart to Heart, co-written with her mother.[29][56] On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped off her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer.[57] Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating NSYNC member Justin Timberlake.[29] Spears and Timberlake both graduated from high school via distance learning from the University of Nebraska High School.[58][59] She also bought a home in Destin, Florida.[60] In her 2023 memoir, Spears revealed that she had an abortion during late 2000 while dating Timberlake after he said they were not prepared for parenthood.[61][62] Spears called the abortion "one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life."[63]
In January 2001, Spears hosted the 28th Annual American Music Awards, starred at Rock in Rio alongside NSYNC, and performed as a special guest in the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show headlined by Aerosmith and NSYNC.[64][65] In February 2001, she signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, A Mother's Gift.[29] Her third studio album, Britney, was released in November 2001, with a funkier sound inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and the Neptunes.[66] Britney debuted at number one in the Billboard 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom, and mainland Europe, and has sold 10 million copies worldwide.[45][67][68]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called Britney "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. ... It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet."[69] It was nominated for the Grammy awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected", and in 2007 it was named one of the best albums of the preceding 25 years by Entertainment Weekly.[70][71] The lead single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit in several countries.[72]
Spears' performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger (wrangled by Bhagavan Antle) and a large albino python draped over her shoulders.[73] It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears.[57] Jocelyn Vena of MTV summarized Spears' performance at the ceremony, saying, "draping herself in a white python and slithering around a steamy garden setting – surrounded by dancers in zebra and tiger outfits – Spears created one of the most striking visuals in the 27-year history of the show."[74]
To support the album, Spears embarked on the Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the pièce de résistance being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage.[75][76] The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest-grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's Farewell Tour.[77] Her career success was highlighted by Forbes in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity.[78] Spears also landed her first starring role in Crossroads, released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, critics praised Spears' acting and the film was a box office success.[79][80][81] Crossroads, which had a $12 million budget, went on to gross over $61.1 million worldwide.[81]
In June 2002, Spears opened her first restaurant, Nyla, in New York City, but terminated her relationship in November, citing mismanagement and "management's failure to keep her fully apprised".[82] In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six-month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in November to record her new album.[83] Spears' relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years.[84] In November 2002, Timberlake released the song "Cry Me a River" as the second single from his solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been engaging in an affair,[85][86] fueled by further rumors of possible relationships involving Timberlake's choreographer Wade Robson and Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.[87] Spears had initially denied the allegations of a possible affair involving Durst, despite the two being spotted together on multiple occasions; even claiming the two had a friendly connection.[88] Though in 2022, she later admitted to engaging in an affair with Robson.[89] As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "
Britney Spears
(7 backgrounds)
.jpg)
Born
December 2, 1981Education Occupations Years active 1992–present Works Spouses Children 2 Parents Relatives Awards Full list Musical career Genres Instruments Vocals Labels
Website britneyspears
britneySignature 
Life and career[edit]
1981–1997: Early life, family, and career beginnings[edit]
1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again[edit]
2001–2002: Britney and Crossroads[edit]
