Britney Jean Spears was born December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi and later raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. She auditioned for the New Mickey Mouse Club when she was just eight years old. After getting some professional training and Off-Broadway experience, Spears did join the New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 for a couple seasons. Commercial success in the recording industry started to grow in late 1998 when the "...Baby One More Time" song started to get a lot of airplay. Britney's debut album followed and was a smash success.