Yahoo News Who is Jamie Lynn Spears? Britney's sister to enter I'm A Celebrity jungle
Jamie Lynn Spears has followed her famous sister Britney Spears into the spotlight
Jamie Lynn Spears is the baby sister of pop princess Britney Spears and she has tried to break out of her sister’s starry shadow.
Determined to make a career in her own right, she has followed her very famous sister into the showbiz spotlight.
Now the American actor and singer is appearing on the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here experience alongside the likes of politician Nigel Farage and Masterchef’s Grace Dent.
This wouldn’t be her first brush with reality TV as she has made appearances on shows this year including Dancing With The Stars and Fox's survival series Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, although the latter she quit after three episodes saying she was missing home.
Everyone wants to know: what is her relationship with her sister Britney Spears? Is Jamie Lynn Spears married? What was the fallout of her teenage pregnancy?
What has Jamie Lynn Spears said about I'm A Celebrity?
Having quit a reality show early for missing her children, Spears admitted she will have a few teary moments in the jungle while yearning for home.
"I am sure I will do that, too. I am sure I will have a couple of moments where I go: ‘I miss my children’," she said.
But her daughters are incredibly excited for her to appear on the jungle series. She explained: "My oldest daughter is like, ‘OMG I can’t wait to see you do these trials and laugh at you’.
"But she also said: ‘I’m really proud of you for doing something for yourself’. This will be the longest I have ever been apart from my children and the furthest. But they are going to come over to Australia and it will be a wonderful reunion when I come out."
Plus the singer hopes to show the world her true self.
"There is literally every misconception you can have on a person about me so I don’t take any of it seriously," she said.
"But I do think going on I’m A Celebrity will be a nice way for people to see the real me. This is an opportunity to be myself and do something really cool and have some awesome experiences in the meantime.
"I think my best quality is the fact that it takes a lot to hurt my feelings. Unless you are my children or my immediate family, nothing is going to hurt me. I can take a lot of sh*t and it doesn’t get me down, so I really think it’s a good quality to have in a place where a lot of stuff is thrown at you!"
What is Britney and Jamie Lynn's relationship like?
Jamie Lynn's sister Britney is one of the most famous pop stars in the world - and she’s had a crazy year.
The singing superstar has been settling back into "normal life" after she was freed from the controversial conservatorship in 2021, she split from her husband Sam Asghari and she wrote a bombshell memoir, including that Britney had an abortion because Justin Timberlake wasn’t ready to be a father.
Under the strict conservatorship which is a legal guardianship, Britney's personal life and her money was controlled by her father and others for 13 years.
The conservatorship was put in place in 2008 after the pop princess faced a mental health crisis and shaved her head following the breakdown of her marriage to Kevin Federline.
The sisters have always had a rocky relationship which has played out in the limelight at times.
It seems they could be putting the feud behind them with Britney visiting Jamie Lynn Spears on the set of her reboot Zoey 102 in June.
Jamie Lynn Spears didn't attend Britney's wedding in 2021 which has since crumbled.
From the inside, Britney lifted the lid on their sisterhood in her memoir The Woman In Me where she said their turbulent relationship started when they were very young.
She wrote: “It was clear that girl ruled the roost. Meanwhile, it was like I was a ghost child. I can remember walking into the room and feeling like no one even saw me. Jamie Lynn only saw the TV.”
But she also shared her deep love for her sister. She wrote: "She’s been through a lot, including teen pregnancy, divorce, and her daughter’s near-fatal accident.
"She’s spoken about the pain of growing up in my shadow. I’m working to feel more compassion than anger toward her, and everyone who I feel has wronged me. It’s not easy."
In 2021, the sisters had a very public fallout when Jamie Lynn Spears wrote a tell-all book about her life while Britney was in court fighting for her freedom from the conservatorship.
Jamie Lynn Spears responded saying: "I hate to burst my sister’s bubble, but my book is not about her. I can’t help that I was born a Spears too, and that some of my experiences involve my sister.
"I’ve worked hard since before I was even a teenager, and I’ve built my career in spite of just being someone’s little sister."
Jamie Lynn Spears’ teen pregnancy at 16
Back in 2007, the younger Spears courted the attention of headlines - sending shockwaves around the world - with the announcement of her teenage pregnancy.
In her first interview about her pregnancy, she opened up about her pregnancy being a shock to both her and her now-ex Casey Aldridge. She told OK! magazine: “It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected. I was in complete and total shock and so was he.
“Only one of my friends knew because I needed to work out what I would do for myself before I let anyone’s opinion affect my decision. Then I told my parents and my friends. I was scared, but I had to do what was right for me.”
In 2008, she welcomed her first child into the world and at three weeks old her baby graced the cover of OK! Magazine. Spears said she tried to “hide away” after her pregnancy news took headlines by storm.
"I didn't really care about any of that nonsense, but when we did announce that I was pregnant, I did hide away for a little bit during that time and I didn't have a phone," she told Nylon in 2020.
"But of course, the paparazzi still found me. It's not like I was in L.A. walking down the middle of the most popular boulevard; I was in the-middle-of-nowhere Mississippi."
Now her daughter Maddie Briann Aldridge is 15 years old. Spears also raises her five-year-old daughter Ivey Joan too.
Is Jamie Lynn Spears married?
Jamie Lynn Spears has been married for nine years to her businessman husband Jamie Watson.
They raise their daughter Ivey Joan as well as Spears’ daughter Maddie whom she had with her former flame.
The couple were married in New Orleans on March 14 in 2014 after being engaged for a year.
Of their wedding, she wrote on Instagram last year: “I was an 18 year old single mom, when this guy came into my life, he made me laugh more then I ever had before, and his never changing consistency gave me stability for the first time in my life.
“Maybe, it was just because he was 10 years older, and had already established a successful life for himself both personally and professionally, but nonetheless, I felt a sense of peace with him, and I think that’s what being in love is suppose to feel like, just feeling at peace.
“Who knows though, I am definitely not an expert, but I do feel lucky to have found that with my husband, even on the days I hate him. Happy 8 years of marriage to us, also we still need to go on our honeymoon.”
Jamie Lynn Spears' TV career so far
Spears is most famous for her role as Zoey Brooks in the Nickelodeon teen sitcom Zoey 101.
She starred in the show from 2005 until 2018, which was followed up with a sequel film Zoey 102 this year when she reprised her famed part.
The actor also starred as Noreen Fitzgibbons in Netflix’s romantic series Sweet Magnolias from 2020 until now.
I’m A Celebrity wouldn’t be her first brush with reality TV as she has starred on game show Double Dare with her daughter Maddie in 2018.
This year she was eliminated in week two of Dancing With The Stars this year and she dropped out of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test because of missing home.
So how will she fare in the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here jungle in Australia?
