Legendary pop star Britney Spears is diving into a new career as a published author with the launch of her memoir, The Woman in Me. Her book, set to be published on 24 October, will not only examine her success as a music icon, but will also cover her high-profile battle to officially end her conservatorship, which was controlled by her father, Jamie Spears.
Over the years, Spears’ pivotal moments in her life, from personal to professional milestones, have continued to make headlines. After 13 years, the “Toxic” singer’s controversial conservatorship came to an end in November 2021, with a California judge giving her back all of her legal rights, which had been controlled by two conservators overseeing her personal and business life.
Spears has also been married three times, as she first tied the knot with her childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004, but the marriage was annulled just 55 hours later. She married Kevin Federline in 2004 and went on to welcome two children – Sean, 18, and Jayden, 17 – with him before the couple split in 2006. In June 2022, she married actor Sam Asghari, before the pair announced their divorce this past August.
According to a press release for the book, The Woman in Me is “a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope”. Throughout her time in the spotlight, the musician has also gone on to obtain wealth through financial accounts and real estate. Here’s everything we know about Spears’ net worth, real estate, divorces, and conservatorship.
What is Spears’ net worth?
According to Forbes, the pop star was worth $60m in 2021, with the publication noting that previous court documents revealed that most of her assets are held in various brokerage accounts, real estate, and cash. Some of her homes over the years have ranged from penthouses in New York City to luxury homes in Los Angeles, according toThe Wall Street Journal.
For example, the publication specified that she purchased a home in Hollywood Hills in 2001, before selling the property in 2003 for $3.85m. She also sold a house in Malibu in 2007 for $10m, after initially buying the house for $6.3m in 2004.
Earlier this year, People also reported that Spears sold her 11,600-square-foot estate – which featured seven bedrooms – in Calabasas for $10m, after initially purchasing the property with Asghari in 2022.
Her net worth also stems from her music career, as she was one of the top artists in the late 90s and 2000s, which gave her her signature title: “The Princess of Pop.” She hasn’t been as focused on her music career recently, as her latest album, Glory, was released in 2016, and she hasn’t been on tour since 2018. However, her 2016 Las Vegas residency, Britney: Piece of Me, was a huge success, as it grossed $137.7m, according to Billboard. At the time, over 900,000 tickets were sold at a price of $150 each.
Although she hasn’t come out with an album recently, Spears has released a few new singles over the last two years, including “Hold Me Closer” with Elton John and “Mind Your Business” with will.i.am.
What do we know about Spears’ conservatorship and how it came to an end?
Back in August 2020, legal documents showed that Spears was attempting to remove her father from her conservatorship, saying that she was “strongly opposed” to him returning to control of her personal affairs. The singer’s lawyers later filed an objection to the conservatorship case being closed off from the public, stating: “The world is watching.”
The coverage surrounding the conservatorship continued with The New York Times’s Framing Britney Spears documentary, which was released in February 2021. The documentary went on to spark public debates about the treatment of Spears and other celebrities by the tabloids in the 2000s, reigniting interest in the #FreeBritney fan campaign.
In June 2021, Spears officially addressed a Los Angeles courtroom about the conservatorship for the first time in 13 years, with allegations that she was forced to consume medications after declining to work while under the conservatorship. In September 2021, Jamie Spears’ legal team filed a petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court to step down as conservator, before the conservatorship officially came to an end two months later.
At the time, her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, told the California judge that a “safety net” would be put in place for the star’s personal and financial care. “As of today, effective immediately, the conservatorship has been terminated as to both the person and the estate,” he said outside the courthouse. “What’s next for Britney, and this is the first time this could be said for about a decade, is up to one person, Britney.”
He concluded: “But Britney as of today is a free woman and she’s an independent woman. And the rest, with her support system, will be up to Britney.”
What were the terms of her two divorces?
Just two months after the birth of their second child, Spears filed for divorce from Federline in November 2006, citing “irreconcilable differences”. In the couple’s initial divorce settlement, which was finalised in July 2007, they were granted joint legal and physical custody over their two children.
Although it seems that the two stayed on amicable terms after the divorce, things appeared to change in 2018 when Federline requested an increase of $20,000 a month more child support payments from Spears. After months of court discussions, Federline rejected Spears’ child support proposal and instead doubled his request to $40,000 a month. A settlement was finally reached between the two parties in September 2018, with Spears increasing her child support payments to Federline from $20,000 to $35,000 a month.
In August of this year, Asghari filed for divorce from Spears, after it was announced that they were separating. Following the divorce filing, many rumours circulated about Asghari’s alleged attempts to renegotiate their prenuptial agreement.
Britney Spears ex-husband has spoken out about his wife for the first time since their divorce announcement— (Getty Images for GLAAD)
Prior to their wedding in June 2022, the “Gimme More” singer had the fitness instructor sign an iron-clad prenuptial agreement that was “in her favour,” according to Page Six. “Any money she made before the wedding is protected,” a source told the outlet. Spears reportedly tasked Rosengart with working out the terms of the prenuptial agreement.
An initial report from the publication also claimed that Asghari allegedly wanted Spears to “pay him more than what their prenup provides,” in return for keeping her secrets following their split. A source alleged that he was “attempting to negotiate concessions beyond his prenup and threatening to go public with extraordinarily embarrassing information about Britney unless he gets paid”.
However, a representative for Asghari denied reports about prenup renegotiations in a statement to The Independent in August. “There are many claims that Sam is challenging the prenup and threatening to exploit his ex-wife with videos. However, all these claims are false, as no negative intention has ever been directed towards her and never will be,” Asghari’s representative, Brandon Cohen, said. “Sam has always and will always support her.”
