Britney Jean Spears (born December 2; 1981) is an American singer-songwriter; dancer and actress. Born in McComb; Mississippi and raised in Kentwood; Louisiana; Spears first appeared on national television as a contestant on the Star Search program in 1992 and went on to star on the television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993-1994. After a brief membership with the pop musical group Innosense; Spears signed a recording contract with Jive Records; releasing her debut album Baby One More Time in 1999 which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The success of the album propelled Spears into stardom; establishing her as a pop icon and -bona fide pop phenomenon-; credited for influencing the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s.