Friday marks Britney Spears’ 41st birthday, and the “Gimme More” singer has had a remarkable year to look back on.
This time last year, Spears was only a few weeks free of her conservatorship, celebrating her 40th birthday in style with her then-fiancé, Sam Asghari on a private jet to Maui, Hawaii.
“Oh the precious joy today !!!” she wrote on Instagram at the time. “Me and my fiancé are so excited to be going away… God thank you for being able to go out of the country !!!! I am blessed !!!!”
Since then, the singer has gotten married, made a musical comeback, and has several new endeavors in the works, including an upcoming memoir and a Broadway musical inspired by her music.
Here is a look back at what Spears has accomplished this past year in honor of her 41st birthday.
Celebrating Her Freedom
On November 12, 2021, Spears was released from her 13-year conservatorship, in which her father, Jamie Spears, had full control over her life, including her financial and health decisions.
After being released, Spears posted her first nude Instagram photo, which later became a trend for the “Toxic” singer.
On January 6, she wrote, “Free woman energy has never felt better.” The post has since been deleted, but Spears has posted many other nude photos, often using emojis to hide certain areas.
Spears Gets a Dog
In February, Spears introduced the newest addition to her family: a blue-eyed Australian shepherd puppy named Sawyer.
In a post on Instagram introducing her puppy to her fans, Spears wrote that she found Sawyer while in Hawaii celebrating her birthday and “took him home with me immediately.”
She continued in the caption: “It’s funny … he doesn’t talk back but it’s like he understands what I’m saying !!!! I can talk to him for 30 min about potty training and rewarding him when he goes potty on the pad !!!! I think he understands me especially with those eyes … he makes my heart melt … he needs me and I like that !!!!”
A New Home and a Book Deal
This February was a busy month for Spears. She announced that she was moving out of the home she had lived in for seven years and prepared to move into an $11.8 million home in Calabasas, California.
Around the same time, The Guardian reported that Spears landed a book deal, in which she would write a mind-blowing tell-all memoir of her time in the conservatorship, to be published by Simon & Schuster.
The news of the book deal came a week after Spears sent a cease and desist letter to her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, for her own book titled Things I Should Have Said, which the singer had shared discontented feelings for.
Pregnancy and Miscarriage
In April, Spears joyously announced that she was pregnant with her third child, her first with Asghari. However, only a month later, Spears announced that she had lost the baby.
“It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that we lost our miracle baby early in the pregnancy,” said the statement, signed by Spears and Asghari. “This is a devastating time for any parent. Perhaps we should have waited to announce until we were further along. However we were overly excited to share the good news.” The couple stated that they intended to try again.
Spears Marries Sam Asghari
On June 9, Spears and Asghari were married at their home in Thousand Oaks, California, in an intimate ceremony that was attended by A-List stars including Madonna, Donatella Versace, Paris Hilton, Drew Barrymore, and Selena Gomez.
Spears revealed a few months later that the string of celebrities in attendance was a surprise to her. “Thank you @drewbarrymore, @selenagomez, @madonna, and @parishilton for surprising me !!!” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Spears Makes a Musical Comeback
In August, Spears released new music for the first time in six years.
In collaboration with Sir Elton John, the pair released “Hold Me Closer,” a reworked summer bop that reached number 1 in over 40 countries in less than 24 hours after its release.
The song was a reworked mashup of “Tiny Dancer,” “The One,” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” with Spears on vocals.
Broadway Musical Inspired by Spears’ Music
Most recently, it was announced that a musical titled Once Upon a One More Time, inspired by Spears’ discography, will be making its debut on Broadway. The announcement seemed to be a 41st birthday present for Spears—though she is not involved in developing the show—as the news was shared on Friday.
According to Variety, the show will begin previews at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre ahead of opening night on June 22, 2023.
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Spears for additional comment.
The post Britney Spears’ Birthday: A Look Back at Her Remarkable Year appeared first on Newsweek.
