The younger sister (by ten years) of pop diva and glitterati icon Britney Spears -- to whom she bears more than a passing resemblance -- Jamie Lynn Spears first entered the national spotlight by joining her famous sibling on a Pepsi commercial and appearing in Britney Spears: Live from Las Vegas and Britney's movie Crossroads (2002). Jamie Lynn struck out on her own at age ten by trying out for the Nickelodeon channel's sketch comedy series All That; one particular characterization from that audition -- that of a geriatric female bodyguard, reportedly inspired by her own grandmother -- prompted series executive producer Dan Schneider to offer the ingenue membership in the program's regular ensemble. Spears then headlined her own Nickelodeon sitcom, Zoey 101, which premiered in 2005. The program recounted the adventures of Zoey Brooks, a young woman at an outrageously wealthy and exclusive prep school whose amenities included a sushi bar and a movie theater; the institution in question had only recently gone coed, alternately thrilling and vexing its male pupils.
Spears came of age and attended high school in Mississippi. In late 2007, she made headlines when it was revealed that she was pregnant with her first child at the young age of 16.