Jamie Lynn Spears isn’t just the younger sister of pop star Britney Spears. The actress, singer, and songwriter has made her own headlines during her career as a child star on television and later as a recording artist, and at the same time she became a mom, and eventually a wife.

It seems that the Mississippi native has lived most of her life in her big sister’s shadow, but she has grown up and overcome her own challenges that have made her who she is today.

Her career started back in 2002 when she was just ten years old, and she appeared in Brittney’s movie Crossroads. She made a cameo, appearing as the younger version of her sister’s character, Lucy Wagner, and that led to Nickelodeon casting her in the 8th season of the ensemble sketch show All That.

Critics gave her generally positive reviews, complimenting Jamie Lynn on her comedic timing and calling her the highlight of the show. But, she didn’t return for the final season and decided to pursue other opportunities at the network.

She signed a development deal that resulted in her starring in her own scripted show titled Zoey 101 at the age of 12. But, after four seasons, the show abruptly came to an end when 16-year-old Jamie Lynn announced she was pregnant and decided to leave Hollywood, so she could take care of her baby back home in Mississippi.

Now, a decade later, Jamie Lynn Spears is a married mom-of-two and trying to make her way in the country music world. It’s been a long road for the 27-year-old, but she is finally shedding the negativity that has haunted her past.

20. Not Just A Child Star

As the star of Zoey 101, Jamie Lynn played a character that led a life far different from her childhood in Mississippi. Zoey attended the fictional boarding school Pacific Coast Academy (PCA), a school that previously only allowed boys to attend. They shot the series at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and then later on stages in Valencia.

It was Nickelodeon’s most expensive production ever, and it focused on teenagers navigating their way through life in boarding school as the group grew closer as friends.

However, her on-screen “good girl” personality took a big hit when she announced at the age of 16 that she was pregnant. The announcement generated a lot of controversies, and some thought the media used the story as a way to glamorize teen pregnancy.

19. Controversial Consent

In an interview with OK! Magazine on December 20, 2007, Jamie Lynn announced she was pregnant, and her 18-year-old boyfriend Casey Aldridge was the father. Controversy quickly surfaced because Jamie Lynn was two years below the age of consent in California.

Since Aldridge was a little under two years older than Jamie Lynn, he would only face a misdemeanour if prosecutors decided to charge him, since California law only makes it a felony if the two people are more than three years apart. Aldridge never did face charges.

On June 19, 2008, Jamie Lynn welcomed Maddie Briann Aldridge at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb, Mississippi. Jamie Lynn did get engaged to Aldridge, but the couple ended up calling things off completely two years after Maddie’s birth.

18. A Possible Reunion

Jamie Lynn says that a Zoey 101 reunion is always a possibility, but no one has approached her about it yet. However, she knows that if the cast did get back together, fans would love it.

“I do get comments all the time about Chase looking for me,” says the 27-year-old.

She says the decision is not up to her, and she hasn’t talked to show creator Dan Schneider about it, so only time will tell if anyone will be showing up at PCA for a reunion.

Just a couple of years ago, her co-stars Sean Flynn and Christopher Massey paired up for a video as their characters Chase and Michael, and Jamie Lynn says that just added fuel to the reunion rumor fire. She says that she saw the video and thought it was funny, and she can only imagine where Zoey and Chase would be now.

17. Not Just A Cheerleader

As a teenager, Jamie Lynn was becoming a star in her own right, but her sister Britney was one of the biggest stars on the planet and making headlines by running off and marrying Kevin Federline. The marriage only lasted three years, and when Britney was going through a divorce, Jamie Lynn was going back home during a break from Zoey 101 to finish high school and be a cheerleader.

At the time, she says she was young and in love, and she was just like every other teenager, except she had a famous last name. She says that she was afraid to go the doctor to get birth control because she was a Nickelodeon TV star and Britney’s little sister, and that led to her unplanned pregnancy.

At that point, she had to make a decision, and she revealed that she felt responsible for young girls and mothers that she confused and let down. However, she felt judged for doing something that almost everyone does.

16. Sisterly Love

The Spears sisters have always been close and have maintained a bond over the years that got even stronger when they both became moms.

When Jamie Lynn gave birth to Maddie, Britney said, "That was special, but it was also strange because she's always been the baby, and now the baby was having a baby. It was mind-boggling. I was shocked a little bit. But it was really cool, and she was happy.”

Jamie Lynn says that she learned a lot about how the press treated Britney during her toughest times, and that kind of scrutiny was something she didn’t want for herself or her children. And, that it is one of the biggest reasons she chose to leave California, and raise Maddie in Mississippi, even though she knew people would want to know her story.

15. Being Maddie's Mom

Jamie Lynn was determined to get away from the spotlight and media scrutiny and just live life as Maddie’s mom. She says she needed to figure out what she wanted and earn back a sense of respect for herself. She thought it would be best to move to a town in the middle of nowhere, raise her daughter, and be the best mom that she could. At that point, if anybody had anything to say about her, there was nothing she could do.

She says at first, she was OCD about Maddie and didn’t want anybody to watch her or touch her, and instead, wanted to do everything herself. She breastfed Maddie for almost a year because she couldn’t leave her at all.

Jamie Lynn also says that she and Casey really tried to get through all the high school drama and make it as parents, and they tried to do it right. But, things just didn’t work out. However, she will love him as Maddie’s father until the day she dies.

14. Nashville Bound

Jamie Lynn moved to Nashville in 2009 with Maddie, so that she could pursue a new career in country music. She began working on an album with several producers, and in 2011 she held a small concert at the Rutledge in Nashville to showcase a lineup of new original songs.

It took another two years, but in 2013, she finally released her first single How Could I Want More. The song debuted on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart at number 29. She also appeared on Britney’s album Britney Jean in the song Chillin’ With You.

Jamie Lynn performed at the Grand Ole Opry in 2016, where Britney and their brother Bryan made a surprise appearance and introduced her to the audience.

13. What Sisters Do

Britney has always kept a close watch on Jamie Lynn, even when they live thousands of miles apart. When her little sister was still actually little, Britney said, "I love my little sister, and I am overprotective with her. I don't mind saying that."

She then added, "My sister is a handful. We are so different. Actually, she would be a lot better in this business than I am. Her personality, she is Miss Diva. She is so full of herself, it's so cute."

Circumstances may have gotten in the way of the two working together more, but they make the time to be together, in addition to just holiday visits.

Jamie Lynn was also in the crowd at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards when Britney received the Millennium Award and killed it on stage singing a medley of her hits.

12. A TV Special

It took her a long time, but Jamie Lynn finally opened up about going after the next stage of her career while being a single mom in the 2016 TLC special Jamie Lynn Spears: When The Lights Go Out. It was her first time on television since the end of Zoey 101, and the appearance finally answered fans questions about whether she should return to TV.

“At 16, I was pregnant, and I was going to become a mom,” Jamie Lynn explained in the trailer for her special. “The child star who got pregnant. A lot of horrible, nasty things were said.”

That criticism added to the fear and shock Jamie Lynn herself felt at the time, and her dad said it was a bad three years for his daughter. But, she said that she was a child at the time, and she needed to grow up outside of the world’s view.

11. Crashing Down

Jamie Lynn says she took her pregnancy test in the bathroom of a BP gas station surrounded by her friends. And, it was at that moment that her world came crashing down. She decided to take the test at the gas station because she didn’t want to do it at home, and when the test turned positive her friends freaked out.

Her mom, Lynn Spears, said that she thought her daughter was joking when she first told her, but when she realized she was serious, there was big-time worry.

Jamie Lynn said she told her mom by writing her a note and leaving it for her to read while she was in another room.

Her dad Jamie says that his world stopped, he was in complete shock, and he “lost it” for a while.

10. Far From Perfect

Jamie Lynn says that she lived her life for so long trying to be a perfect girl, and she felt guilty when she became a teenage mom because she thought she had let people down. However, she always knew she was going to give birth to her daughter and raise her on her own if she had to, and that’s exactly what she did.

“Casey tried to do the right thing and he asked me to marry him and we were engaged for a while, but I think I realized rushing into something that’s not right is ultimately going to be worse,” she said.

When MTV’s Teen Mom came out, Jamie Lynn says she remembers thinking she couldn’t wait to see the show because she feels for those girls – she’s been that girl.

9. No Shadow

You might think it was difficult to be the younger sister of such a big star, but in 2014, while promoting her debut country album The Journey, Jamie Lynn said, "I'm proud of my sister. She's worked hard to become extremely successful. It makes me proud, but it also gives me an outlet to prove who I am as a person and what I love."

Jamie Lynn insists that Britney did not cast a shadow and instead she actually used her ‘light’ as an inspiration.

In addition to enjoying the big moments in life, the two sisters also have fun with life’s small pleasures.

Britney once Instagrammed a pic of Jamie Lynn with the caption, "When I'm with my sister she makes my stomach hurt so bad from laughing!"

8. An Older Man

After breaking up with Aldridge, Jamie Lynn met Louisiana businessman James Watson, a man ten years older and with a lot more ambition than Aldridge.

His company, Advanced Multimedia Partners, installs communications equipment and hi-def TVs for corporations, and a source close to the couple says that Watson loves to make money and spend it.

When they met, Watson didn’t know that Jamie Lynn was famous, and he says that he knew absolutely nothing about her. The couple met through mutual friends, but it wasn’t love at first sight. There wasn’t an immediate connection, but he says that they grew on each other pretty quick.

“He was kind of awkward and kind of weird,” the Zoey 101 alum said. “He was always uncomfortable. Looking back though, I think it’s kind of sweet, because he was acting that way because obviously he liked me.”

They married March 14, 2014, in New Orleans.

7. Cousins

Jamie Lynn says that Maddie’s biggest concern in life is when she will get to see her cousins next. Britney’s boys, Sean Preston and JJ, are her best friends, and Jamie Lynn says they are almost like brothers and sister – and it’s so cute.

Maddie also loves her Aunt Britney’s songs and the dress-up that goes with it. Jamie Lynn is sure that music is in her daughter’s genes because she loves to dance and sing.

She knows that her daughter will someday like a boy and eventually have a boyfriend, and she is going to have to deal with it the best way she can. Jamie Lynn says that she and Maddie’s dad will caution her about getting intimate, and she must figure out the right way to communicate with her about smart choices and making good decisions.

6. Her Version Of College

Jamie Lynn didn’t get the chance to go to college, but since music has always been in her heart, she looked at her time in Nashville as an awesome education. She was looking for a way to express herself as an artist, and after learning from a variety of musicians she started writing and performing her own music, and that was college for her.

She says that she is more honest in her lyrics than she is in anything else, and it is where she feels most safe to express herself. Jamie Lynn writes about growing up, her family, Maddie, and getting pregnant so young. She feels that if she has lived it, she should talk about it.

When it comes to performing, she takes a lot of advice from her sister, and she is always trying to do her best. However, she knows there will always be people who don’t like her.

5. The Accident

Last year, when she was 8-years-old, Maddie was driving an ATV on the family’s property in Kentwood, Louisiana, when she accidentally drove it into a pond and almost drowned. The situation was so dire that it brought Jamie Lynn and Aldridge together, and the former couple sat beside their daughter’s bed, held hands, and prayed.

A helicopter airlifted Maddie to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, and she fought for her life while her mom, dad, and stepdad kept vigil.

When first responders arrived, Maddie had been submerged for a few minutes and they had to remove her from her seatbelt and safety netting. She eventually woke up and was talking, with no signs of neurological damage, and doctors discharged her, so she could make a full recovery at home.

4. God's Grace

After Maddie’s accident, Jamie Lynn said she lived a mother’s worst nightmare, and she felt helpless while everything was unfolding in front of her eyes. She says she isn’t one to preach, but she knows that God showed his grace and she is thankful for all of the prayers from fans and the miracle it created.

After crashing in the pond to avoid a ditch, Maddie was unconscious for two days before waking up, and Jamie Lynn says that she is beyond blessed.

After her recovery, Maddie has returned to playing sports, and her mom hasn’t forgotten about the two paramedics her saved her daughter. A year after the accident, they visited the first responders, and Jamie Lynn called them “two angels” who literally saved her daughter’s life.

3. A New Year

After a difficult 2017, Jamie Lynn, her husband, and her daughter started off the new year right, and they also had a big announcement – Maddie was going to be a big sister.

“2017 was filled with some of the biggest challenges of my life, as well as some of the biggest blessings, so I made a choice to lay low this year to focus on truly becoming my best self as a person and as an artist. 2018 is going to be filled with many milestones both personally and professionally. I appreciate each of you for your patience and support through it­ all,” Jamie Lynn wrote on Instagram.

Watson proposed to Jamie Lynn after he fell in love with both her and her daughter and says he couldn’t not be a part of Maddie’s life. Now, the family of three is growing, and they couldn’t be happier.

2. Fab Fit Fun

Jamie Lynn is a partner with Fab Fit Fun – a website that sends members a box filled with premium products each season – and she says she loves treating herself every few months. For just $49.99, members receive over $200 worth of items that include beauty, wellness, fitness, home, and everything in between.

On her Instagram, Jamie Lynn wrote that “As busy moms, wives, boss ladies - it’s easy to forget that we need to show ourselves love sometimes too.”

The power of social media as a marketing tool has not escaped Jamie Lynn, and she offered her fans $10 off their first box with a special code. The best part is, you can choose your products or let it be a surprise.

1. Ivey Joan

Jamie Lynn gave birth to her second daughter, Ivey Joan, on April 11th, and the mom-of-two couldn’t be more excited. She shared with fans that the baby weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces, and they gave her the middle name Joan to honor her Aunt Sandra who passed away after a battle with ovarian cancer.

Britney tweeted her congratulations and wrote that she couldn’t be more excited to welcome baby Ivey into the world.

The Spears family knows that they have a lot to be grateful for these days. After Maddie survived her accident and the arrival of the new baby, they know they are blessed.

The day after she gave birth, Jamie Lynn tweeted the news to fans, “Baby Ivey Joan Watson is here.”

References: famousbirthdays.com, etonline.com, dailymail.co.uk, people.com, glamour.com, nydailynews.com, hellogiggles.com, usmagazine.com