She was born Dec. 2, 1981, in Kentwood, a small town in Louisiana. Although technically her first public performance was at the age of 4 (when she sang "What Child Is This" at her local church), her professional career began at the ripe old age of 8, when young Britney traveled to Atlanta, Ga., to audition for the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club (MMC). She was ultimately deemed too young for the show, but one of the producers spotted her potential and helped her get an agent in New York. She spent the next three summers in the Big Apple studying at the off-Broadway Dance Center and at the Professional Performing Arts School. The creative education paid off; in 1991 she landed a part in the off-Broadway production Ruthless. When Britney turned 11, she finally earned her mouse ears and became a full-fledged member of MMC for both the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Her years with MMC would turn out to be fortuitous for Britney; among the cast members of the children's show was the then 12-year-old Justin Timberlake and Joshua "JC" Chasez, who would go on to become two-fifths of the teen pinup band 'N Sync. Other talented alumni to emerge from the cast are Keri Russell of Felicity fame, singer Christina Aguilera, Nita Booth (Miss Virginia 1998), and Ryan Gosling from Young Hercules. Following the cancellation of MMC in 1993, Britney returned home, where she went to regular high school for a year. But the bug to perform was too strong, so she returned to New York to give singing another shot. After an executive at Jive heard a demo tape cut by the then 15-year-old, he signed her to a development deal and hooked her up with Eric Foster White, a producer who had worked with Boyzone, Hi-Five, and Whitney Houston. It seemed a perfect fit, given Spears self-declared musical influences: Madonna, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, and Houston. She also traveled to Sweden to work with Max Martin, whose previous clients included the Backstreet Boys, Ace of Base, and Robyn. By early 1998, Spears' first album for Jive was complete. In the fall of 1998, three months before the release of her debut, …Baby, One More Time, Britney set off on a promotional trek through the malls of America, much like Tiffany had done a decade before her. Her "month in the malls" routine consisted of four songs, with two backup dancers, along with promotional copies of her music. October 1998 saw the release of Spears' first single, the title track from her album, written by Max Martin.