One of the most successful artists of our time turned 43 years old today. Continue reading to celebrate her legacy with a gallery of all of her Top 10 hits!

Britney Jean Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi but was raised in Kentwood, Louisiana. At age three she showed a strong interest in performing and singing, taking dancing and voice lessons along with gymnastics and entering local talent shows. After auditioning for the Disney show The Mickey Mouse Club at eight years old and being turned down (she was deemed too young), Spears spent several summers studying at the Professional Performing Arts School. She got her feet wet by appearing in television commercials and was cast in the off-Broadway production Ruthless! at age ten. Three years after being rejected, Britney successfully auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club in 1992. On the show, she was cast members with other young stars including Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling. Upon the show’s cancellation in 1994, Spears returned home to Kentwood. Spears then recorded demos and met with labels resulting in her signing with Jive Records at just 15 years old.

The young superstar flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden to record half of her debut album. After she returned to the United States, she embarked on a shopping mall promotional tour followed by her first concert tour where she opened up for NSYNC. On January 12th, 1999 Spears released her debut studio album …Baby One More Time, led by the single with the same title. After just a month, the album was twice certified platinum. It topped the charts in over 15 countries and sold over 10 million copies worldwide (in a year), making it the biggest-selling album ever by a teenage artist. Overall, the album has gone on to sell 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. It is still currently the best-selling debut album by any artist.

It turned out that putting up big numbers was something that the Princess of Pop would get all too familiar with. Her second album Oops!… I Did It Again also debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 1.3 million copies. The album broke the record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist. Since then she has released seven more studio albums (Britney, In The Zone, Blackout, Circus, Femme Fatale, Britney Jean, Glory), four of which also debuted at number one. With over 150 million records sold worldwide, she is easily one of the world’s best-selling music artists. The Grammy Award winner is often credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It was nearly impossible to turn on your TV or radio and not see or hear Britney Spears during that time. To give her the flowers she deserves on her 43rd birthday, check out a gallery featuring all of her Top 10 Billboard hits. HAPPY 43RD BIRTHDAY BRITNEY!