Jamie Lynn Spears Was ‘Forced’ to Audition For ‘Twilight’
Jamie Lynn Spears is so much more than the world’s pop princess’ baby sister. Although there was a time when being Britney’s sis was what the celebrity was mostly known for, and she now seems to mostly define herself as a mom and wife, she actually had a very successful career in Hollywood once upon a time, as anyone who watched Nickelodeon in the 2000s will remember.
Spears unexpectedly got pregnant and dropped out of the industry for a while at the height of her fame, but she recently revealed how much more famous she could have been if her life hadn’t taken that detour.
How did Jamie Lynn Spears become famous?
Spears was famous-by-association from a very young age, when her sister Britney became, basically, the most famous person on Earth in 1998. Given that she was surrounded by the glamour of Hollywood, it wasn’t unexpected when Spears decided to get in the limelight herself.
She did, however, choose a different path to her pop star sister’s; she decided to become an actress instead of getting into singing.
Spears first climbed to fame in her own right by starring on Nickelodeon’s popular skit show for kids, All That when she was only 11 years old. She played a character named Thelma Stump, an old woman who also happened to be a bodyguard — who she actually created herself together with Britney.
It became instantly clear that star quality runs in the Spears genes, and audiences found Spears hilarious. After two seasons on All That, Nickelodeon booked her for her own sit-com, called Zooey 101.
The show premiered in 2005, and ran for four seasons until an unexpected event made Spears leave the show — and Hollywood.
The surprise life event that made Spears leave Hollywood
In 2008, Spears received unexpected news: at 16 years old, she was pregnant with her then-boyfriend, Casey Aldridge. Her Louisiana values won out over her life in Hollywood, and she decided to step away from her acting career to go home to Louisiana and raise her baby.
That baby, Maddie Briann, is now unbelievably 12 years old, and Spears has had another child since then: Ivey Joan, who is 2 years old. Spears married Ivey’s father, Jamie Watson, in 2014.
Although Spears has mostly been out of the limelight since then (well, as much as one can be being Britney Spears’ sister), she’s recently made a huge comeback; she and her former co-stars filmed a skit for All That in July, and a Zooey reboot has already been confirmed.
Spears could have been in ‘Twilight’ if she hadn’t become pregnant
Spears recently gave an interview for Nylon magazine, where she talked about the reboot as well as the accompanying updated theme song which was created with her sister.
She shared that although she doesn’t have regrets about giving birth to Maddie and stepping away from the spotlight so that she could raise her family with a sense of normalcy, she does sometimes wonder about what might have happened in her career if things had happened a different way.
Spears revealed that she actually auditioned for a movie that could have launched her into super stardom as an actress: the Twilight series. Apparently, though, the audition was against her will. “They had to force me. Force me. I remember just thinking like, ‘Y’all are insane. I’m not playing a vampire. That is so stupid. Why would I do that?’ But I went and read for that role,” she shared with the magazine.
She recalled feeling nauseated in the audition room; at the time, she hadn’t known yet that she was actually pregnant. Things turned out differently for Spears than any of us expected, but we’re so excited to get her back!
