Kevin Federline

All Music Guide:

One of the most notorious pop culture figures of the 2000s, Kevin Federline became an instant superstar when he married Britney Spears. Federline's immediate fame led to the reality TV show Chaotic, which documented the early days of the couple known as "Spederline," and also to the launch of his own career as a rapper and actor.

Before meeting Spears, Federline -- aka K-Fed -- worked as a pizza delivery boy and a dancer, performing in the live shows of pop acts such as Justin Timberlake, Pink, and Michael Jackson, and danced in the 2004 movie You Got Served. That year, Federline met Spears at the Hollywood restaurant/nightclub Joseph's Café; he left his fiancée and mother of two children, actress/singer Shar Jackson, to be with Spears, and the couple wed that fall. The circumstances of their wedding, the nonstop press surrounding the couple, the disparity of fame between Spears and Federline, and his questionable skills and credibility as a rapper made him an easy, and frequent, target of ridicule. Federline parodies popped up on the Internet and on TV shows such as Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, Family Guy, and The Soup.

Shortly after the wedding, Federline began recording songs in the couple's home studio, and some tracks soon leaked onto the Internet. The first, "Y'All Ain't Ready," arrived late in 2005 and was produced by Hollertronix's Disco D, but the song was lambasted for Federline's lyrics, which described his rapping style as "straight 2008" and called paparazzi photographers "pavarottis." His next attempt, "PopoZao" (Brazilian slang for "big butt"), was released on New Year's Day 2006. Its silliness, which was emphasized by a video of Federline grooving along to the track in the studio, and its equally poor critical reception made it a pop culture phenomenon and catch-phrase for the better part of that year. These songs, along with other tracks intended for his album, were scrapped.

K-Fed's first official single became "Lose Control," which he debuted on the Teen Choice Awards show in late summer 2006. Preparing for the release of his first album, Federline also took acting and performing gigs that suggested he embraced his image as "America's Most Hated": he played a thug on an October 2006 episode of CSI and later that month appeared as himself on an episode of WWE RAW. His debut, Playing with Fire, arrived at the end of the month.

Wikipedia:

Kevin Earl Federline (born March 21, 1978) is an American dancer, rapper, fashion model, and actor. His career began as a backup dancer; he later became known for a high-profile two-year marriage to American recording artist Britney Spears and the child custody battle that followed.

Life and career [edit]

Early life and career beginnings [edit]

Kevin Earl Federline was born on March 21, 1978 to parents Mike and Julie, a car mechanic and former bank teller from Oregon, respectively; his surname is of German origin. Federline's parents divorced when he was eight years old; he and his brother Chris moved to his father's house in Fresno when the former was 11. In the ninth grade, Federline dropped out of high school (later earning a certificate of General Educational Development) and began dancing with a nonprofit organization called Dance Empowerment. For a number of years, he served as a backup dancer for Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Destiny's Child, Pink, and LFO.

2002–04: Engagement to Shar Jackson [edit]

Federline was engaged to actress Shar Jackson, with whom he has a daughter Kori Madison Federline (born July 31, 2002) and a son Kaleb Michael Jackson Federline (born July 20, 2004). The couple separated shortly before their son's birth, at which time Federline began a relationship with pop singer Britney Spears. Jackson later commented that Federline's relationship with Spears "wasn't like just breaking up a relationship. It was like breaking up a family", but sustained an amicable relationship with Federline, complimenting his parenting.

2004–06: Marriage to Britney Spears [edit]

After three months of dating, Federline and Spears announced their engagement in July 2004; they were married on September 18 in a nondenominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California, filing legal papers on October 6. They have two sons together, Sean Preston Federline (born September 14, 2005) and Jayden James Federline (born September 12, 2006). Federline and Spears starred in the 2005 reality television series Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, which consisted of their home videos. He also appeared in the 2004 movie You Got Served, and subsequently guest-starred in an episode of CSI that in October 2006. He also guest-starred on the NBC show 1 vs. 100, along with the cast of Las Vegas, in the episode "Delinda's Box".

Spears filed for divorce from Federline on November 7, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for both physical and legal custody of their two children, with visitation rights for Federline. The following day, Federline filed a response to Spears's divorce petition, seeking physical and legal custody of their children. According to a representative for Federline's lawyer, the divorce filing "caught Kevin totally by surprise." The couple reached a global settlement agreement in March 2007 and their divorce was finalized on July 30. Federline maintains a relationship with Spears's parents for the benefit of their children, and Spears's family have been photographed in and out of his home and babysitting the boys while Kevin was out of town.

On October 1, 2007, a court ruling granted Federline sole physical custody of his children, with legal custody to be decided. On the late evening of January 3, 2008, police were called to Spears's home after the singer reportedly refused to relinquish custody of her children to Federline and locked herself in a room with her younger son, Jayden. Spears was taken from her home on a stretcher and hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for appearing to be under the influence of an unknown substance. As a result of this, Federline was "awarded sole legal custody and sole physical custody of the minor children."

On July 26, 2008, court papers were filed stating Federline would retain sole legal and physical custody of the children while Spears would get visitation rights that would increase over time. In addition to this, Federline will receive $20,000 per month from Spears in child support as well as additional funds to cover any custody-related legal expenses.

2006: Playing with Fire [edit]

Federline initially released two singles, "Y'all Ain't Ready" and "PopoZão," shortly after his marriage to Spears. Following poor critical reaction, neither song was included on his debut album. Instead, the first official single was "Lose Control," which he premiered on the Teen Choice Awards show on the Fox network in late summer 2006. He released his debut album, Playing with Fire, on October 31, 2006, which became one of the worst-received albums in recent music history, receiving the lowest score in an overwhelming majority of reviews as well as lackluster sales.

Federline has been signed to model for the Five Star Vintage line by the San Francisco-based Blue Marlin clothing company. The initial series of ads ran in August 2006 and was subsequently extended for Christmas 2006. The line he modeled for the fall 2006 was the top-selling line in Macy's, Kitson in Los Angeles, and Lord & Taylor.

Federline appeared on WWE programming to promote his album, Playing with Fire, and participate in an angle. He first appeared on the October 16, 2006, and October 23, 2006, editions of WWE Raw, in which he got into physical altercations with WWE Champion John Cena. The following week, he came to the ring to aid Johnny Nitro in his match against John Cena. After Cena got in Federline's face, Federline slapped him hard. He appeared again during the November 5, 2006, pay-per-view event Cyber Sunday, hitting Cena with King Booker's World Heavyweight Championship belt and helping Booker win the Champion of Champions match that was organized between Cena, Booker, and Big Show. The next night, November 6, 2006, he challenged Cena to a match at the New Year's Day edition of Raw, which Cena accepted. He went on to win this no-disqualification match thanks to interference from Johnny Nitro and Umaga. Later in the night, after John Cena's main event match, Cena went after Federline and brought him into the ring and delivered his FU finishing move twice before cameras stopped rolling.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Federline was well received backstage. Sources say he worked so well with the company and personnel that the WWE may give him a regular role on the company's show Raw in the near future. Other sources and wrestlers have spoken about Federline's generally good attitude backstage as well.

Federline was featured in a Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company commercial during Super Bowl XLI on February 4, 2007, as part of its "Life Comes at You Fast" ad series. In the commercial, Federline initially appeared in a music video, rapping about living a high-flying lifestyle. Then reality sets in as Federline is shown now working in a fast-food restaurant with his manager yelling at him, the punchline of the ad being "Life comes at you fast."

Federline guest-starred during several episodes and was subsequently added as a regular on the television series One Tree Hill on The CW. However, he did not appear on the show again after his guest slot.

2007–present [edit]

Federline appeared on the seventh season of the weight-loss reality television show Celebrity Fit Club.

Federline plays a border guard in the 2009 film American Pie Presents: The Book of Love.

In November 2011, on a weight loss show in Australia called Excess Baggage, Federline was hospitalized for what was called "heat stress". Filming was taking place in November which is the hottest time of the year in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia.

On January 23, 2012, he suffered chest pains while filming the show.

As of 2008 he was linked to former volleyball player Victoria Prince. The two were on the same recreational bowling team, the Party Animals. The couple welcomed a daughter named Jordan Kay on August 15, 2011. It is Federline's fifth and Prince's first child.