Justin Randall Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Randall and Lynn Timberlake. Timberlake grew up in Millington, a small town north of Memphis. His grandfather being a Baptist minister, Timberlake was raised in the Baptist religion, although he considers himself more “spiritual than religious”. In 1985 his parents divorced and both have remarried. His mother runs an entertainment company called Just-in Time Entertainment while his father is a choir director at a Baptist church. In 1997, his half-sister Laura Chwieseni, died shortly after birth, and she is acknowledged in one of her records as “My Angel in Heaven”.
His first attempts at a singing career were on Star Search as Justin Randall. In 1993, he got a taste of fame when he joined The Mickey Mouse Club. There he met Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and JC Chasez. When the show ended in 1995, Timberlake gathered Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick to be in a new all-male singing group, that eventually became *NSYNC. In 1999 Justin acted as Jason Sharpe in the TV movie Model Behavior. ‘N SYNC formed in 1995 and included members JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Justin Timberlake. The group became one of the most popular boy bands in the 1990s. They created five albums which included the fastest-selling album of all time, No Strings Attached. After their last album, Celebrity, the group decided to take time off. After their split, Timberlake began to work on his solo career. Timberlake transformed from his clean image into a sexier and more mature image. His first solo album, Justified, debuted in 2002. In 2003 he supported the album with Christina Aguilar in their Justified/Stripped Tour. By the end of 2003, Timberlake’s song “Im Lovin’ It” was used by McDonald’s as their theme song. This deal earned Timberlake an estimated $6 million. In 2004, Justin Timberlake performed with Janet Jackson during the halftime show of the Super Bowl XXXVIII. At the end of the performance, Timberlake tore off a part of Jackson’s costume, causing the piece to become detached and exposing her breast. As a result of the incident, Jackson and Timberlake were both banned from the Grammy Awards unless they agreed to apologize on screen at the event. Jackson had already given a public apology, declined to give another one. Timberlake apologized and also received two Grammy Awards. In 2006 he released his second album FutureSex/LoveSound. He was the guest performer for the 2006 Victoria Secret Fashion Show, where he sang Sexyback. In January 2007 he started his FutureSex/LoveShow tour. Timberlake has also a pursued an acting career. He starred in Model Behavior, On the Line, Edison Force, Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Southland Tales, and voiced King Arthur in Shrek the Third. He has also opened several restaurants in the U.S. He also launched his clothing line William Rast in 2005. Justin Timberlake dated his high school sweetheart/ pop singer Veronica Finn from 1996-1998. During the Mickey Mouse Club he met Britney Spears. They started a high-profile celebrity relationship which ended four years later in 2002. The breakup influenced Timberlake’s popular single “Cry Me a River.” He has also been linked to actress’s Jenna Dewan and Alysso Milano. In 2003, Timberlake started dating Cameron Diaz and confirmed their split in early 2007. Rumor has it that he also dated Scarlett Johansson right after his split with Diaz. He is recently linked to actress Jessica Biel.
