". . . Baby One More Time" Video Facts Only Diehard Britney Fans Will Know
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Britney Spears' very first album, ". . . Baby One More Time," is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and we can't help but wonder: where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday we were tying up our shirts and learning all the dance moves from the music video in our bedrooms while watching TRL. It's also pretty hilarious to think about how controversial her Catholic schoolgirl-inspired costume was back then — especially when you factor in some of the supersexy videos we're used to seeing now.
Alas, we (and Britney) have grown up a lot since she first broke out onto the scene, and it seems only right that we celebrate this momentous occasion with a look back at the music video that launched a million pairs of pigtails. Keep reading for the best GIFs from the ". . . Baby One More Time" video, complete with five little-known facts about its making.
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Britney's longtime family friend Felicia Culotta played the teacher.
Felicia — affectionately known as Aunt Fe — was also Britney's personal assistant for a number of years in the beginning of her career. The two parted ways during Britney's rough patch in the mid 2000s, but Aunt Fe was back on Team Britney after the singer rehired her in 2009. Felicia was also on hand for Jamie Lynn's wedding in New Orleans and continued to work with Britney afterwards.
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Those sexy schoolgirl costumes were all Brit's idea (and they were supercheap, too).
When it came to wardrobe for the ". . . Baby One More Time" video, director Nigel Dick told MTV News that his original angle was "just jeans and t-shirts," but Britney had a better idea, saying, "Wouldn't I wear a schoolgirl outfit?" The rest of the clothing in the video — sports bras, track pants, and sneakers — was also the brainchild of then-16-year-old Britney, who, in response to criticism that she was showing too much skin, said, "Me showing my belly? I'm from the South; you're stupid if you don't wear a sports bra [when you] go to dance class, you're going to be sweating your butt off."
Nigel Dick also said of the video's outfits: "Every piece of wardrobe in the video came from Kmart, and I was told at the time not one piece of clothing in the video cost more than $17. On that level, it's real. That probably, in retrospect, is a part of its charm." We all know Britney loves a bargain.
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Britney was an accomplished gymnast by the time she was 9 years old.
As a child, Britney attended gymnastics classes and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows — needless to say, she did her own stunts in outdoor scenes of the ". . . Baby One More Time" video, which was shot at Venice High School in LA (the same setting used to film Grease).
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Britney's video love interest was portrayed by her cousin.
Britney's cousin, Chad Spears, was an Abercrombie & Fitch model at the time of the video shoot. Luckily their scenes together didn't go any further than a few stolen glances.
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Britney was a member of her school basketball team.
Though she didn't showcase any moves in the video, Britney was a point guard on the basketball team at Parklane Academy in McComb, MS, during her younger years.
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