Jamie Spears

James Parnell "Jamie" Spears (born June 6, 1952) is a retired American construction business owner. He is the father of Bryan Spears, Britney Spears, and Jamie Lynn Spears.

James Parnell Spears was born to June Austin Spears (1930–2012), and Emma Jean Spears (née Forbes) (1934–1966). When Jamie was five years old, his mother gave birth to his younger brother Austin, who died after only three days. After Austin's death, his mother attempted suicide on three separate occasions. Despite obstacles established by the early tragedy, James did well in school, and in the eighth grade, made the honor roll at Kentwood High School.

When James was only 14 years old, his mother Emma, who had been struggling to overcome the loss of her son Austin, left their family home in Kentwood, resulting in her being declared missing. Emma arrived at Roberts Cemetery, the burial place of Austin, in nearby Osyka, Mississippi around 3:30pm on Sunday, May 29, 1966. Her body was found by a caretaker around 10:30am on Monday, May 30, at the grave of Austin. According to the coroner, J.L. Glover, Emma had aimed a 12-gauge shotgun at her chest and pulled the trigger with the big-toe of her right-foot.

James also survived a car accident that killed a football teammate aged 17. His upbringing was difficult, as his daughter Jamie Lynn wrote in her memoir: "My father was raised by an abusive father who made unreasonable demands of his son in all aspects of his life. Daddy was forced to practice sports for hours at a time—past the point of exhaustion. For basketball, Paw-Paw June made Daddy shoot one hundred shots after practice. Daddy loved basketball, but his father made him abandon the court for the football field. He followed his father’s directive to play college football, knowing all along he would have been much more impactful as a basketball player."

In the mid-1970s, Spears worked as a welder and boilermaker. In the 1980s, Spears ran a successful construction business, and he and Lynne decided to build and own a health and wellness spa. He became well known for developing businesses, including the first gym in their area in Louisiana.

In Jamie Lynn's memoir Things I Should Have Said, she claimed her father "...had a seafood restaurant called Granny's, known for crawfish and shrimp. At some point he gave it to Bryan, who eventually sold it." The restaurant, which was located at 401 3rd Street in Kentwood, LA, was actually owned by James' maternal grandmother Lexie Mae Thompson-Pierce. In March 1993, Lexie Mae by "Act of Donation" gave Bryan Spears the land the restaurant was situated on valued at an estimated $20,000.

Spears came to prominence as a public figure in 2019 with the rise of a movement to terminate his daughter's conservatorship, dubbed #FreeBritney. This movement garnered support from a number of celebrities, including Cher, Paris Hilton, and Miley Cyrus, as well as the nonprofit organization American Civil Liberties Union. On April 22, 2019, fans protested outside the West Hollywood City Hall to demand Britney's release from the psychiatric facility where she had been staying since Spears's illness in January.

During a May 2019 hearing, Judge Brenda Penny ordered "an expert evaluation" of the conservatorship. In September 2019, Britney's ex-husband Kevin Federline obtained a restraining order against Spears following an alleged physical altercation between Spears and one of Britney's sons. Britney's longtime care manager, Jodi Montgomery, temporarily replaced Spears as her conservator of the person on September 10, 2019. In the same month, a hearing resulted in "no decisions made" about the conservatorship arrangement.