Justin Randall Timberlake was born on January 31, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee to Randall Timberlake and Lynn Bomar; his paternal grandfather, Charles L. Timberlake, was a Baptist minister, but Timberlake considers himself more "spiritual than religious". His parents are now divorced and both have re-married; his mother, who now runs an entertainment company called JustinTime Entertainment, has re-married to Paul Harless, a banker, while his father, a choir director at a Baptist church, has two children, Jonathan and Stephen, from his second marriage.
Timberlake grew up in Millington, a small town just north of Memphis. In 1993, He got his first taste of fame when he joined the ranks of The Mickey Mouse Club. There he met future girlfriend and pop superstar Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera and, perhaps most importantly, future bandmate JC Chasez. When the show ended in 1995, Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in a new all-male singing group he was forming with friend Chris Kirkpatrick. The group would come to be known as 'N Sync. In 1999 Justin acted as Jason Sharpe in made for TV movie Model Behaviour.
Timberlake's biggest inspiration is The King of Pop, Rock & Soul Michael Jackson what is noticeable in his dance and singing style.
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- 1995-2002
- 2002-2004
- 2004-2006
- 2006-2007
- 2007-present
Other work
Timberlake has opened several U.S. restaurants. He also began the William Rast clothing line with close friend Trace Ayala. Timberlake describes the line as being "A little bit of Hollywood, a little bit of Tennessee" (Timberlake's home state). In 2004, ABC hired Timberlake to write a song for its NBA coverage.
In October of 2005, the Grammy Association awarded Timberlake for his humanitarian efforts in Tennessee, alongside writer/director Craig Brewer, also a Memphis native.
Near the end of 2002, Timberlake was the first celebrity to get Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher. Also, he became the first celebrity and the first victim to appear on the show more than twice. During his first appearance, Ashton Kutcher's crew members, disguised as IRS authorities seized his properties in Los Angeles, California, Orlando, Florida, and Memphis, Tennessee, because Timberlake did not pay more than $900,000 in back taxes. (Due to Homestead Clause in Florida, Kutcher's crew members failed to seize his home in Orlando, Florida but seized his belongings inside his Orlando, Florida home.) Three episodes later, he set up singer Kelly Osbourne, as revenge for being laughed at by her during the 2003 American Music Awards (substituted for Kutcher during his second appearance). Timberlake has also appeared on Saturday Night Live, where he spoofed Ashton Kutcher and Punk'd by tricking rapper 50 Cent played by Finness Mitchell.
His I'm lovin it single is currently the main slogan of McDonald's commercials all around the world. After the big success of the publicity campaign it is said that the fast food chain will get more Hip Hop and Rn'B artist involved on their future strategies
Personal life
Two early teen romances, first to a school sweetheart and then to aspiring pop singer Veronica Finn predated intense media interest, but both ended unhappily. Timberlake then entered a high-profile celebrity relationship with fellow pop singer Britney Spears, with whom he had worked on the New Mickey Mouse Club. This ended abruptly in March 2002, amidst allegations of Spears' infidelity with choreographer Wade Robson, a mutual friend of Spears and Timberlake. Lynn Harless says as a mother she too was devastated regarding the break-up, but to this day speaks warmly of Spears, “Britney grew up on my living room floor. I still love her to death.” They (Justin and Britney) were together 10 or 11 years and had, from day one, instant chemistry between them. “She's a sweet girl. I just hate what she's going through now.” The breakup influenced the lyrics and theme of Timberlake's hit "Cry Me A River", one of the most popular singles from Justified.
Timberlake later dated actress-dancer Jenna Dewan (in mid-2002) and actress-singer Alyssa Milano (between September and October of 2002). Timberlake began dating actress Cameron Diaz soon after they met at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards in April 2003. Regular rumours of break-ups reported in the tabloid press were invariably denied. On the December 16, 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live, Diaz introduced Timberlake as the night's musical guest, and the couple actually did split up shortly afterwards. They issued a joint statement on January 11, 2007:
“It has always been our preference not to comment on the status of our relationship, but, out of respect for the time we've spent together, we feel compelled to do so now, in light of recent speculation and the number of inaccurate stories that are being reported by the media. We have, in fact, ended our romantic relationship and have done so mutually and as friends, with continued love and respect for one another.”
Later in January 2007 Timberlake was linked to Jessica Biel when pictures surfaced of the two snowboarding in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival. On May 12, 2007 romantic pictures of Timberlake and Biel on multiple dates were published. In the August 9-15, 2008 edition of Heat magazine, when Timberlake was asked to describe his perfect woman, he replied “About 5ft.7in.-5ft.8in., nice butt, Midwestern American, kind-of-German last name, green eyes, big pouty lips, fair skin, ahhh....sinewy bod...” However, during an appearance on the The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on June 11, 2008 when Jay Leno questioned him about anything related to rumors of engagement and pregnancy, Timberlake jokingly responded that he “is engaging in a conversation with Leno” and “everybody in general can get pregnant.”
Timberlake was given "Sexiest Man" titles by Teen People and Cosmopolitan magazines. On February 17, 2009, Timberlake was named the "Most Stylish Man in America" by GQ magazine.
