Jamie Lynn Spears is one proud mama. Her daughters, Maddie, 15, and Ivey, 5, are following in her footsteps and appearing in the upcoming Zoey 102 movie!
It’s been 15 years since the hit Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 ended, and now many of the cast are back for a movie sequel coming to Paramount+ on July 27. But in a full circle moment for Spears, her daughters are making their on-screen debut.
“Having my two girls be a part of this film and get to make their little debut cameo, if you will, it was so special because they got to do it together,” the Sweet Magnolias star told Entertainment Tonight. “And also, my daughter’s friend got to do it with her, who’s like another child to me.”
Having her daughters on set felt like her “two worlds” collided. Spears explained, “Just seeing those two worlds collide, it was a really proud moment for me as a mom.”
Making Her Girls Proud
Maddie, in particular, was super impressed with her mom (which we all know is an accomplishment when it comes to teens!). “[Maddie] told me she liked what she saw — the set and saw the production and what it was,” Spears said. “She was like, ‘Mom, I can’t believe that, like, they’re all here because this is the movie that you’ve created.’ And that made me feel really proud as a mom that she recognized that and saw you can do big things.” Spears added, “Seeing her be a part of it was just, it was really a special moment.”
The former child star leaned on her daughter’s knowledge of Gen Z to help make the movie better, too. “Certain things I did ask her about,” Spears told ET. “I’m like, ‘Who’s the people that are cool? Who are the people we want to be a part of this?’ And she told me the movie was cool. So, you know, job well done. Probably should’ve given her an EP credit,” Spears joked.
Setting an Example for Her Daughters
Spears revealed that by following her dreams, she’s teaching her daughters to do the same. “There’s been a lot of times where I felt like I’ve been fighting for my seat at the table,” she told ET. “And I just believe that I have children who don’t have a choice. I have to show them that you can do that and also have to provide for them and be somebody who’s doing something they love.”
She went on, “And I feel lucky every time I get an opportunity. But I think it all comes down to the fact that I do want my daughters to create the life they want. So how else can I teach them that by trying to do it myself?”
Revisiting ‘Zoey 101’
Zoey 101 aired from 2005 to 2008, and the natural ending of the show happened to be the same year a 17-year-old Spears got pregnant with then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge. At that point, Spears disappeared from the public eye for five years.
She opened up about the experience in an October 2020 interview with Nylon. “In today’s world, immediately I’d have my social media to post something, and it’d be cleared up,” Spears said about the pregnancy. “But even today, people still have their thoughts about it.”
She explained, “I didn’t become pregnant until probably six months after we wrapped or something like that, but some of the episodes had not aired yet. I think that there was a conversation with Nickelodeon, rightfully so, of, ‘Do we air these episodes?’ But the show had already wrapped and there was never a negotiation to go into any more seasons. We were too old. It was done,” Spears set the record straight.
Reflecting on Being a Teen Mom
During the Nylon interview, Spears also reflected on the emotions she felt at the time around being a teen mom. “You have your first love, or what you call love in high school. You think it’s forever, and then, oh my gosh, I’m pregnant. I am mortified to have to tell my parents this and my family this. I do not care what TMZ thinks about it,” she explained.
“I didn’t really care about any of that nonsense, but when we did announce that I was pregnant, I did hide away for a little bit during that time and I didn’t have a phone,” Spears shared. “But of course, the paparazzi still found me. It’s not like I was in LA walking down the middle of the most popular boulevard; I was in the middle of nowhere Mississippi.”
But she made the most of it. “I got me a little house. I put a big gate up around it, and I was like, ‘I’m going to stay here, raise my baby, and figure this out because this is real life. I’ve put myself in this situation, I’m not condoning it or saying it’s right, but these are the cards that I have to play,'” the mom of two said.
Spears married businessman Jamie Watson in March 2014, and they welcomed daughter Ivey in April 2018.
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