Michaela Weeks hasn’t just made a living off looking like pop star Britney Spears, she has made a fortune.
In 2005, 17-year-old Michaela quit her job to become a full-time Britney lookalike – and her decision paid off. Her looks have earned her more than $450,000 since she started the impersonator gig.
Her new-found fortune allowed her to purchase her own house at 19 and a second three years later. She also owns a fleet of sports cars.
Michaela, now 25, charges more than $5000 per appearance, and tells the UK’s Daily Mail that she feels “very blessed” to look like Britney Spears.
“I bought my first house at the age of 19 when most people my age were living with their parents, working in Topshop and still going to college,” she says.
“The best part is that I’m a huge Britney fan – it would be awful if I had to impersonate someone I hated. If I ever get to meet her I just want to thank her for giving me this life and for looking so much like me.”
Her looks have also seen her travel the world on different assignments and work with other celebrities. She has even worked with renowned celebrity spoof photographer Alison Jackson.
Michaela first discovered her resemblance to Britney when the pop icon released her first single Baby One More Time back in 1998. Since then she’s constantly experienced people on the street screaming out, “Hey, there’s Britney!”
She decided to enter a lookalike competition. At first she didn’t make the cut, but she was called back a year later and won her category.
“I tried a bit of modelling after that but every time I tried to do something different people kept coming back to the Britney thing,” she says.
“In the end the pull was so strong I packed in my waitressing job and decided to give it a go full-time and I haven’t looked back since.”
With the help of a voice coach and a choreographer, Michaela put together a tribute act, but things went pear-shaped when Britney suffered her breakdown.
As Britney moved out of the limelight, Michaela’s jobs began to dry up and she and her partner soon fell behind on their mortgage repayments.
“It was a really difficult time and I began to feel desperately low and guilty for getting us into such a mess,” she says.
“I struggled to get regular work with the recession, and ended up working for agencies and doing odd jobs to try and keep up with the bills.
“The only proper job I’d ever had was being Britney and although I had a beauty qualification I had never put it to any use. I had nothing to fall back on.” Luckily, Britney made a comeback, releasing her fifth album Blackout in 2007.
“Work slowly started coming in again with odd appearances here and there, which helped towards the bills,” Michaela says.
“The more she did, the more work I started to get again and we started to get back on track.
“It was a really difficult time but I’m still so grateful for being able to do what I do, I feel really lucky to get to do such a cool job and something I really enjoy.”
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