The decision to select Michelle Williams as the narrator for Britney Spears’ highly anticipated memoir, “The Woman in Me,” took great care and consideration, Pvnew has exclusively learned.
We’re told many well-respected female celebrities were in the running to do the voiceover work for the audiobook of Princess of Pop’s bombshell tell-all, but the “Greatest Showman” star was ultimately chosen because of her accolades, personal attributes and complex family history.
Williams, 41, is a five-time Oscar nominee, a two-time Golden Globe winner and a Tony Award nominee.
The “My Week with Marilyn” star is also a mother of two, one of whom she shared with beloved late actor Heath Ledger.
“She brings a tremendous amount of class and elegance and even a broader audience,” an insider tells Pvnew as to why Spears’ team and Gallery Books, the Simon & Schuster imprint publishing her memoir, decided Williams was the best choice.
“[She has an] incredible amount of integrity and stature in the industry. She brings gravitas.”
The award-winning actress also has an interesting connection to Spears, as both successful women started in the entertainment industry when they were very young and have been estranged from relatives.
Williams was legally emancipated from her parents at age 15 so that she could start her acting career early on and work “adult hours,” per the Guardian.
Her parents, Larry and Carla, reportedly co-signed the decision, but the young woman found herself in troubling situations when she first moved to California from Montana.
“There are some really disgusting people in the world,” she has said of the experience, “and I met some of them.”
Per the article published by the British newspaper in January, Williams is also “no longer” close with her father — though a reason was not provided.
The anecdote bears an eerie resemblance to Spears’ relationship with her father, Jamie.
The 71-year-old was the “Toxic” singer’s conservator from February 2008 to September 2021, during which he oversaw all of his famous daughter’s finances, friendships and other personal decisions.
The controversial conservatorship — which was ultimately terminated in November 2021 — put a strain on the father-daughter duo and the rest of the Spears family.
“[Williams’ past] combined with Britney’s really powerful and compelling story and book is what attracted Michelle to it,” a source tells Pvnew.
“There was a mutual attraction from all sides based on Britney’s powerful narrative and what Britney went through and Michelle’s own integrity and history with her own emancipation issues.”
Another insider confirms that while Gallery Books was responsible for doing the actual hiring and retaining of the narrator, Spears was fully on board with the decision.
The ” …Baby One More Time” singer said in a statement to People on Friday that she will be reading a “small part” of her audiobook, which the magazine noted is the introduction.
She then added, “I am so grateful to the amazing Michelle Williams for reading the rest of it.”
Spears also said her memoir was a “labor of love and all the emotions that come with it.”
“Reliving everything has been exciting, heart-wrenching and emotional, to say the least,” the “Circus” singer said.
Pvnew broke the news in February 2022 that Spears had signed a $15 million deal for the tell-all.
It is set to be released on Oct. 24, with insiders promising it will be “brutally honest” because “no topic was off limits” for the Grammy winner.
We’re also told pre-order sales for the explosive celebrity memoir are already “extraordinary.”
