The latest pictures and reports of Britney Spears are nothing short of tragic and sad. This is a girl in trouble. I say ‘girl’ simply because I think she has not yet had the chance to achieve the maturity it takes to become a woman. Even though she has chalked up two marriages and two children. What has gone wrong with her?

She has been in the spotlight since she was a young girl (see picture left), a pre-pubescent child. She has grown up in the blaze of publicity. She was a millionaire before she was 21. But ever since then she has been on a downward spiral into what seems to be a hell on earth.

In many ways she reminds of the late Hollywood actress Frances Farmer. This woman was a talented actress, very much under the control of her mother and very ‘highly strung’. She starred in movies alongside Cary Grant and Bing Crosby and was highly regarded amongst New York theatrical circles. Her biggest crime though was her non-conformist attitude.

This woman spent many years confined to mental institutions; sentenced by the law and her own family simply because they could not cope with her behaviour. She needed proper medical assistance, not isolation in brutal mental asylums. Yet that is what she was subjected to. She died in 1970 never having realised the full extent of her talents as an actress.

Just what is being done for Britney Spears right now? Who is acting in her best interests? This girl has talent but it seems she has been allowed to go off into a parallel universe with nobody to guide her back to the world she once knew.

This girl has two small children and these children need their mother. Will somebody please get the help this girl so desperately needs… NOW!

Frances Farmer