Britney Spears: From So Hot to So Not

T.H. Gossip has learned that Britney Spears is back in rehab. Sources say Spears checked into an in-patient facility in Los Angeles after her family members pressed her to check in. Britney Spears reportedly entered the facility late this morning.

Her fall from grace makes us long for the days when Britney Spears was so hot, she could make an entire sports bar full of guys gaze in astonishment at a TV screen that happened to be showing her "performance" (read: striptease) at the VMAs.

That was 2001. It's a been a slow, steady decline since then, and while there have been some brief returns to glory in the down years since Brit married Kevin Federline, for the most part she's gone from smoking hot to smoking cigarettes... and looking pretty gross.

To illustrate, here's a brief Hollywood Gossip photo comparison of hot Britney Spears vs. wish-to-God-it-was-not Britney Spears...

ROW 1: In her heyday, Britney was the ultimate paradox: a sex symbol, yet virginal tease. Small-town girl with a big heart, unafraid to bare almost all. It was sensational. Later, after she was deflowered, twice married and always pregnant, Britney more closely resembled a trucker high on crystal meth.

ROW 2: Britney (left) in one of her music videos. Britney (right) tries her damndest to become the poster child for teen smoking and bad fashion.

ROW 3: Here we have the live, open-mouthed kiss between Britney and Madonna that inspired more adolescent fantasies than any moment in basic cable history. Adjacent is a candid shot of a lagoon creature masquerading as Britney Spears in late 2006.

ROW 4: At left, a sexy shot taken from a Britney Spears pin-up calendar of yesteryear. By that we mean 2003 (though it looks as if she's wearing no pants - foreshadowing). At right, a shot of Britney bombed out of her mind on New Year's Eve 2007. Partying is all well and good, but when images like this become commonplace, you might want to seek help.

ROW 5: The granddaddy of all comparisons. Britney's photo shoot for Esquire four years ago produced what may be the hottest pictures of any celebrity in recent memory. But it's just that - a memory. Last week, as you know, Brit shaved her head. Nice work.