Timberlake was born to Lynn Harless, who runs an entertainment company called Just-in Time Entertainment, and Randall Timberlake, a choir director at a Baptist church. Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a small community between Memphis and Millington. His first attempts at a singing career saw him singing country music songs on Star Search as "Justin Randall".
Justin gained his first stage experience through various talent shows. When he was twelve he was discovered at an audition for the "Mickey Mouse Club" (MMC) kids show. He moved with his mother to Orlando, where he gained more showbiz experience.
In MMC his castmates included future girlfriend and pop superstar Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, and future bandmate JC Chasez. When the show ended in 1995, Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in an all-male singing group organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman; that group would become `N Sync. Timberlake made his acting debut in the 1999 Disney Channel movie ‘Model Behavior’, in which he plays Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model.
At age 14, Justin became a member of the boy band *NSYNC. In 1998, the group released their self-titled debut album. They became a big hit with fans and made a place for themselves in the music world with a succession of big-selling albums.
Timberlake launched his career as a youngster on the Mickey Mouse Club set, then made his name as a member of *NSYNC and as a soloist before branching out into films in the very early 2000s.
Timberlake sang lead on many tracks of the band`s multi-platinum albums, including ‘*NSYNC’ (1998), ‘No Strings Attached’ (2000) and ‘Celebrity’ (2001), and his charisma and good looks made him a favorite with female fans.
Timberlake went solo with the 2002 album ‘Justified’, which established him as a hunky urban leading man in the early Mark Wahlberg mode. Justified won Grammy Awards for best pop vocal album and best male pop vocal performance for the single "Cry Me A River." His second album, ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds’, featured the hit single "Sexy Back”. He released ‘FutureSex/LoveSounds’ in September 2006 and it debuted at #1 in the U.S., UK and in other countries across the globe.
He also appeared in the films ‘Alpha Dog’, ‘Black Snake Moan’, Richard Kelly`s ‘Southland Tales’, and voiced a young King Arthur in the animated film ‘Shrek The Third’, he also starred in Mike Myers` comedy ‘The Love Guru’ and Mike Meredith`s drama ‘The Open Road’.