Jamie Lynn Spears praises big sister Britney Spears for "kicking ass right now"

She said: "My sister is in a badass place right now. I think we need to focus on what an amazing place everyone is in, especially her. She's kicking ass right now!"

The 'Toxic' hitmaker suffered a breakdown in 2007 during which she shaved off all of her blonde locks in public and smashed her car with an umbrella.

The mother of two then lost custody of her sons Jayden James, nine, and Sean Preston, 10, to her ex-husband Kevin Federline.

She was placed under a court-approved conservatorship which saw her father become her legal guardian.

Jamie Lynn had given birth to her daughter Maddie - who is now aged eight - just a year before and admits it was a difficult time for the family but added that they are not defined it.

She said: "We are really honest. If my family is going through something, we don't try to pretend we're perfect because we're not. To the public, that can look like we're falling apart. But to us, it's just going through life... What you learn is: no one defines you. As long as you're honest and hold yourself accountable, I don't believe that the outside defines you. I choose to embrace the good."

And the blonde beauty says the sisters are closer than ever nowadays and enjoy spoiling each other's kids.

She told PEOPLE: "We spoil each other's kids. I get to have the boy time with them, and Britney gets to play dress-up with Maddie. I think it's more of a joy having a sister who has kids, too."