Court papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday show that British pop star Brown, 41, and husband Stephen Belafonte, a TV producer, have been separated since December.

Brown requested joint legal and physical custody of the couple's daughter, five-year-old Madison Brown Belafonte.

Representatives for Brown did not immediately respond to Reuters for comment and efforts to reach Belafonte were unsuccessful.

Brown, best known as Scary Spice in 1990s British pop group Spice Girls, married Belafonte in June 2007.

Brown has two other children from previous relationships.