Growing Up Jackson: An Inside Look at the Lives of Michael Jackson’s Children

Michael Jackson was married to Lisa Marie Presley for 2 years, but the couple divorced in 1996 with Presley refusing to have children. Jackson was said to be worried that he would never have children of his own.

Jackson’s second wife was a woman named Debbie Rowe. Michael and Debbie had met while she was a dermatologist assistant who had treated his vitiligo. The pair courted and were married on November 13, 1996. The relationship would only last two years, but she would give birth to 2 children in that time.

The first child of Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe, named Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., was born February 13, 1997 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The couple quickly decided on the perfect nickname for the son of the king of pop: Prince.

Debbie and Michael were not a conventional couple, and their marriage was more to do with providing the singer with a family. Shortly after Prince was born, Michael brought the newborn child to his home, Neverland Ranch, while Debbie stayed with a friend.

Michael loved doing photoshoots with his children and dressing them up in adorable outfits. Prince looks cute as a button in this very 90s photo, complete with bow tie and big brown eyes.

Prince has very fond memories of his childhood at Neverland and says that Michael was a great father who wanted them to live the childhood of their dreams. Prince has stated on numerous occasions how much he misses Michael and how he honors him every day by remembering him.

Rowe announced that she was pregnant with Jackson’s second child in November 1997, and on April 3, 1998, a little blue-eyed babe named Paris Michael Katherine Jackson was born. Her middle names come from Michael and his mother, Katherine.

As he had done with Prince, Michael took Katherine to the Neverland Ranch soon after the birth. This would be their childhood home, and quite an unconventional one at that, complete with theme park rides and even a petting zoo!

Life for Paris and Prince at Neverland Ranch looks like every kid’s dream! The ranch that Jackson bought in 1988 was transformed into an amusement park with a carousel, rollercoaster, and a real zoo.

The kids loved to play in this ultimate fairytale land, and Paris looks adorable in her flowered dress as she rides her own private carousel. The children couldn’t go on the rides all the time, but when they were done studying they could make the most of it!

Michael Jackson was always known for his flamboyant, yet impeccably styled, outfits, and the ones he picked for his children were no exception! This photo shows Prince and Paris posing on this beautiful motorcycle and looking very stylish!

Michael often dressed Paris in very girly clothes, choosing mary-jane shoes, lots of bows, and very classic dresses. Prince, on the other hand, often wore shirts and slacks which is a style he has also adopted by choice in his adult life.

Prince Michael Jackson II, the third child of Michael, was born on February 21, 2002. Michael used a surrogate mother whose identity was not known to him. Michael nicknamed him Blanket, saying, “…a blanket is a blessing. It’s a way of showing love and caring.”

The world first saw Blanket in a dramatic moment when Michael held him up Lion King style to a group of photographers outside a hotel in Berlin. Michael later said he had been swept up in emotion.

Peter Pan was an important story in Michael Jackson’s life, he even named his home Neverland after the fictional territory in the book where children do not have to grow up. It was only fitting that the children loved the fantasy of the story too.

This adorable photo shows Prince, Paris, and Blanket dressed up in beautiful handmade costumes. Michael was a performer from a very young age and missed a lot of his childhood, so he wanted the three to experience as much magic as possible.

Michael always wanted to protect the children from the media and photographers, as well as in an emotional sense. Most paparazzi photos of the kids during their childhood show them wearing elaborate masks, sometimes even carnival costumes, or facial coverings.

Sometimes the masks would cover the children’s faces, although often they were semi-transparent which somehow defeated the purpose of wearing them. If anything, it made the paparazzi more voracious in their quest to photograph the children out in the world.

Playmates of the Jackson children were often the kids of celebrities and wealthy people who would visit them at Neverland Ranch. The family poses for a snap with real estate developer Mohamed Hadid and his family. The two sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid remain close friends with Paris Jackson to this day.

As the Jackson children were homeschooled until Michael’s passing, they couldn’t make friends their age the conventional way at school, so these social opportunities were important for them.

Although the children were frequently photographed wearing masks, occasionally a photo would surface of the family walking around without them. These occasions were probably when the singer didn’t expect to encounter any press.

The family looks like a regular father and children, just as Michael always wanted. It is sad to know that this may have been one of the last times the kids got to go out with their father before he passed away at the age of 50.

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson passed away from an accidental prescription drug overdose at his home in North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. The singer had been in good spirits and rehearsing for a concert at The Staples Center so the news was a shock to the world.

The Jackson children were not seen publicly around this time, quite understandably, as the Jackson family broke the news to them and comforted them at home.

Michael Jackson’s death was very sudden and shocked the family, as well as the world. Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, stepped in to look after Prince, Paris, and Blanket, as well as their co-guardian, Jackson’s 40-year-old nephew TJ Jackson.

In addition to Katherine, their aunts, uncles, and cousins rallied around the children to support them, although Prince, Paris, and Blanket all had their own challenges adjusting to their new world without their dad, who had always been there for them.

A public memorial service for Michael Jackson was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, twelve days after his death. This was the moment that the world really got their first look at the singer’s children.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when 11-year-old Paris took center stage to speak saying, “I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just wanted to say I love him so much.”

“The children are doing so well,” said aunt Latoya Jackson in 2011, “Michael put masks on them to protect them and to keep them safe from anyone who wanted to hurt him. He’s gone now. The first thing my mother did was say to them, ‘Today we’re unmasking you. Today the masks come off.'”

Michael’s mother, Katherine, would eventually move the kids to a gated community in nearby Calabasas. They started attending a regular private school instead of being homeschooled.

One of the first times the Jackson children were seen at a celebrity event was in 2010, when Prince and sister Paris accepted their father’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys. They both wore black clothing and red armbands in tribute to their father.

The pair took to the stage to accept the award that was handed over to them by Lionel Ritchie. Blanket attended the event, but the eight-year-old stayed in the seats clutching one of his toys.

Prince Jackson has always been determined to find his own way in the media business, and he first made his way to our screens in 2013 as a guest correspondent for Entertainment Tonight at just 16 years old.

He really enjoyed the experience and has expressed an interest in getting more involved in show business. But Prince never wanted to take shortcuts to achieve his goals stating, “I’m looking to become well-rounded as a producer, director, screenwriter, and actor.”

2013 was also the year that Prince made his official acting debut on the season finale of 90210. Prince starred alongside the show’s lead characters in the last ever episode of the teen drama series, playing a concert-goer who was injured by a falling stage.

Despite it being a cameo, the 16-year-old was able to speak his first-ever lines in a scene opposite character Silver, played by Jessica Stroup. An esteemed first part for the young rising star!

Despite a desire to follow his dream of being a producer, Prince also saw the value of getting a good education. He enrolled at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, which includes some famous faces amongst its alumni such as Paris Hilton and Alyssa Milano.

Initially, Prince wanted to major in film but ended up choosing business instead. This could have been a great move for the budding producer because the film industry is always in need of savvy businessmen.

Just days after his graduation, a 22-year-old Prince announced that he and brother Bigi would be launching their own movie review YouTube channel. For their first video, they started on a high with a review of Avengers: Endgame.

“We are very excited to announce that we are starting a movie review channel. Right now you can go see our first ever video on my YouTube channel (link in bio),” Prince wrote on Instagram, alongside a screenshot from the video.

By making a podcast with Bigi, Prince shows he is taking his big brother role very seriously. He always appears deeply devoted to his family and smiles broadly with them in all their photos together.

Bigi has been notoriously quiet, avoiding the spotlight for much of his young life, so it’s encouraging to hear that Prince can be a positive influence and bring Bigi out of his shell. In their first videos, they joked about their love of pizza and comic books.

In 2019, Price and Paris Jackson took to the red carpet together for the Ryan Gordy Foundation’s ’60 Years of Motown’ celebratory event at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills. They even made a speech together to the foundation.

At the event, Paris was also joined by her long-term boyfriend, musician Gabriel Glenn. Paris and Prince regularly share photos together on social media, and it’s clear the siblings are very close. Their unique upbringing is said to have brought them closer.

Paris was only 11 years old when her father died and it came as quite a shock. As an adult, she has spoken openly about how difficult the years following his death were. In a revealing Rolling Stone interview, she said she had struggled with self-hatred and felt that she couldn’t do anything right.

Luckily, with the support of her family and close friends all around her, Paris was able to overcome her difficulties. She went to find fulfillment in both her career and relationships.

During her difficult years, Paris and the family decided that the best course of action would be for her to spend her sophomore and half of her junior year of high school at a therapeutic school in Utah. The school was a refreshing change of pace for her.

Paris graduated from high school in 2015 and briefly enrolled in community college before deciding she’d rather go to work. She started modeling and soon caught the eye of fashion designers around the world.

Paris impressed talent scouts with her piercing eyes and elegant way of holding herself, and IMG Models was the lucky group to sign her in 2017. She was soon whisked into a world of photo shoots, catwalks, and fashion weeks.

Paris was featured in Vogue, making the front page of Australia’s July issue of Vogue, her first major magazine cover as a model in her own right, and started showing up as a guest on red carpets all over the world.

Paris took the opportunity of her Vogue Australia feature to discuss her goals, saying, “I really want to leave a positive imprint in the fashion world, mostly regarding the media and the stereotypical beauty standard that is blasted all over every magazine you see.”

She told the magazine that she wanted to be a good influence, stating, “I already have many young girls looking up to me and I want to be something their parents are OK with them looking up to.”

Paris proved she is more than a model, by displaying her musicianship while performing with her boyfriend Gabriel Glenn in their band The Soundflowers. Paris plays acoustic guitar and sings in the hippie-inspired folk band.

In the fall of 2019, The Soundflowers played a series of shows, named The Full Moon Tour, up the length of the Pacific Coast Highway. Paris embraces the hippie style in the band by wearing bellbottom jeans and crochet, and often playing barefoot.

Paris started getting tattoos as soon as she could legally, and now has at least 16 pieces. She is particularly a fan of animal tattoos, and she has a whole zoo’s worth including a bird, snake, deer, heart, rabbit, wolf, elephant, eye, goat, monkey, and peacock!

Paris even has two tattoos dedicated to her younger brother Bigi. In one session in September 2016, she tattooed his initial “B” in white ink along with the Millennium Falcon spaceship from the Star Wars movies in black.

Paris and Prince Jackson looked proud and happy at a special celebration held on what would have been father Michael’s 60th birthday, in 2018. The pair accepted the Elizabeth Taylor Legacy Award on Michael’s behalf during the event for his humanitarian work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

The pair chose bright and iconic looks for the party held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, including matching black sneakers which were custom designed with the word “Tribute” bedazzled into the sole.

Paris made her fashion week runway debut at Paris Fashion Week in January 2020. She walked for Jean-Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 collection, which would be the fashion designers last ever show!

The collection was brightly-colored and dynamic, full of vibrant prints and bohemian accessories, and featured a whole host of celebrities from Dita Von Teese to Paris’ family friends Bella and Gigi Hadid. The style must have felt comfortable to hippie chick Paris, who looked at ease on the runway.

Michael Jackson really loved his kids, and he chose very close friends of his to be godparents to them when each one of them was born. It might surprise you to learn that these include movie stars Elizabeth Taylor and Macaulay Culkin.

Taylor has sadly passed away, yet Culkin is still around to be there for his dear friend’s children. After the long history they have together, it’s amazing to see the bond shared between Culkin and the Jacksons!

While these are rumors that are denied by the family, there are those who say that it isn’t Michael who sired some or all of his children.

The family doubtlessly finds it extremely malicious for such things to be said in public about their family, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re still spoken. The first two, Paris and Prince, at least, are said to actually be Macaulay Culkin’s children. Culkin was very good friends with Michael and spent a lot of time on the Neverland Ranch

Friends of the family say that Michael was a great father, and it’s certain that he was very worried about his children’s wellbeing. In his home, for instance, he had panic buttons installed all over the place.

One day, the guards were alerted that a button had been pressed in the home, so the rushed into the home to see if someone was in danger. It turned out that little blanket had walked over to one of them and pressed it out of curiosity.

Rumors about Michael not fathering his children are fueled by allegations by friends of the late superstar, specifically Mark Lester, who was the star of the movie Oliver!. He claims that Michael asked him to donate sperm, as Michael was convinced Lester was fertile because he already had four children.

“I thought it was a joke at first,” Lester said. He was asked which children actually have his DNA on This Morning and answered: “Regardless of who the so-called biological father is or whatever, Michael raised those children as his own.”

Kids always like to think that they’re a parent’s favorite, and Paris Jackson is no exception when it comes to her father. Hopefully mentioning this won’t bring up old sibling rivalry, but Paris is convinced she was Michael’s favorite, even though it’s hard to deny that he had so much love for them all.

This was because, she said, she was his only girl. Paris felt like she was treated like a queen. He mollycoddled her so much that she said she had a difficult social learning curve after he passed.

While it seems that some kids are more like one parent or the other, each parent bestows a different mix that might be surprising. Not all of Michael’s kids can sing and dance, for instance, but that’s not the case for Bigi, according to his grandfather.

Joe Jackson is the family patriarch who led the family to their breakout success managing the Jackson 5, so he knows what he’s talking about. In fact, he’s the grandchild of his that most reminds him of Michael when he was younger.

While not all of Michael’s kids were old enough to understand the complicated relationship their father had with the public, Paris recalls how difficult these experiences were for him.

She said she remembers how unhappy it made him, to the point that she herself began to hate the world for how it treated his father. Paris saw firsthand the 2003 raid of his Neverland Ranch by law enforcement. Even though the courts found him innocent, this definitely took a toll on Michael and his family.

With all the over-the-top extravagance that Michael Jackson was famous for, it’s somehow not much of a surprise that Christmas decorations were kept up all 365 days of the year. What is more surprising, however, is that Jackson didn’t celebrate Christmas because of his Jehova’s Witness upbringing.

Elizabeth Taylor helped infect him with the holiday spirit, and ever since then he was hooked. This reportedly happened in 1993, long before his oldest kid was born, so the house the kids entered had been Christmas-ified years earlier.

You’d think the rides in Neverland could be ridden whenever you’d want as a kid, but Michael’s children weren’t as spoiled with a theme park as you might have thought. In fact, it was his stated purpose not to spoil them by letting them go ride rides all day long.

The bumper cars, Ferris wheel, train, and roller coaster could be enjoyed only on special days. This wasn’t just birthdays and Christmas, though, as Michael rewarded his kids for special achievements.

It’s not always nice to talk about money, but everyone’s curious about what happened with all of Michael Jackson’s immense wealth that the kids inherited. The king of pop didn’t only make money on his musical catalog, as he was also the owner of half of the Beatles’ songs.

While the specifics aren’t certain, it is said that each one of Michael’s children receives some $8 million each year, as the Daily Mail reported. Various sources have them listed as worth an incredible $100 million.

Prince has told the media on several occasions that music is a big part of his life. He told the LA Times in 2016, “It shaped who I am because of my family, but I’ve always wanted to go into production.”

“My dad would ask me what I wanted to do and my answer was always producing and directing..” With several TV spots completed at such a young age, Prince was already well on his way to fulfilling his dreams.

In 2015, Blanket changed his name to Bigi, stating that his unusual nickname had left him at the mercy of bullies. The name Bigi, which comes from German origin and means idealistic, sensitive and inspirational, seems fitting for the shy youngster.

A family friend told People magazine that Bigi is very “shy around people he doesn’t know,” but is now “confident” at his LA private school, and is focused on his grades, sports, movies, and hanging out with his friends.

Bigi was only 9 when his father died, and subsequently spent his teenage years out of the spotlight. He attends high school and has always tried to live a normal teenage life, despite the extraordinary family that he is a part of.

Bigi loves movies and is really into comics and the comic book world. He is close to the whole family, and ‘especially tight’ with older brother Prince, with the pair creating their YouTube video series about movies together.

In February 2020, Bigi Jackson turned 18 years old. “My little brother is a legal adult today,” wrote Paris on Instagram, “I used to change his diapers. this is such a trip.. proud of the handsome, intelligent, insightful, funny, and kind young man he has become.”

Despite staying out of the spotlight, Bigi has started sharing photos online himself and even made a public appearance at brother Prince’s graduation from college. He looked very proud of his big brother’s achievement.

In early 2020, 18-year-old Bigi purchased his first home, a $2.6million mansion in Calabasas, California, the neighborhood where he spent his years after the death of his father. The house is in a 24/7 guard-gated community that features famous neighbors such as Dr. Dre and John Travolta.

The gorgeous house features a grand sweeping staircase in the hall, hardwood floors, and three fireplaces. It even has a patio, swimming pool, and spa outside to enjoy the California weather.