Paris Jackson is only 24 years of age, but as the second child of the legendary musician Michael Jackson, sheâs been a celebrity her entire life.
Following the passing of her father, Paris has struggled with many things in her life. Now, however, the talented young woman is pursuing her own career in music.
And even though her life has been a rollercoaster, sheâs now decided to speak out on her upbringing with her father, aka the âKing of Pop.â
There arenât many people, if any, who donât know who Michael Jackson is.
Michael Jackson â âKing of Popâ
I mean, you donât get called the âThe King of Popâ for nothing, right? But as much as we love his music, the late singerâs life wasnât easy.
Right from the beginning, when he sang with his brothers in the Jackson Five, Michael had problems at home not helped by a very strict father who was quick to punish his kids if they didnât fall into line.
One could say that Michael Jackson was a product, a person who was designed to become an entertainer and singer from his earliest days. However, that isnât something that will take away the pure brilliance to be found in his music, dancing and songwriting.
When Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, the whole world mourned the singer. He had been chased by paparazzisâ and tabloid newspapers for pretty much his entire life, but not even when he was laid to rest for the last time was he spared.
Paris Jackson â Michaelâs daughter
Helicopters transporting his body from the hospital in Los Angeles were followed by other media helicopters. Still to this day, news of Michael Jackson and his family is published all over the world.
These days, itâs mostly his family members that get the attention. In particular, his children have been targeted, as many paparazzis want their share of the Jackson family.
Jacksonâs second child, Paris Jackson, has lived in the spotlight her entire life. Now, sheâs doing all she can to be her own person, and not just Michael Jacksonâs child.
And the truth is, sheâs doing really well following several years of mental illness.
Paris Jackson â early life
Paris Jackson was born on April 3, 1998 in California. Sheâs the second child of Michael Jackson, as well as his only daughter.
Her early life was very private â she and her brother both were home-schooled up until 6th grade. Michael Jackson was keen on letting them keep their privacy, and the children were fiercely guarded from the public. Early photos of Michaelâs brood showed them either in costumes or with scarves around their heads to cover their faces.
As a result, Paris and her siblings lived a very restricted life on the Neverland Ranch. No one can say that they werenât extremely privileged, but at the same time, it must have been tough.
Speaking with supermodel Naomi Campbell in a YouTube interview, Paris Jackson opened up about her father, and what her upbringing was like.
She said that Michael Jackson made sure that they were âculturedâ.
âMy dad was really good about making sure we were cultured, making sure we were educated, and not just showing us like the glitz and glam, like hotel hopping, five-star places,â Paris said.
âIt was also like, we saw everything. We saw third world countries. We saw every part of the spectrum.â
Speaks out on her childhood
Paris Jackson lived all over the world during her childhood days, as her father toured across the globe to play in front of hundreds of thousands of people.
She says she was very grateful about her âprivilegedâ childhood. But at the same time, Paris learned early on that she shouldnât feel entitled. Her father made sure that the children understood the concept of having to put in work in order to get things.
âEven growing up it was about earning stuff,â Paris said. âIf we wanted five toys from FAO Schwarz or Toys âRâ Us, we had to read five books.
âItâs earning it, not just being entitled to certain things or thinking âoh I got thisâ,â she added. âItâs like working for it, working hard for it, itâs something else entirely, itâs an accomplishment.â
Paris was only 11 years old when her father passed away.
Tragic passing of Michael Jackson
On June 25, 2009, âThe King of Popâ suffered cardiac arrest at his home and passed away shortly after being transported to a nearby hospital. Paris and her brothers ended up in the legal care of their grandmother, Katherine Jackson, as per Michaelâs will.
During her fatherâs televised memorial service, the 11-year-old Paris stood in front of the whole world to say a few words about her father.
âEver since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,â she said. âAnd I just wanted to say I love him so much.â
Paris and her brothers, Prince Michael, 12, and Prince Michael II, 7, were all in attendance during the televised memorial service. In fact, that was pretty much the first time the world caught more than just a glimpse of Jacksonâs children.
Then, in January 2010, they were once again were seen in public while accepting a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for their father at the 2010 Grammy Awards.
Paris Jackson â life after Neverland
In November the same year, Paris appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show to speak about her father, saying that he was amazing.
âI kind of felt like no one understood what a good father he was, he was the best cook ever,â she told Winfrey. âHe was just a normal dad.â
âHe made the best French toast in the world,â Paris added.
When Michael Jackson passed away, Paris Jackson moved into a mansion in Calabasas, California, with her grandmother Katherine Jackson, as well as other members of her family, according to The Daily Mail.
When she turned 19, she decided to move into Michael Jacksonâs private studio at the family compound, which she transformed into a dorm-style bedroom.
Losing your father is hard as it is. But for Paris, it was much more than that. All of a sudden, she was expected to carry on her fatherâs legacy.
âI tried to grow up too fastâ
Upon starting seventh grade, Paris decided to attend a private school. At this point, the only ones accepting her for who she was were the older kids, and it didnât turn out perfect.
âI was doing a lot of things that 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds shouldnât do. I tried to grow up too fast, and I wasnât really that nice of a person,â she told Rolling Stone.
Around the same time, social media had become a thing, and Paris faced cyberbullying.
âThe whole freedom-of-speech thing is great,â she explained. âBut I donât think that our Founding Fathers predicted social media when they created all of these amendments and stuff.â
Paris went through a lot of trauma as a teenager. She even tried taking her own life following a very serious incident, but that was also somewhat of a turning point.
She spent her sophomore year, as well as half her junior year, at a therapeutic school in Utah, which was great for her.
âIâm a completely different person,â she said. âI was crazy. I was actually crazy, I was going through a lot of, like, teen angst. And I was also dealing with my depression and my anxiety without any help.â
Paris Jackson â career
Paris graduated high school in 2015 â one year early â but by this point, she had a lot on her mind. She was one of the heirs of Michel Jacksonâs billion-dollar heritage, and everyone saw her as a celebrity, even though she actually hadnât done anything.
Now, though, Jackson is heading in the same direction as her father: the entertainment business. Sheâs taken her fatherâs advice seriously: if you want something, you have to put in work to get it. During the Naomi Campbell interview, Paris stated that she was a âfull believerâ that she should earn her own success.
For someone born into ridiculous wealth, as the child of one of the most famous people in modern history, this is something we truly adore Paris for. No matter what has happened in her past or who her father is, she wants to do her own thing.
She grew up around only adults except for her siblings. When she left Neverland to go to a real school, it was a big change for her. She grew up as the child of Michael Jackson, but for her, the world was more than that. And in the beginning, it sure was hard.
âOnce I got introduced into the real world, I was shocked. It blew me away,â Paris told Harperâs Bazaar. âNot just because it was sexist, but misogynist and racist and cruel. It was scary as hell. And it still is really scary.â
Modeling and music
So what did Paris do? Well, she went her own way, starting out working as a model. And she has a real talent for it!
In recent years, sheâs been on the covers of some of the worldâs most influential magazines, including Rolling Stone, Vogue and Narcisse to name a few.
For Paris, modeling is a very therapeutic and natural thing. Many were shocked when her father transformed via his many plastic surgeries. But in this age of social media and cyberbullying, Paris understands his choice.
âIâve had self-esteem issues for a really, really long time,â she said. âPlenty of people think Iâm ugly, and plenty of people donât. But thereâs a moment when Iâm modeling where I forget about my self-esteem issues and focus on what the photographerâs telling me â and I feel pretty. And in that sense, itâs selfish.â
Through her Instagram page, Parisâs followers can see her life as she seems to like spending time with her friends, doing all the things in life she couldnât really experience at a younger age.
Released her first album
In 2020, she followed in her fatherâs footsteps by releasing her debut album Wilted. Sheâs releasing music, but instead of the R&B and pop sound her dad was famous for, Paris Jackson released an indie-folk album.
âItâs mainly just a story of heartbreak and love, in general, and the thoughts and feelings that come after it doesnât work out,â she told Paper.
Paris Jackson grew up with her fatherâs music, and she says she knows all the words to his songs. At the same time as she created her own sound, itâs inevitable that Michael Jacksonâs taste in music influenced her.
âHe loved classical music and jazz and Hip Hop and R&B and obviously the Motown stuff,â she says.
Paris Jackson has paid tribute to her father on her body, acquiring more than 50 tattoos. Nine of them are devoted to Michael Jackson.
âI feel him with me all the timeâ
She doesnât think that time heals and instead has learned to live with the tragic loss of her father.
But at the same time, Michael Jackson will always be with her, as she recalls him visiting her in her dreams.
âI live life with the mentality of âOK, I lost the only thing that has ever been important to me.ââ she told Rolling Stone. âSo going forward, anything bad that happens canât be nearly as bad as what happened before. So I can handle it.
âI feel him with me all the time.â
Those who have lost a parent can surely put themselves in Parisâs situation, with the grief that comes with it. However, growing up as Paris Jackson did is something no one has experienced to the same extent.