Prince, Paris, and Bigi, Michael Jackson’s children, are three of the most famous children in the world. The world was shaken on June 25, 2009, when the singer and artist passed away, leaving the three without a father. This article examines what it was like growing up at Neverland Ranch and what life is like for the children now that they are adults.
Debbie Rowe
Michael Jackson was married to Lisa Marie Presley for two years, but the couple divorced in 1996 because Presley refused 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 met when she was an assistant to the dermatologist who had treated his vitiligo. The couple married on November 13, 1996. The relationship only lasted two years, but she gave birth to two children during that time.
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A prince is born
Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe’s first son, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., was born on February 13, 1997, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The couple quickly decided on the perfect nickname for the King of Pop’s son: Prince. Debbie and Michael weren’t a conventional couple, and their marriage was more about providing the singer with a family. Shortly after Prince’s birth, Michael took the newborn to his home, Neverland Ranch, while Debbie stayed with a friend.
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Elegant for the photo
Michael loved doing photoshoots with his children and dressing them up in adorable outfits. Prince looks dapper in this ’90s photo, complete with a bow tie and big brown eyes. Prince has fond memories of his childhood at Neverland and says Michael was a great father, who wanted them to live the childhood of their dreams. Prince has stated numerous times how much he misses Michael and how he honors him every day by remembering him.
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Paris arrives
Rowe announced she was pregnant with Jackson’s second child in November 1997, and on April 3, 1998, a blue-eyed baby girl named Paris Michael Katherine Jackson was born. Her middle names come from Michael and her mother, Katherine. As he had done with Prince, Michael took Katherine to Neverland shortly after birth. This would be her childhood home, and quite unconventional, with theme parks and even a petting zoo!
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Your own private carousel
Life for Paris and Prince at Neverland Ranch was like every child’s dream! The ranch Jackson bought in 1988 was transformed into an amusement park with a carousel, a roller coaster, and a zoo. The children loved playing in this fairytale land, and Paris looks adorable in her floral dress while riding 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 them!
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Impeccable style
Michael Jackson was always known for his extravagant yet impeccably styled outfits, and the ones he chose for his children were no exception! This photo shows Prince and Paris posing on this beautiful motorcycle, looking very stylish! Michael often dressed Paris in very feminine clothing, choosing Mary Jane shoes, lots of bows, and classic dresses. Prince, on the other hand, often wore shirts and pants, a style he also adopted by choice in his adult life.
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Blanket is born
Prince Michael Jackson II, Michael’s third son, was born on February 21, 2002. Michael used a surrogate mother whose identity he never learned. Michael nicknamed him Blanket and said, “…a blanket is a blessing. It’s a way of showing love and care.” The world first saw Blanket in a dramatic moment when Michael held him Lion King-style before a group of photographers outside a hotel in Berlin. Michael later said he was overcome with emotion.
Peter Pan costumes
Peter Pan was an important story in Michael Jackson’s life; he even named his home Neverland after the fictional land in the book, where children never grow up. It was only natural that children would also love the fantasy of the story. This adorable photo shows Prince, Paris, and Blanket dressed in beautiful, handmade outfits. Michael was an artist from a young age and embraced his childhood, so he wanted the three of them to experience as much magic as possible.
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Protecting the family
Michael always wanted to protect the children from the media and photographers, both emotionally and emotionally. Most paparazzi photos of the children during their childhood show them wearing elaborate masks, sometimes even carnival costumes or face masks. Sometimes the masks covered the children’s faces, though they were often semi-transparent, which somewhat defeated the purpose of wearing them. If anything, it made the paparazzi more voracious in their pursuit of photographing the children.
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Famous friends
The Jackson children’s playmates were often the children of celebrities and wealthy individuals who visited them at Neverland Ranch. Here the family poses for a photo with real estate developer Mohamed Hadid and his family. The two sisters, Gigi and Bella Hadid, remain close friends of Paris Jackson to this day. As the Jackson children were homeschooled until Michael’s death, they were unable to make friends their own age in the conventional way at school, so these social opportunities were important to them.
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A regular family
Although the children were frequently photographed wearing masks, a photo of the family walking without them occasionally appeared. These occasions were likely when the singer wasn’t expecting to meet the press. The family appears to be a normal father and sons, just as Michael always wanted. It’s sad to know that this may have been one of the last times the children went out with their father before he passed away at the age of 50.
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The death of Michael Jackson
On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died of an accidental prescription drug overdose at his home on 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 came as a shock to the world. Jackson’s children were not seen publicly at this time, understandably, as the family broke the news and comforted them at home.
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The family gathers around him
Michael Jackson’s death was very sudden and shocked the family, as well as the world. Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, stepped in to care for Prince, Paris, and Blanket, as did her 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. Prince, Paris, and Blanket were challenged with adjusting to their new world without their father, who had always been there for them.
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Memorial service at Staples Center
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 the world truly saw the singer’s children for the first time. There was no one in the house who wasn’t crying 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 that I love him.”
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Coping well
“The children are handling it very well,” said aunt Latoya Jackson in 2011, “Michael put masks on them to protect them and keep them safe from anyone who wanted to hurt them. He’s gone now. The first thing my mother did was tell them, ‘Today we’re unmasking you. Today your masks come off.'” Michael’s mother, Katherine, eventually moved the children to a gated community in nearby Calabasas. They began attending regular private school instead of being homeschooled.
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Lifetime Achievement Award
One of the first times the Jackson children were seen at a celebrity event was in 2010, when Prince and his sister Paris accepted their father’s lifetime achievement award at the Grammy Awards. Both wore black clothes and red armbands in tribute to their father. The couple took the stage to accept the award, which was presented to them by Lionel Ritchie. Blanket attended the event, but the eight-year-old stayed in the seats clutching one of his toys.
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Prince on Entertainment Tonight
Prince Jackson has always been determined to find his own way in the media world, first hitting our screens in 2013 as a guest correspondent on Entertainment Tonight at just 16 years old. He truly enjoyed the experience and has expressed interest in becoming more involved in show business. But Prince never wanted to take shortcuts to achieve his goals, saying, “I’m looking to be balanced as a producer, director, writer, and actor.”
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90210 Finale
2013 was also the year Prince made his official acting debut in the season finale of 90210. Prince starred alongside the show’s main characters in the final episode of the teen drama series, playing a concertgoer injured by a falling stage. Despite being a cameo, the 16-year-old got to speak his first lines in a scene alongside the character Silver, played by Jessica Stroup. An excellent start for the rising young star!
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A smart businessman
Despite his desire to pursue his dream of becoming a producer, Prince also understood the value of getting a good education. He enrolled at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, which boasts some famous faces among 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 entrepreneurs.
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Prince and Bigi on YouTube
Just days after his graduation, 22-year-old Prince announced that he and his brother Bigi would be launching their own movie review channel on YouTube. For their first video, they began with a review of Avengers: Endgame. “We are so excited to announce that we are starting a movie review channel. You can now watch our first video on my YouTube channel (link in bio),” Prince wrote on Instagram, along with a screenshot of the video.
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A positive influence
By doing a podcast with Bigi, Prince shows he’s taking his role as big brother very seriously. He always seems deeply devoted to his family and smiles broadly with them in all their photos together. Bigi has always 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 early videos, they joked about their love of pizza and comics.
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60 years of Motown
In 2019, Prince and Paris Jackson stepped out on the red carpet together for the Ryan Gordy Foundation’s “60 Years of Motown” celebration event at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills. They even gave a speech together for the foundation. At the event, Paris was also with her 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 made them that way.
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Overcoming difficulties
Paris was only 11 years old when her father died, and it came as a huge 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 struggled with being unhappy with herself and feeling like she couldn’t do anything right. Fortunately, with the support of her family and close friends around her, Paris was able to overcome her difficulties. She found fulfillment in both her career and her relationships.
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A refreshing change
During her difficult years, Paris and her family decided the best course of action would be for her to spend her sophomore 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 a community college before deciding she’d rather go to work. She began modeling and soon caught the attention of fashion designers around the world.
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Paris launches herself as a model
Paris impressed talent scouts with her piercing eyes and elegant stance, and IMG Models was the lucky one to sign her in 2017. She was soon swept into a world of photoshoots, runways, and fashion weeks. Paris appeared in Australian Vogue, landing the cover of Australia’s July issue—her first major magazine cover as a model in her own right—and began making guest appearances on red carpets around the world.
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A positive influence
Paris used her Vogue Australia appearance to discuss her goals, saying, “I really want to leave a positive mark on the fashion world, especially in relation to the media and the stereotypical beauty standards that are portrayed in every magazine you see.” She told the magazine that she wanted to be a positive influence, saying, “I already have a lot of young girls who look up to me, and I want to be someone their parents are okay with looking up to.”
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The Soundflowers
Paris proved she was more than just a model, showcasing her musical prowess while participating with her boyfriend Gabriel Glenn in his band The Soundflowers. Paris plays acoustic guitar and sings in this hippie folk band. In the fall of 2019, The Soundflowers played a series of shows, called The Full Moon Tour, along the Pacific Coast Highway. Paris embraced the hippie style in the band by wearing bell-bottom jeans and crochet, and often plays barefoot.
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Paris’s tattoos
Paris started getting tattoos as soon as she was legally able, and now has at least 16. She’s particularly fond of animal tattoos, and has a whole zoo of them, including a bird, a snake, a deer, a rabbit, a wolf, an elephant, a goat, a monkey, and a peacock. Paris even has two tattoos dedicated to her younger brother Bigi. In a September 2016 session, she tattooed his initial “B” in white ink along with the Millennium Falcon spaceship from the Star Wars films in black.
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Celebrating Dad’s 60th Birthday
Paris and Prince Jackson looked proud and happy at a special celebration of what would have been their father Michael’s 60th birthday in 2018. The couple accepted the Elizabeth Taylor Legacy Award on Michael’s behalf during the event for his humanitarian work with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. The couple chose bright and iconic looks for the party held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, including matching black sneakers that were custom-designed with the word “Tribute” on the sole.
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Paris in Paris
Paris made her Paris Fashion Week runway debut in January 2020. She walked in Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Spring/Summer 2020 Haute Couture collection, which would be the fashion designer’s final show. The collection was brightly colored and dynamic, full of vibrant prints and bohemian accessories, and featured a host of celebrities from Dita Von Teese to Paris’s family friends Bella and Gigi Hadid. The style must have felt comfortable to this hippie girl, who looked relaxed on the runway.
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Some very famous godparents
Michael Jackson truly loved his children, and he chose his closest friends to be their godparents when each one was born. You may be surprised to learn that these include movie stars Elizabeth Taylor and Macaulay Culkin. Taylor sadly passed away, but Culkin is still there for his dear friend’s children. After their long history together, it’s amazing to see the bond shared between Culkin and the Jacksons!
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Rumors about a close friend
While these are rumors the family denies, there are those who say it wasn’t Michael who fathered some or all of their children. The family undoubtedly finds it extremely malicious that such things are said publicly about their family, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still being talked about. It’s said that the first two, Paris and Prince, at least, are actually the children of Macaulay Culkin. Culkin was very good friends with Michael and spent a lot of time at Neverland Ranch.
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Panic button
Family friends say Michael was a great father, and certainly very concerned about his children’s well-being. In his house, for example, he had panic buttons installed everywhere. One day, the guards were alerted that a button had been pressed in the house, so they rushed over to see if anyone was in danger. It turned out that little Blanket had approached one of them and pressed it out of curiosity.
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Mark Lester
Rumors that Michael is not the father of her children are fueled by accusations from friends of the late superstar, specifically Mark Lester, who starred in the film Oliver!. He claims that Michael asked him to donate sperm, as Michael was convinced Lester was fertile because he already had four children. “At first, I thought it was a joke,” Lester said. When asked which children have his DNA on This Morning, he replied: “Regardless of who the alleged biological father is, Michael raised those children as his own.”
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Your favorite
Children always like to think they’re their parents’ favorites, and Paris Jackson is no exception when it comes to her father. We hope mentioning this doesn’t spark sibling rivalry, but Paris is convinced she was Michael’s favorite, even though it’s hard to deny he loved them all. This was because, she says, she was the only girl. Paris felt she was treated like a queen. He spoiled her so much that she said she had a difficult social learning curve after he passed away.
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He is likely to follow in Michael’s footsteps.
While some children resemble one of their parents more closely, each child develops different talents that may be surprising. Not all of Michael’s children can sing and dance, for example, but that’s not the case with Bigi, according to his grandfather. Joe Jackson is the family patriarch who led the family to great success by managing the Jackson 5, so he knows what he’s talking about. In fact, he’s the grandchild who most reminds Bigi of Michael when he was younger.
