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Michael Jackson: Personal background
Jackson was born the seventh of nine children (see Joseph Jackson) in Gary, Indiana to Joseph Jackson and Katherine Jackson. The entire family lived in a tiny two-bedroom house, and Jackson's father Joseph Jackson earned a meager living working in a steel mill. Jackson and his sister LaToya both claimed that their father was cruel and physically abusive to his children. Jackson broke down and wept during a television interview when asked about this, and said that even as an adult just meeting his father often made him physically ill.
At the behest of their mother Katherine, the Jackson children were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses and practiced door-to-door evangelization. Jackson continued to do so after becoming famous, but then in disguise. His career and flamboyant style led to friction with congregation elders. At one point, his sister LaToya was shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses, and in 1987, he formally left the religion.
Jackson has been living at his 11 km² (2600 acres) ranch in Santa Ynez, California, named "Neverland" after the magical kingdom featured in the children's story Peter Pan. In December 2003, he said that after it had been searched by police (see below), it no longer felt like a home, and is now a house he just visits. He now lives in Beverly Hills in a $70,000-a-month rented home.
He says that, like Peter Pan, he does not want to grow up. Neverland contains a small zoo and amusement park. About once a week he has been inviting a bus full of (especially sick and poor) children there to have a day of fun. Jackson kept a chimpanzee, Bubbles, in Neverland, which he valued highly, treating him more like a friend than a pet. Bubbles was moved from the ranch after reaching maturity because adult chimpanzees are very strong and can be dangerous.
Jackson, a vegetarian, claims a strong connection to both children and animals. His favorite pastimes include water balloon fights and climbing trees. He has written several songs sitting in his favorite tree at Neverland, which he calls Giving Tree, because he says it is so inspiring.
Another favorite pastime has been sleepovers with children. However, he now understands it violates a social norm and places him in a vulnerable position with regard to suspicions and allegations of sexual abuse. He has publicly stated he will no longer have them with children not related to him.
Jackson's celebrity friends have included Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Rick James, Usher,
Marlon Brando, comedians Steve Harvey and
Chris Tucker and actress
Elizabeth Taylor and former child actors Emmanuel Lewis and
Macaulay Culkin. Both Taylor and Culkin are godparents to Prince Michael and Paris. He is also friends with paranormalist Uri Geller. He has also been friends with rabbi Shmuley Boteach, with whom Jackson founded the now defunct "Heal the World" and "Heal the Kids" foundations. Michael is also the godfather of Lionel Richie's adopted daughter Nicole Richie.
It has been rumored that Jackson has used extensive plastic surgery to modify his appearance, although he claims to have had only three operations: Two "nose jobs" (the first of which he claims was to repair a broken nose resulting from a dancing accident in 1978, and the second to correct imperfections in the first surgery) and the surgical creation of a cleft in his chin (Jackson often omits mentioning the cleft when listing his cosmetic surgery, but he confirms the surgery in his 1988 autobiography Moon Walk). Some critics have characterized his plastic surgery and purported "skin bleaching" as an attempt to hide his African-American ancestry. Jackson has insisted, however, that he only uses heavy makeup to mask the effects of vitiligo, a condition that causes white patches on the skin.
In 1994 Jackson married
Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of
Elvis Presley; the marriage lasted less than two years, ending in divorce. In 1996 he married Debbie Rowe. They had a son, Prince Michael, and a daughter, Paris Katherine. They were divorced in 1999. Rowe later said that she let Jackson have the children as a "gift".
Around February 2002 Jackson had another son, Prince Michael II, also called "Blanket", with a surrogate mother whose identity has not been disclosed. In late 2002, Jackson stirred up controversy while staying in a hotel in Berlin by briefly suspending him over the edge of the railing of a balcony. In what Jackson explains as a security measure against kidnapping, the children's faces are masked or veiled when they are in public.
In December 2003 Jackson's parents promised they would look after the three children if they were taken away from their son. Reportedly the children have been interviewed by social workers. In March 2004 it was confirmed there was an unspecified family matter between Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe, to be handled in mediation. In July 2004 news was released that Jackson is to be the father of quadruplets, via artificial insemination. The mother is said to be a "struggling actress". Jackson however, strongly denied the allegations.
Rumours last year claimed that he had another seventeen-year-old son, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., who apparently has an almost identical resemblance of him as a young man.
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Musical career >>
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Latest news on Michael Jackson
ArtsHigh Court date for Michael Jackson
POP superstar Michael Jackson will give evidence in person at the High Court to defend allegations he owes an Arab sheikh £4.7 million.
Published: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT - Source: News.Scotsman.Com - Read the articleEntertainmentJackson to appear at High Court
Singer Michael Jackson is to give evidence at London's High Court to counter allegations that he breached a music contract.
Published: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:55:19 GMT - Source: News.Bbc.Co.Uk - Read the articleEntertainmentJackson 'too sick' for court case
Michael Jackson could be made to attend the High Court in London, despite his doctor saying he is unfit to travel.
Published: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:59:43 GMT - Source: News.Bbc.Co.Uk - Read the article
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