Photos Of The Fascinating Childhoods Of Michael Jackson's 3 Kids

Michael Jackson's life was arguably unlike that of any other modern celebrity. From his earliest days as the child frontman of the Jackson 5 to the height of his solo success during the 1980s with "Thriller," perhaps no star in pop culture history has commanded a spotlight as bright as the King of Pop. His eccentric personality, the abuse allegations that followed him, and his untimely death have only added to the mystique surrounding him.

So, when Jackson welcomed a son named Prince and a daughter called Paris in the late 1990s via his second wife, Debbie Rowe — formerly a nurse at the clinic where the "Smooth Criminal" singer sought treatment for his vitiligo — the press and the public at large were immediately fascinated by them. That interest later extended to Jackson's third child, a son he nicknamed Blanket, and it intensified as the pop icon endeavored to shield his three kids from scrutiny, keeping them insulated from the outside world.

Nevertheless, some images and even video footage of Prince, Paris, and Bigi emerged as the trio navigated their unusual and, at times, tragic lives. With that in mind, here are some of the photos documenting the fascinating lives of MJ's three kids.

The first of Michael Jackson's children to be welcomed by the King of Pop was Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., who's better known as Prince Jackson. Prince was born in February 1997 to MJ's second wife, Debbie Rowe, who ultimately relinquished her parental rights to him and his sister, Paris, when she and the "Billie Jean" singer divorced a few years later.

"Words can't describe how I feel ... I have been blessed beyond comprehension and I will work tirelessly at being the best father that I can possibly be," Michael said in a statement after Prince's birth (per MTV via Today). However, Michael also pleaded with his fans to afford his son the privacy that he lacked as a child, adding, "I grew up in a fishbowl and I will not allow that to happen to my child."

Growing up, Prince felt compelled to look out for his younger siblings, recalling during a 2021 "Good Morning Britain" interview (via E! News), "Because I'm the oldest, my father would always tell me [that] I have to make sure that the group is taken care of and that I have to be the leader and lead by example."

It wasn't long before Michael Jackson's son, Prince Jackson, had a sibling, as Debbie Rowe gave birth to the King of Pop's second child and only daughter, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, in April 1998. There are varying accounts of why she was given the name Paris; for her part, La Toya Jackson said (via Yahoo! News) it was the result of a name pact between herself, her brother, and Kathy Hilton — Paris Hilton's mother.

As noted in Rolling Stone, Michael — who likened himself to Peter Pan — gave Paris the nickname Tinker Bell when she was a child. Despite that, she apparently wasn't into things one might consider girly when she was young (or, at least, what Michael considered to be girly).

"I always wanted a daughter, and through all the years I've toured, I've bought all these dolls for when I have a daughter... the first time I brought her in there, when she was old enough to walk, she just walked right past it," Jackson told Rick Dees and Ellen K in 2003. "She likes boy toys. She likes trucks, cars. Whatever Prince wants, she wants."

The youngest of Michael Jackson's children — a second son named Prince Michael Jackson II — was born in February 2002, although the details surrounding his birth were kept relatively private at the time. It wasn't long, though, before the child was at the center of what would go down as the most infamous event of any of the Jackson kids' young lives.

The child, nicknamed Blanket by Michael (he later changed his own name to Bigi), was famously dangled over a fifth-floor balcony railing at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin in November 2002, when the King of Pop was in Germany to accept an award. With fans and members of the press awaiting outside the hotel, Michael held Blanket by one arm over the railing, eliciting shocked gasps from onlookers. 

The incident became a major scandal, and Michael later apologized for his behavior. "I offer no excuses for what happened. I made a terrible mistake. I got caught up in the excitement of the moment. I would never intentionally endanger the lives of my children," Jackson later said in a statement (via the Los Angeles Times).

The shroud of secrecy that surrounded Michael Jackson's children only grew as the years went by, as the "Thriller" singer labored to protect them from the spotlight. To that end, he resorted to what many at the time considered extreme measures to protect their anonymity, covering their faces with masks on the seemingly rare occasions they ventured out into public.

While this was done with their well-being in mind, he was criticized by many observers for his unusual parenting style. In a 2003 clip from the Toledo Times (curated by Decked Out Magazine/Medium), one critic wrote, "Does Michael Jackson really not understand that camouflaging the kiddies with elaborate masks or scarves is—weird?" referring to the pop icon as a "freakazoid."

For their part, though, the Jackson kids came to appreciate why their father did what he did. "I understand it now, why our dad would want our face to be covered, so we went out without him, we wouldn't be recognized, and we could have a normal childhood," Paris Jackson told Oprah Winfrey in 2012 (via E! News).

Children who grow up with celebrity parents don't have the same childhoods as those who don't. In the case of Michael Jackson's three children, though, the difference is even more pronounced. Their father was, after all, arguably the most famous person in the world and notably eccentric.

Prince, Paris, and Bigi Jackson grew up on the palatial Neverland Ranch estate in Los Olivos, California, surrounded by carnival rides, a train station, their own petting zoo, gardens inspired by Disney's Magic Kingdom, and other incredible luxuries. However, the kids didn't just get anything they wanted. Said Paris on "Steve-O's Wild Ride" podcast in 2022: "Good stuff wasn't just like thrown at us. We had to like work for it ... it's like, 'Oh, if we're going to FAO Schwarz shorts and you want five toys, well, you have to read five books and I will quiz you on it."

The kids were reportedly homeschooled for the first several years of their lives. Said Prince during a 2026 appearance on Channel Seven's "Sunrise" (via the Daily Mail). "As I've gotten older, I've learned that a lot of what I think is normal life is not normal life."

In what was arguably one of the biggest cultural occurrences of the 21st century, Michael Jackson died tragically on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50. His death was later revealed to be from acute propofol intoxication; Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, ultimately served two years of a four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter after treating him with the drug. Testimony from Jackson's head of security during Murray's trial indicated that Prince and Paris Jackson saw their father as he died.

After Michael's untimely passing, his children were essentially unveiled publicly at his Los Angeles memorial service. Prince was just 12 years old at the time, while Paris was 11 and Bigi was 7. "I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine," Paris said (via The Seattle Times) while addressing mourners. "And I just wanted to say I love him. So much."

In the wake of his death, the Jackson kids faced new questions about their father's complicated legacy, what would become of his fortune, their own origins, and where they would make their new home.

From their earliest days, the press and the public raised quesyions about Prince, Paris, and Bigi Jackson's true parentage. And those questions were reignited after Michael Jackson's death. Prince and Paris were welcomed by Michael's second wife, Debbie Rowe, but the identity of Bigi's mother was unknown, as he was conceived via an unidentified surrogate. 

Speculation about the children's ethnicity and whether Michael was actually their biological father also abounded; issues made more complicated by the emergence of potential fathers. According to Us Weekly, Dr. Arnold Klein — the dermatologist who treated the pop icon's vitiligo and formerly employed Rowe as a nurse — may have been their biological father, a claim that he failed to deny outright.

Meanwhile, Matt Fiddes — who once worked as Jackson's bodyguard — once claimed that he was Bigi's true father. Other names emerged as possible bio-fathers, too, including The Godfather" star Marlon Brando. In any case, Michael was their sole caregiver for the first several years of their lives.

Given that all three of Michael Jackson's children were minors at the time of his death, the question of who would be tasked with serving as their caretaker was a hot-button issue. A will bearing Jackson's signature named his mother, Katherine Jackson, as the legal guardian of Prince, Paris, and Bigi Jackson. 

Motown legend and Jackson friend Diana Ross, meanwhile, was named as an alternate guardian in the event that Katherine found herself unable to care for the kids. As reported by The Guardian, Prince and Paris' mother, Debbie Rowe, was intentionally omitted from the will. However, Rowe later explored seeking custody of her two children, reportedly telling Los Angeles-based reporter Chuck Henry (via NBC6), "Yes I am stepping up. I have to."

As reported by CNN, Katherine retained custody of the children after a deal was struck between her and Rowe. Rowe retained conditional visitation rights, but did not take an active role in raising Prince and Paris. Paris did begin forming a relationship with her mom as a teen, however.

After their big reveal at their father's memorial service, Michael Jackson's children began living at least somewhat more in the public eye than they had when the King of Pop was still alive. Perhaps the prime example of their continued emergence from the cocoon came when they were interviewed alongside other family members by Oprah Winfrey, roughly one year after Michael's death.

As chronicled by Inside Edition, it was revealed during the 2010 interview that Prince and Paris Jackson had enrolled in regular school, while Bigi Jackson — who was 8 years old at the time — was homeschooled. Asked by Winfrey about his life, Prince revealed that he was into "video games and sports," and said (via The Guardian) that he wanted to "produce and direct movies." Paris, meanwhile, spoke of wanting to become an actress as she grew older. 

The children also spoke of missing their late father. "I felt like no one understands what a good father he was," Paris said (via the Guardian). She also called him "the best cook ever," adding, "He made the best French toast in the world. He just made the best breakfasts in the world."

Prince, Paris, and Bigi Jackson lived unconventional lives with their iconic father, and that continued after his death. While the children, Katherine Jackson, and certain charities were the sole beneficiaries of Michael Jackson's estate, several of his siblings — including Jermaine, Tito, Randy, Rebbie, and Janet Jackson — challenged the validity of their brother's will, per CNN. The situation escalated into a July 2012 family disturbance at the Jackson's family home in Calabasas, California.

As reported by ABC News, Katherine's attorney alleged that Randy, Jermaine, and Janet bypassed a security gate and tried to take the children from the residence while Katherine was away in Arizona. At one point, a missing persons report was even filed, with Prince and Paris taking to social media to share their frustration over being unable to contact their grandmother.

"9 days and counting," Paris tweeted at the time (via ABC), adding, "so help me god i will make whoever did this pay." Later, after the children were reunited with their grandmother, Prince shared a screenshot of a text thread between himself and several family members during the standoff, in which he wrote (via The New York Daily News), "This is enough so I am texting you for the simple fact that WE DEMAND TO SPEAK TO MY GRANDMA NOW!!!" A reply attributed to Janet read, "Don't let them pls." It was later determined that Katherine would share guardianship of the kids with Tito's son, T.J. Jackson, per CNN.

While the Jackson children — particularly the two older, more public-facing kids — expressed their love for their grandmother, their new environment was far from perfect. Paris Jackson, in particular, struggled with certain aspects of her new life. "We were very, very healthy," Paris recalled of the kids' life with Michael on a 2020 episode of her Facebook Watch series (via Entertainment Tonight). "Then, literally just within the year of him passing away, I moved in with my grandma. So, there were no rules. Soda and cake all the time."

As a result, Paris gained weight and developed a food addiction. Those situations subsequently spiraled into self-harm when, according to Paris, one of her cousins made a comment about her appearance. Eventually, her mental health struggles escalated to the point that she attempted suicide "many times," after which she was sent to a Utah boarding school. 

"I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't have a choice, I was underage. CPS said that they would take me if I wasn't sent there," Paris recalled. "I learned a lot about myself. The problems that I went there with got fixed, but I left with way more than I came in with."

Whether it was due to being the youngest of Michael Jackson's three children, his personality, or other factors, Bigi Jackson managed to live his life more privately than his siblings in the years after they went to live with their grandmother, Katherine Jackson. Even now, precious few details about his life are out there in comparison to Prince and Paris Jackson.

He reportedly made the decision to change his name from Blanket to Bigi in 2015, according to E! News. The outlet noted that he was also interested in comic books at the time, and that he was "especially tight" with his older brother, Prince. 

To say that Prince, Paris, and Bigi Jackson had their world turned upside down as children would be an understatement. However, one constant in their lives has been Macaulay Culkin. Culkin was first befriended by Michael when the former was just 8 years old. Culkin and MJ's relationship continued for years and he was eventually named the children's godfather.

As noted in a 2016 Us Weekly story, Culkin seemingly remained close to the Jackson kids throughout their childhood. Culkin maintained a particularly strong relationship with Paris; one that has since stretched into her adulthood. "She is beloved by me," he said on a 2018 episode of Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast (via ET Online).

While Michael Jackson's children continued to live relatively private lives even after their father died and began venturing into public more often, Paris Jackson began attracting attention as she settled into her teen years. Her acting ambitions had been reported years earlier, but by 2016, she was generating interest as a potential star in the fashion world, participating in a shoot for Flaunt magazine, per TMZ.

As Paris transitioned from her childhood into adulthood, she continued to model, posing for Chanel in her namesake city in early 2017, as reported by the Huffington Post. She ultimately signed with one of the biggest agencies in the world in, IMG Models, as an 18-year-old.