Paris Jackson Speaks Out About Her Childhood With Michael Jackson
Paris Jackson was born into the world of showbiz in 1998, but has managed to remain pretty private over the years. As reported by Us Weekly, her legendary father, Michael Jackson, died at 59 years old, when she was only just 11 years of age.
In a cover story with Rolling Stone in 2017, Paris told the publication that she was unaware of how famous her dad was, explaining, "I just thought his name was Dad, Daddy. We didn't really know who he was. But he was our world. And we were his world," per Us Weekly. "When you're at home, your dad, who you love more than anything, will occasionally come in, in the middle of class, and it's like, 'Cool, no more class for the day. We're gonna go hang out with Dad.' We were like, 'We don't need friends. We've got you and Disney Channel!'," she continued.
In a recent interview with supermodel Naomi Campbell, Paris has decided to open up more about what it was like growing up with Michael as her father. Keep reading to find out what she said.
Paris Jackson explains it wasn't all 'glitz and glam'
In an appearance on Naomi Campbell's No Filter YouTube series in March 2021, Paris Jackson discussed what it was like growing up with her "King of Pop" father Michael Jackson. Despite being raised by music royalty, Paris admitted the "You Rock My World" hitmaker kept her and her siblings, Prince Michael Jackson II and Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., grounded.
"My 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," Paris said, per The Daily Mail. "It was also like, we saw everything. We saw third world countries. We saw every part of the spectrum," she continued.
Like Campbell, Paris is a model and revealed how she got started: "I'd been told for a long time, with my height and my genetic make-up that I could pursue modeling. So I decided to finally take that advice and start modeling. I felt at the time that would be the most effective way to grow my platform so I could use it for good."
Paris is a "full believer" in "earning" her own success and was always brought up that way, explaining, "Even growing up it was about earning stuff. If we wanted five toys from FAO Schwarz or Toys 'R' Us, we had to read five books." She also followed in her father's footsteps and released her first album in 2020, Wilted. Talent obviously runs in the family.