Age, Biography, and Wiki
Janet Jackson was born on May 16, 1966, in Gary, Indiana, to the Jackson family, a household steeped in music. She is the youngest of the ten Jackson children and rose to fame initially through her acting roles in TV series like Good Times and Diff'rent Strokes. Her music career, however, catapulted her to international stardom with her breakthrough album Control in 1986.
| Occupation | Fashion Designers |
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| Date of Birth | 16 May 1966 |
| Age | 59 Years |
| Birth Place | Gary, Indiana, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Taurus |
| Country | India |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Janet Jackson stands at approximately 5 feet 4 inches (162 cm) tall. Her weight and other measurements are not frequently updated, but she is known for maintaining a fit physique, which has been a subject of media attention over the years.
Jackson has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. She holds the record for the most consecutive top-ten entries on the US Billboard Hot 100 by a female artist (18) and remains the only artist in the history of the chart to have seven singles from one album (Rhythm Nation 1814) peak within the top five positions. In 2008, Billboard placed her number seven on its list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, and in 2010 ranked her fifth among the "Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years". In 2016, the magazine named her the second most successful dance club artist. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards, eleven American Music Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and eight Guinness World Records entries. In 2019, she was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Its innovative fusion of dance-pop and industrial music with hip-hop and R&B undertones influenced the development of the new jack swing genre by bridging the gap between the latter two styles. The accompanying music videos shot for the album's singles became popular on MTV, and obtained a then-unknown Paula Abdul a recording contract for her choreography work with Jackson. Billboard stated "[Jackson's] accessible sound and spectacularly choreographed videos were irresistible to MTV, and helped the channel evolve from rock programming to a broader, beat-driven musical mix."
The album experimented with a diverse number of genres, including contemporary R&B, deep house, swing jazz, hip-hop, rock, and pop, with Billboard describing each as being "delivered with consummate skill and passion". Jackson took a larger role in songwriting and production than she did on her previous albums, explaining she found it necessary "to write all the lyrics and half of the melodies" while also speaking candidly about incorporating her sexuality into the album's content. Rolling Stone wrote "[a]s princess of America's black royal family, everything Janet Jackson does is important. Whether proclaiming herself in charge of her life, as she did on Control (1986), or commander in chief of a rhythm army dancing to fight society's problems (Rhythm Nation 1814, from 1989), she's influential. And when she announces her sexual maturity, as she does on her new album, Janet., it's a cultural moment."
| Height | 5 feet 4 inches |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Janet Jackson has been married three times: to James DeBarge from 1984 to 1985, to René Elizondo Jr. from 1991 to 1999, and to Wissam Al Mana from 2012 to 2017. She has a son, Eissa Al Mana, born in 2017 with her third husband.
She was the youngest of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. Her mother, Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. Her father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at U.S. Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income. Janet's great-great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a US Army scout. Family lore held that he was also a Native American medicine man. Janet grew up with two sisters (Rebbie and La Toya) and six brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael and Randy). Another brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth. The Jacksons were devout Jehovah's Witnesses, although Janet would later refrain from organized religion.
At age seven, Jackson and her sisters performed with the Jackson 5 for their revue at the MGM Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. A biography revealed her father, Joseph, was emotionally withdrawn and told her to address him solely by his first name as a child. She began acting in the variety show The Jacksons in 1976.
When Jackson was fifteen, her father and manager Joseph Jackson arranged a contract for her with A&M Records. Her debut album, Janet Jackson, was released in 1982. It was produced by Angela Winbush, René Moore, Bobby Watson of Rufus and Leon Sylvers III, and overseen by her father Joseph. It peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard 200, and No. 6 on the publication's R&B albums chart, receiving little promotion. The album appeared on the Billboard Top Black Albums of 1983, while Jackson herself was the highest-ranking female vocalist on the Billboard Year-End Black Album Artists.
After her second album, Jackson terminated business affairs with her family, commenting "I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which was one of the most difficult things that I had to do." Attempting a third album, Jackson teamed with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They set out to achieve crossover pop appeal, while also creating a strong foundation within the urban market. Within six weeks, Jackson and the duo crafted her third studio album, Control, released in February 1986. The album shot to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and was certified fivefold Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling over ten million copies worldwide.
In September 1993, Jackson appeared topless on the cover of Rolling Stone, with her breasts covered anonymously by her then-husband, René Elizondo Jr. The photograph is the original version of the cropped image used on the Janet album cover, shot by Patrick Demarchelier. The Vancouver Sun reported, "Jackson, 27, remains clearly established as both role model and sex symbol; the Rolling Stone photo of Jackson ... became one of the most recognizable, and most lampooned, magazine covers."
During this time, Janet was set to sign a multimillion-dollar deal with Coca-Cola when her brother Michael was immersed in a child sex abuse scandal, of which he denied any wrongdoing. She provided moral support, defending her brother, and denied abuse allegations regarding her parents made by her sister La Toya.
| Parents | |
| Husband | James DeBarge (m. 1984-1985) René Elizondo Jr. (m. 1991-2003) Wissam Al Mana (m. 2012-2017) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Janet Jackson's net worth is estimated at $180 million. This figure is derived from her successful music career, including chart-topping albums like Control and Rhythm Nation 1814, her sold-out concert tours, film and television roles, brand endorsements, and her production company.
Career, Business and Investments
Janet Jackson is most famous for her powerful voice and boundary-pushing performances. Key career highlights include her role in the film Poetic Justice and her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. She has also been a trailblazer in breaking gender and racial barriers within the music industry. Recent projects include extending her Las Vegas residency and a resurgence in popularity with her 2001 single "Someone to Call My Lover" going viral on TikTok.
Janet Jackson has also ventured into business, with notable investments including her production company and various brand endorsements. In 2021, she partnered with Julien's Auctions for an auction featuring her memorabilia, donating a portion of the proceeds to charity.
The tenth and youngest child of the Jackson family, Jackson began her career as a child actress, with roles in the television series Good Times (1977–1979), Diff'rent Strokes (1980–1984), and Fame (1984–1985). She signed a recording contract with A&M Records in 1982 and became a pop icon following the releases of the albums Control (1986) and Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated a variety of music genres, which led to crossover success in popular music and influenced the development of the new jack swing fusion genre. In the 1990s, Jackson became one of the highest-paid artists in the industry, signing two record-breaking multimillion-dollar contracts with Virgin Records. She established her image as a sex symbol with a leading role in the film Poetic Justice (1993), and the albums Janet (1993) and The Velvet Rope (1997). Billboard named her the second most successful artist of the decade in the United States.
The release of her seventh studio album All for You in 2001 coincided with Jackson being the subject of the first MTV Icon special. By the end of the year, she joined her brother Michael as one of the few artists to score ten number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the backlash from the 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy resulted in an industry blacklisting under the direction of Les Moonves, then-CEO of CBS. Jackson subsequently experienced reduced radio airplay, televised promotion and sales figures from that point forward. After parting ways with Virgin Records, she released her tenth studio album Discipline (2008), her only album with Island Records. In 2015, she partnered with BMG Rights Management to launch her own record label, Rhythm Nation. Jackson has continued to release music and perform, with the Together Again Tour (2023–2024) earning $100 million and becoming the highest-grossing concert tour of her career.
At a young age, Jackson's brothers began performing as the Jackson 5 in the Chicago-Gary area. In March 1969, they signed a record deal with Motown, and soon had their first number-one hit. The family then moved to the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. Jackson had initially desired to become a horse racing jockey or entertainment lawyer, with plans to support herself through acting. Despite this, she was anticipated to pursue a career in entertainment and considered the idea after recording herself in the studio.
Control was declared "remarkably nervy and mature" for a teenage act, also considered "an alternative to the sentimental balladry" which permeated radio, likening Jackson to Donna Summer's position of "unwilling to accept novelty status and taking her own steps to rise above it." The album spawned five top five singles, "What Have You Done for Me Lately", "Nasty", "When I Think of You", "Control", and "Let's Wait Awhile", and a top 15 hit with "The Pleasure Principle". "When I Think of You" became her first No. 1 hit on the Hot 100. Control received six Billboard Awards, including "Top Pop Singles Artist", and three Grammy nominations, such as Album of the Year. It also won four American Music Awards from twelve nominations, an unbroken record.
In retrospect of her influence on the channel, Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly commented: "The videos from Control were all over MTV, and Janet established herself as an instantly dominant pop figure talked about in the same sentences as Madonna and her older brother Michael." MTV's Meaghan Garvey asserted "it's hard to overstate the significance of Control, whether in terms of the pop landscape, the evolution of the music video as a vessel for promotion and expression, or Top 40 feminist anthems." She also argued "it's important to note that Control's self-actualization anthems were expressions of black female pride. Control spawned a whopping six videos—great ones, at that—which played an immeasurable role in the shift toward visible black pop."
Peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the album was certified sixfold Platinum by the RIAA and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Rolling Stone observed Jackson's artistic growth shifted from "personal freedom to more universal concerns—injustice, illiteracy, crime, drugs—without missing a beat." The album was also considered "the exclamation point on her career", consisting of a "diverse collection of songs flowing with the natural talent Jackson possesses", which effectively "expanded Janet's range in every conceivable direction", being "more credibly feminine, more crucially masculine, more viably adult, more believably childlike." With singles "Miss You Much", "Rhythm Nation", "Escapade", "Alright", "Come Back to Me", "Black Cat" and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)", it became the first album in history to produce number one hits in three separate calendar years, as well as the only album to achieve seven top five singles on the Hot 100.
She also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her impact on the recording industry and philanthropic endeavors. The massive success experienced by Jackson placed her in league with her brother Michael, Madonna, and Tina Turner for her achievements and influence. Ebony magazine remarked: "No individual or group has impacted the world of entertainment as have Michael and Janet Jackson," arguing that despite many imitators, few could surpass Jackson's "stunning style and dexterity".
Jackson renewed her contract with Virgin Records for a reported $80 million the following year. The contract established her as the then highest-paid recording artist in history, surpassing the recording industry's then-unparalleled $60 million contracts earned by Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Social Network
Janet Jackson is active on social media platforms, where she engages with her fans and shares updates about her life and career. Platforms like Instagram and Twitter are used to connect with her audience and share news about upcoming projects.
At this point, Jackson was successfully "shaking off the experience of being a shadow Jackson child", becoming "an artist in her own right". The album's lyrical content included several themes of empowerment, inspired by an incident of sexual harassment, with Jackson recalling "the danger hit home when a couple of guys started stalking me on the street and instead of running to Jimmy or Terry for protection, I took a stand. I backed them down. That's how songs like 'Nasty' and 'What Have You Done for Me Lately' were born, out of a sense of self-defense."
Education
Janet Jackson's formal education is not extensively detailed, as her early life was heavily influenced by her family's music career. However, she has been involved in numerous educational initiatives and supports various charitable causes, including Compassion International.
Jackson's Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990 became the most successful debut tour in history and set a record for the fastest sell-out of Japan's Tokyo Dome. She established the "Rhythm Nation Scholarship", donating funds from the tour to various educational programs. As Jackson began her tour, she was acknowledged for the cultural impact of her music. Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote "the 23-year-old has been making smash hit records for four years, becoming a fixture on MTV and a major role model to teenage girls across the country", and William Allen, then-executive vice president of the United Negro College Fund, told the Los Angeles Times, "Jackson is a role model for all young people to emulate and the message she has gotten to the young people of this country through the lyrics of 'Rhythm Nation 1814' is having positive effects."
