Home > Entertainment > Music > Musicians & Bands
Created on: May 27, 2008
By the time Janet was born into the Jackson family, her older brothers had already formed "The Jackson 5". As the youngest member of the Jackson clan, Janet was expected to follow in the footsteps of the children that had come before her, though she initially wanted nothing to do with show business. Years later, Janet Jackson is hailed as one of the most successful female vocalists of all time. She has made her name in both the film and television industries as well, and has established a career completely separate from that of her family. Six of her albums have debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and she has received multiple Grammy nominations and awards. Janet Jackson is an inspirational powerhouse of talent, and has been for over twenty years.
Janet was born May 16th, 1966 in Gary, Indiana; the ninth child of Katherine and Joseph Jackson. Janet was still a baby during the early success of "The Jackson 5", and the family moved to California when she was five years old. Though she was surrounded by music, Janet longed to be a race-horse jockey. Her father, however, had other ideas, and at the age of seven she appeared on stage with her brothers in Las Vegas. She began acting in the variety show, "The Jacksons", and began playing a reoccurring role on the show "Good Times" when she was ten. She starred in "A New Kind of Family" between 1979 and 1980 and was on "Diff'rent Strokes" in 1981 and 1982. She also played Cleo Hewitt during the fourth season of the show based on the film "Fame".
Not too keen on getting into the family business, it took a while for Janet to enter the recording studio. Eventually Janet agreed to do a recording session with her brother Randy, singing the song, "Love Song for Kids" in 1978. When she was only fifteen, her father got her a contract with A&M records, and her debut album "Janet Jackson" was released in 1982. It did moderately well, and reached number six on the Billboard Hot R&B charts. Her second album, "Dream Street" came out in 1984, and its sales were far worse than her first album. That year, eighteen year old Janet eloped with her childhood friend James DeBarge, but the marriage didn't last. They divorced soon afterwords, and the marriage was annulled.
It may have seemed at first that Janet wasn't destined to walk in her older brother Michael's footsteps, but things would change with the release of her next album. In 1986, Janet released "Control", which had six major hits, including, "What Have You Done for
Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:
Artist profile: Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson first came to fame as an actress in the late 70's. She portrayed Penny who was the little girl adopted by
by Sarah Huth
By the time Janet was born into the Jackson family, her older brothers had already formed "The Jackson 5". As the youngest
Janet, Damita Jo or Miss Jackson if you're nasty, these names are all synonymous with Janet Jackson, one of the greatest
In the beginning of her career, she was simply known as the baby sister of The Jackson Five. However, any time she was on
by bluephin
Who am I? "I had been in the midst of a "wardrobe malfunction" when Justin Timberlake tore off a part of my costume and
View All Articles on: Artist profile: Janet Jackson
Helium Debate
Cast your vote!
Click for your side.
Featured Partner
GROW Africa Mission: To provide wells, vaccines and food for farming in the remote villages of Africa to meet the most basic human needs of the villagers reducing death and disease while increasing quality and longevity of life. GROW...more