Who is Paris Jackson? Get to know the musician, model, actress and Michael Jackson’s only daughter

Given her family background, it probably won’t have surprised anyone that Paris Jackson followed her father, Michael, and her famous aunts and uncles into the music business.

The second child and only daughter of the “King of Pop” was born in April 1998 and is one of two children Michael had with Debbie Rowe, his second wife. Paris was raised solely by her father at Neverland Ranch until his death in 2009, after which she and her brothers, Prince and Bigi, were cared for by their grandmother Katherine and cousin TJ.

Life after father Michael’s death

Only 11 at the time of her father’s passing, Paris became widely known for her emotional speech at his televised memorial, in which she said, “I just wanted to say, ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine.” Previously, she and her brothers often wore masks in public to protect their privacy, which didn’t always prove successful.

The 27-year-old has since spoken about ongoing PTSD resulting from paparazzi attention and childhood fame. She has also revealed that she faced serious mental health struggles as a teenager, including drug addiction, sexual assault, and multiple suicide attempts.

Model, activist, and actress

It wasn’t until several years after Michael’s death that Paris chose to embrace public life. In 2017, just before turning 19, she signed a modeling contract with IMG Models after appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone. She has continued to model actively and has walked in major fashion events, including Paris Fashion Week in 2024 for Maison Yoshiki Paris.

Paris has said she got into modeling to grow her platform and amplify her activism. She has been a public supporter of Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ rights and serves as an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and the Heal Los Angeles Foundation.

From modeling to music

In 2018, she took her first steps into acting, appearing in a guest role on FOX’s “Star” before making her feature film debut with a minor role in the action comedy “Gringo. ”Appearances in “Scream,” “Habit,” and “American Horror Stories” followed, although music, perhaps inevitably, began to play a more prominent role in her life from 2020 onward.

That year, she formed the musical duo The Soundflowers with then-partner Gabriel Glenn. She also signed as a solo artist with Republic Records, releasing her debut single “Let Down” and first album “Wilted”. Since then, Paris has released several standalone singles and “The Lost EP,” influenced by grunge and 1990s rock.

Life, love, and identity

Jackson, who refuses to label her sexual orientation, revealed in her docuseries “Unfiltered: Paris Jackson & Gabriel Glenn” that she once thought she would end up marrying a woman. After splitting from Glenn, she became engaged to music producer Justin Long in late 2024. The couple ended their engagement in July 2025, so her prediction may yet come true.

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