Katherine Jackson

Katherine Jackson (born May 4 1930) is the matriarch of the Jacksons musical dynasty and the mother of pop music icons Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.

Biography

Childhood

Born Katherine B. Screws on May 4, 1930 in Barbour County, Alabama, Jackson was the daughter of Martha ("Mattie") Upshaw and Prince Albert Screws. [ [http://www.wargs.com/other/jacksonm.html Ancestry of Michael Jackson ] ] Katherine's father changed his last name to "Scruse" and upon leaving Alabama, Katherine's name was changed to Katherine Esther Scruse when she was four. Katherine contracted polio as a child though she eventually made a full recovery from the disease. Because of the disease's effects, she walks with a noticeable limp. At four, her family moved her and her younger sister Hattie to East Chicago, Indiana.

Meeting and marrying Joseph Jackson

In 1947, while in East Chicago, she met a teenage boxer named Joseph Jackson and within two years the couple married and settled in the working-class neighborhood of Gary, Indiana, where Katherine reared ten children. Marlon Jackson was premature; his twin brother, Brandon, died within hours of birth. She eventually became one of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1965 and brought up her nine children in the faith, although most of the children are no longer associated with Jehovah's Witnesses.

The Jackson 5

During the group's early years, Katherine served a role as the group's designer often making suits for her five eldest sons to wear during their lengthy rides to predominantly black venues and theaters throughout the mid-to-late 1960s. After the Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records in 1968, Katherine's role was more limited as was her husband Joe's involvement in their sons' careers, now in control by Berry Gordy. Throughout the Jackson 5's rise to fame, and later the solo careers of Michael and Janet, she was often described as a devoted mother and wife to her family. In 1985, "Essence" magazine named her the "Mother of the Year". In 1984, she co-joined her husband in helping to create their sons' "Victory Tour".

The "My Family" book and family controversies

In 1990, hearing word of her daughter La Toya writing a tell-all book on her life with her family, Katherine issued her biography, "My Family", which documented her early years and her relationship with her husband and her nine children, eight of which wrote salutes to their mother in the foreword of the book. She detailed that her husband in more than a few times had committed adultery, one of which resulted in the birth of a daughter in 1974. In another incident documented in an unauthorized biography of Janet Jackson, in 1979, Katherine and her youngest children Randy and Janet reportedly engaged in a confrontation with a woman who reportedly worked with Joseph's company with whom Katherine had often accused Joe of cheating on her on. That incident was re-dramatized for the miniseries, "", which instead showed Katherine confronting Joseph instead of the alleged incident. "The Jacksons" movie had Angela Bassett playing Jackson in the role. Throughout the 1990s, Katherine found herself defending her children in the press, particularly Michael. During Michael's 2005 trial, Katherine was the only Jackson family member to be present at every court hearing and is said to be one of the few relatives that Michael has kept contact with. Katherine splits her time between Las Vegas and her Hayvenhurst home in Encino.

Children

Joe and Katherine had 10 children:

# Daughter Rebbie Jackson, born birth date and age|1950|05|29
# Son Jackie Jackson, born birth date and age|1951|05|04
# Son Tito Jackson, born birth date and age|1953|10|15
# Son Jermaine Jackson, born birth date and age|1954|12|11
# Daughter La Toya Jackson, born birth date and age|1956|05|29
# Twin Son Marlon Jackson, born birth date and age|1957|03|12
# Twin Son Brandon Jackson, born March 12, 1957, Brandon died hours after birth.
# Son Michael Jackson, born birth date and age|1958|08|29
# Son Randy Jackson (musician), born birth date and age|1961|10|29
# Daughter Janet Jackson, born birth date and age|1966|05|16

Grandchildren

Katherine has 27 grandchildren:

Daughter Rebbie has 3 children:

*Stacee Brown (b. 1971)
*Yashi Brown (b. 1977)
*Austin Brown (b. November 22, 1985)

Son Jackie has 2 children:
*Sigmund Jackson, Jr. (b. June 29, 1977)
*Brandi Jackson (b. February 6, 1982)

Son Tito has 3 sons (who form the R&B group 3T):

*Toriano Adaryll Jackson "Taj" II (b. August 4, 1973)
*Taryll Adren Jackson (b. August 8, 1975)
*Tito Joseph "TJ" Jackson (b. July 16, 1978)

Son Jermaine has 9 children:
*Jermaine Lajaune "Jay" Jackson Jr. (b. January 27, 1977) with Hazel
*Autumn Jackson (b. 1978) with Hazel
*Dawn Jackson (b. 1985) A sponser child for Jermaine
*Jeremy Jackson (b. 1986) with Margaret
*Jaimy Jackson (b. 1987) with Hazel
*Jasmine Jackson (born 1988)
*Jourdyn Jackson (b. 1989) with Margaret
*Donte Jackson (adopted) (1991) to Jermaine and Alejandra
*Jaffar Jackson (b. 1996) with Alejandra
*Jermajesty Jackson (b. 2000) with Alejandra

Daughter La Toya has no children

Son Marlon has 3 children:
*Valencia Jackson (b. 1977)
*Brittany Jackson (b. 1979)
*Marlon David Jackson Jr. (b. 1982)

Son Michael has 3 children:

*Prince Michael Jackson I (b. February 13, 1997)
*Paris Katherine Jackson (b. April 3, 1998)
*Prince Michael Jackson II (b. February 2002)

Son Randy has 3 children
*Genevieve Jackson (December 3, 1989) with Alejandra
*Stevanna Jackson (June 17, 1990) with Eliza
*Steven Randall Jackson, Jr. (October 2, 1991) with Alejandra

Daughter Janet Jackson has no children

References