Katherine Jackson

**Katherine Esther Jackson** (born Kattie B. Screws; May 4, 1930) is the matriach of The Jackson Family of entertainers.

## Early Life

Jackson was born as Kattie B. Screws on May 4, 1930 in Clayton, Alabama to Prince Albert (October 16, 1907-January 21, 1995) and Martha Screws (nee Upshaw; December 14, 1902-April 25, 1990). The elder of two daughters, Jackson contracted polio at age two, which left her with a noticeable permanent limp. In 1934, her father changed his surname to "Scruse" and renamed his daughter "Katherine Esther".

As a child, Jackson aspired to become an actress or country singer, but was dismayed to find no notable black country stars. Jackson's parents divorced when she was still a child. While attending Washington High School, Jackson joined the local high school band.

## Career

In 1990, Jackson released her autobiography My Family, The Jacksons, which documented her early years and her relationship with her husband and their children, eight of whom wrote salutes to their mother in the book's foreword. She detailed that her husband on more than a few occasions had committed adultery. She decided to file for divorce on March 9, 1973 at the Los Angeles County clerk, but chose to rescind the divorce papers. The following year, Joh'Vonnie Jackson, Joe's daughter with another woman named Cheryl Terrell, was born on August 30, 1974. This led Joe and Cheryl to a 25-year affair while raising their daughter Joh'Vonnie.

In an unauthorised biography of Janet Jackson, a confrontational family incident was described. This biography claims that in 1979, Jackson and her two youngest children, Randy and Janet, confronted a woman who worked for Joseph's company, whom Jackson had often reportedly accused of cheating with Joseph. That incident was redramatised for the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. However, in the miniseries, Jackson was shown confronting Joseph instead of the woman about the alleged incident. During the late 1980s, Jackson began experiencing an estrangement from her daughter LaToya after she was being managed by Jack Gordon. In her 1991 memoir LaToya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family, LaToya alleged that Jackson was emotionally abusive, charges Jackson denied to the press and blamed Gordon, who married La Toya in 1989, for "brainwashing" her. In 1997, LaToya and Jackson reconciled after she filed for divorce from Gordon. Jackson was portrayed by Angela Bassett in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream. Patricia Idlette portrayed her in the 2004 film Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story.

### The Jackson 5

Joe eventually enlisted Michael and older brother Marlon into the group not as vocalists, but as backing instrumentalists, playing percussion. In 1966, Joe began to see seven-year-old Michael's overall talents two years after Jackson's discovery. Beforehand, Michael had performed onstage without his father's knowledge at several school recitals starting at five. By the end of 1966, Michael was positioned as the second frontman of the group after Jermaine. Acting on advice from a schoolteacher in 1965, Joe changed the group's name to The Jackson Five. In 1967, after winning several talent shows in Gary, Joe Jackson decided to make the group a professional act when Gordon Keith, an owner and vocalist at Gary's Steeltown Records, discovered and signed them to their first contract with him on November 21. Their first single, "Big Boy", produced by Keith, was released on January 31, 1968. "Big Boy" became a local hit, playing on radio stations in the Chicago-Gary area. During the Jackson 5's 1970–71 heyday, Jackson, along with her three daughters and youngest son, was barely mentioned in the press. This changed in 1974 when Joe began building careers around his three younger children and eldest daughter. Jackson started to become part of her husband's management team when the grown-up members of the group (which renamed themselves The Jacksons after splitting from Motown in 1975) reunited for the Victory Tour in 1984. Michael dedicated his 1982 album Thriller to her. Janet Jackson did the same following the release of her 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814, the first album where she was not under the watchful eye of her father following the success of Control, as Janet had fired him months after its release. In 1985, acknowledging what was then a positive impact on her children's successful music careers, national urban magazine Essence honoured her as "Mother of the Year".

### Recent Years

Jackson has spent the last couple of decades talking to the press defending her children, mainly Michael, who began to gain notoriety. In an interview promoting her Michael Jackson vip Book/DVD on The Oprah Winfrey Show, however, Jackson acknowledged that she got her husband to admit to physically disciplining their children. Over the years, some claimed that Joe was abusive towards his children, which he continually denied. As of 2011, Jackson resided with her grandson T. J. Jackson, along with his family, at her home in Calabasas, California. Jackson had moved out of her Hayvenhurst home in Encino, California, due to house renovations.

Despite rumours that she was estranged from Joe, she denied it and dismissed rumours that Joe was banned from the Jackson family home as false, which was something the media had tried to cook up. According to her son Jermaine Jackson's 2011 book You Are Not Alone: Michael Through a Brother's Eyes, Jackson had told Michael that she was nearing the age of 80 and before she died, she wanted to see her sons perform together one last time. One of Michael Jackson's future plans as part of his deal with AEG Live was a final reunion tour with his brothers. She most recently appeared at the BET Awards 2015 with her daughter Janet as she accepted the Ultimate Icon Award. Katherine's husband Joe died from pancreatic cancer on June 27, 2018, two days after the 9th anniversary of Michael Jackson's death.

## Personal Life

In 1947, Katherine met Joseph Jackson, who was also living in East Chicago. Joseph obtained an annulment of an earlier marriage and began dating Katherine. After a year-long courtship, they married on November 5, 1949. In January 1950, they purchased a two-bedroom house in Gary. During the couple's early years in Gary, they sang together, with Joe playing guitar. After Joe's dream of a boxing career was dashed, he continued working at nearby East Chicago's Inland Steel Company. From 1950 until 1966, Jackson gave birth to 10 children, including twins Marlon and Brandon, the latter of whom died a few hours after birth.

## Death of Michael Jackson

On June 25, 2009, Michael died from an overdose of propofol. On July 30, 2009, Katherine Jackson and Debbie Rowe reached a settlement pertaining to the care of Michael's two oldest children (with Rowe), Prince and Paris, in which the children will be raised by Katherine and Rowe will have visitation rights and continue to receive the yearly payments to which Michael had agreed. On August 3, 2009, a judge named Jackson as the children's permanent guardian. On July 25, 2012, Jackson's guardianship of the children was suspended by the court amid allegations that she may have been held against her will by several Jackson family members as a result of a financial dispute between those family members and Michael's estate. Guardianship of the children was temporarily given to Michael's nephew, T.J., one of Tito's sons. Katherine Jackson's guardianship resumed with T.J. Jackson added as a co-guardian. On November 1, 2017, Jackson resigned as co-guardian of Michael's youngest son, Blanket. Jackson stated her reasons for resigning included her own advanced age, the fact that Michael's oldest children Prince and Paris were now adults and that Blanket was now 15 years old. T.J. Jackson was, without objection, awarded sole custody of Blanket.

## Family

### Children

* Mauren Reillette "Rebbie Jackson (born May 29, 1950)
* Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951)
* Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953)
* Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954)
* LaToya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956)
* Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957)
* Brandon Jackson (born and died March 12, 1957)
* Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958; died June 25, 2009)
* Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson (born October 29, 1961)
* Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966)

### Grandchildren

* Stacee Brown (born August 4, 1973) - from Rebbie
* Toriano Adaryll "Taj" Jackson Jr. (born August 4, 1973) - from Tito
* Taryll Adren Jackson (born August 8, 1975) - from Tito
* Valencia Caroline Jackson (born December 18, 1976) - from Marlon
* Jermaine La Jaune "Jay" Jackson Jr. (born January 27, 1977) - from Jermaine
* Sigmund Esco "Siggy" Jackson Jr. (born June 29, 1977) - from Jackie
* Yashi Kareen Brown (born October 5, 1977) - from Rebbie
* Autumn Joi Jackson (born July 10, 1978) - from Jermaine
* Tito Joe "T.J." Jackson (born July 16, 1978) - from Tito
* Brittny Shauntee Jackson (born September 4, 1978) - from Marlon
* Marlon David Jackson Jr. (born September 23, 1981) - from Marlon
* Brandi Jackson (born February 6, 1982) - from Jackie
* Dawn Jackson (born March 6, 1984) - from Jermaine
* Nathaniel Austin Brown (born November 22, 1985) - from Rebbie
* Jeremy Maldonado Jackson (born December 26, 1986) - from Jermaine
* Jaimy Jermaine Jackson (born March 17, 1987) - from Jermaine
* Jourdynn Michael Jackson (born January 5, 1989) - from Jermaine
* Genevieve Katherine Jackson (born December 3, 1989) - from Randy
* Stevanna Jackson (born October 2, 1990) - from Randy
* Donte Randall Jackson (born June 13, 1992) - from Randy
* Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson Jr. (born June 17, 1992) - from Randy
* Jaafar Jeremiah Jackson (born July 25, 1996) - from Jermaine
* Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson Jr. (born February 13, 1997) - from Michael
* Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson (born April 3, 1998) - from Michael
* Jermajesty Jermaine Jackson (born October 3, 2000) - from Jermaine
* Prince Michael "Bigi" Jackson II (born February 21, 2002) - from Michael
* Jaylen Milan Jackson (born December 31, 2013) - from Jackie
* River T Jackson (born December 31, 2013) - from Jackie
* Eissa Al Mana (born January 3, 2017) - from Janet

### Great-grandchildren

* Royal Tito Joseph Jackson (born October 23, 1999) - from T.J.
* London Blue Salas (born July 25, 2005) - from Stacee
* Noah Laniak (born August 18, 2006) - from Valencia
* Sophia Laniak (born November 12, 2007) - from Valencia
* Bryce Connor Jackson (born February 20, 2008) - from Taryll
* Delores Dior "Dee Dee" Jackson (born March 20, 2008) - from T.J.
* Phoenix Sanchez (born July 27, 2010) - from Brittny
* Dallas Jordan Michael "Jo Jo" Jackson (born November 30, 2010) - from T.J.
* Adren Michael Jackson (born February 17, 2011) - from Taryll
* Jared Esco Jackson (born July 21, 2011) - from Siggy
* Savanna Bella Sanchez (born September 2, 2011) - from Brittny
* Kai-Ari Jackson (born February 22, 2014) - from Siggy
* Summer Blue Sanchez (born August 27, 2014) - from Brittny
* Rio Tito Joe Jackson (born March 10, 2015) - from T.J.
* Soltan Soul Jackson (born January 20, 2017) - from Jay
* Bobbi Jackson (born November 19, 2017) - from Jourdynn
* Scout Brittny Sanchez (born August 2, 2018) - from Brittny
* Skyy Okhi Enid Jackson (born August 25, 2018) - from Siggy
* Taylor Aurora Sco Jackson (born November 21, 2018) - from Taj
* Anai Icon Jackson (born March 11, 2020) - from Siggy