We have put together a biography of the amazingly talented Janet Jackson so that you can learn more about here life and music career. We also want to help you see Janet live in concert. To reserve your seats for an upcoming tour date, simply click on the Janet Jackson tickets link.
Life and History of Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson, whose birth name is Janet Damita Jo Jackson, was born on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana to a very musically inclined family. She was the youngest of nine children. The family moved Encino California after the Jackson 5 encountered great success. They settled in a gated mansion that they referred to as "Hayvenhurst". She initially began her career as an actress with the variety television series The Jacksons at the age of seven. She also starred in Good Times, A New Kind of Family, Different Strokes and Fame. Janet Jackson once commented, "No one ever asked me if I wanted to go into show business...it was expected."
Janet Jackson's musical career took off when in 1982 when she landed a contract with A&M records. Her father acted as her manager. Her debut album was titled Janet Jackson and produced a #6 R&B single, "Young Love". She went against her family's wishes in 1984 and married singer James DeBarge. The marriage was annulled after less than a year.
When Janet decided to collaborate with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, she found record-breaking success and produced five consecutive number one studio albums. Her first release was Control (1986), followed by Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1812 (1989), janet (1993) The Velvet Rope (1997), and All for You (2001). She released her father as her manager in 1987. She embarked on her first major tour after releasing Rhythm Nation and Virgin Records' acquired her by offering her a contract worth more than $30 million. The album eventually became a record-setting and record-breaking album as the only album in history to score number one hits in three separate calendar years.
In 1991, Jackson secretly entered into her second marriage with dancer, songwriter and director Rene Elizondo. She appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in 1993 topless with Elizondo's hands covering her breasts. In 2000, Rolling Stone named it the ‘Most Popular Cover Ever'. Their marriage was never made public until when Elizondo filed for divorce in 2000.
Janet Jackson made her debut on the big screen as a heroine of Poetic Justice. She played opposite Tupac Shakur in the movie that was directed by John Singleton. The movie didn't do that great, but her album, janet, catapulted it's way to the top of the pop and R&B charts. In July 2000, Jackson returned to the big screen with her second film, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, as professor Denise Gaines with Eddie Murphy. She also had a song on the soundtrack, "Doesn't Really Matter", that became Jackson's ninth number one U.S. Billboard Hot 100 single.
Janet Jackson began a relationship with Jermaine Dupri in 2004. That same year, she performed in the Super Bowl halftime show with Justin Timberlake. This was when the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" happened. During the performance of Timberlake's single "Rock Your Body", he tore open Jackson's top exposing her right breast as he sang "gonna have you naked by the end of this song." Jackson apologized and said he was supposed to pull away the bustier and leave the bra intact. Timberlake called it a "wardrobe malfunction". It became the most replayed moment in TiVo history. CBS told them they could only appear on the 2004 46th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony if they each made a public apology not saying that it was a "wardrobe malfunction." Timberlake apologized, Jackson did not. She appeared as a host of Saturday Night Live on April 10, 2004, where she performed a parody of the Super Bowl.
Janet Jackson continues to have success. She celebrated her fortieth birthday in 2006 in Los Angeles where Stevie Wonder serenaded her. She appeared on the cover of US Weekly in June 2006 and it was their best-selling issue ever. Her ninth studio album, 20 Y.O., was released in September of 2006 and sold over 296,000 copies in its first week. The album ended up being a commercial disappointment and Dupri and Jackson left Virgin Records and later joined the Universal Music Group label Island Records.
She started filming Why Did I Get Married? with Tyler Perry on March 5, 2007. The film was released in October of that year and opened at number one at the box office growwing $21.4 million in it's first week. She released her tenth studio album in February 2008 under the supervision of label head Antonio "L.A." Reid. This became Jackson's first number one album since All For You. She will be going on tour starting in September of 2008.
