Who Is Prince Jackson?

Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., also known as "Prince," is the first child of pop star Michael Jackson. His biological mother is Debbie Rowe, the former wife of Jackson. Rowe signed over custody of Prince and his sister, Paris Michael Katherine, after Rowe and Jackson divorced in 1999.

Early Life

Prince was born on February 13, 1997, in Los Angeles, California. He is the first child of the late pop singer Michael Jackson and his former wife, Debbie Rowe. Following her 1999 divorce from Michael, Rowe signed over custody of Prince and his sister, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Prince and Paris' youngest sibling is Prince Michael "Blanket" Jackson.

Although Rowe is certain to be Prince's biological mother, who his biological father is has come in to question. Despite the public curiosity, Prince doesn't understand why the subject is an issue. "Every time someone asks me that, I ask, 'What's the point? What difference does it make?' Specifically to someone who's not involved in my life. How does that affect your life? It doesn't change mine," he told Rolling Stone in 2017.

Father's Death and Later Years

Michael suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles on June 25, 2009, and died shortly thereafter, at the age of 50. Following his father's death, Prince, who was 12 years old at the time, came under the legal guardianship of his grandmother, Katherine Jackson. Katherine became the legal guardian of Prince and his siblings.

Prince and his siblings largely stayed out of the public spotlight, appearing publicly only a few times since Michael's death including at the 2010 Grammy Awards, accepting a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for their father.

In February 2010, an official coroner's report on Michael's cause of death was released, revealing that the singer had died from acute propofol intoxication. Aided by his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael had used this drug and others to help him sleep at night. After a police investigation revealed that Murray was not licensed to prescribe most controlled drugs in California, his actions while caring for Michael Jackson were further scrutinized. Michael's death was ruled a homicide, of which Murray was found guilty on November 7, 2011, receiving a four-year prison sentence.

Believing that A.E.G. Live — the entertainment company that promoted Michael's planned comeback series, "This Is It," in 2009 — had failed to effectively protect the singer while he was under Murray's care, the Jackson family decided to take legal action against the company. Katherine officially filed a wrongful death lawsuit against A.E.G. with Prince, Paris and Blanket, and the trial began in April 2013. Lawyers sought up to $1.5 billion — an estimation of what Michael could have earned over the months since his death, if he were alive — in the case, but, in October 2013, a jury determined that A.E.G. wasn't responsible for Michael's death. "Although Michael Jackson's death was a terrible tragedy, it was not a tragedy of A.E.G. Live's making," said Marvin S. Putnam, A.E.G.'s lawyer.

Foray into Entertainment

In 2013 Prince made his first foray into being a media personality. He served as a guest correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and has expressed an interest in getting more involved in show business: "I'm looking to become well-rounded as a producer, director, screenwriter and actor."

Prince has also said that "music is a big part of my life.” “It shaped who I am because of my family, but I’ve always wanted to go into production. My dad would ask me what I wanted to do and my answer was always producing and directing,” he told the LA Times in 2016.

Education

Prince graduated from the prestigious Buckley School, in Sherman Oaks, California, in May 2015 and in May 2019, he graduated cum laude honors from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.