Paris Jackson, the only daughter of late pop star Michael Jackson, opened up about her African-American roots and how proud she is of that, as well as the criticism she received.
Paris, 25, was born to parents Billie Jean hitmaker and Debbie Rowe in 1998.
Over the years, there have been speculations that Jackson wasn’t the biological father of his three children, Paris and her two brothers, Bigi, 22, and Prince, 27. This was due to the fact that that many couldn’t see any resemblance between the late star and the kids, especially Paris who has white skin, light eyes and now bleached-blond hair.
The kids were very close with their father who went to great lengths to protect them from media scrutiny. His measures were unlike, however. He would show his son Bigi to the public with his face covered with a blanket, causing him troubles while growing up because his friends often teased him. He now prefers to be called Bigi.
Following the star’s death in 2009, his children were tossed alone in the public eye, turning them a highly profitable prey for the media that were eager to share their photos and followed their every step.
This experience left Paris battling a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“I experience audio hallucinations, sometimes, with camera clicks and severe paranoia and have been going to therapy for a lot of things, but that included,” she shared.
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By age 15, Paris attempted suicide “multiple times” and in 2019 she was admitted at a treatment facility. “It was just self-hatred…Low self-esteem, thinking that I couldn’t do anything right, not thinking I was worthy of living anymore.”
Today, she’s a successful musician who follows into her father’s footsteps. Over the years, she has also walked the runway for famous brands such as Chanel. Paris is a member of the band The Soundflowers.
“Everyone in my family does music. I mean, I’m a Jackson,” she said in 2020. “It makes sense that I’m a musician but like, a Jackson doing folk indie?”
Paris is very close to her brothers and looks up to Prince. “He’s everything to me, you know?” In 2020, she told People of her relationship with her older brother. “I’ve always looked up to him and always wanted his approval and everything, and wanted to be more like him.”
He loves and supports his younger sister as much. “Basically, as a person, she is who my dad is. The only thing that’s different would be her age and her gender,” he said of Paris, adding that she’s similar to her father “in all of her strengths, and almost all of her weaknesses as well. She’s very passionate.”
The physical appearance of the King of Pop underwent significant changes over the course of his life and many accused him of bleaching his skin, which was considerably darker in his younger days, but he claimed he had never done anything to his skin and that it turning white was a result of Vitiligo, during an Oprah interview in 1993.
“I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am,” Jackson told Winfrey at the time.
Back in 2017, speaking of herself, Paris told Rolling Stone magazine she “considers [herself] black,” and that “[Michael] would look me in the eyes and he’d point his finger at me and he’d be like, ‘You’re black. Be proud of your roots.’”
“Most people that don’t know me call me white. I’ve got light skin and, especially since I’ve had my hair blond, I look like I was born in Finland or something,” she said. “And I’d be like, ‘okay, he’s my dad, why would he lie to me?’ So I just believe what he told me. [Because], to my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.”
This declaration of race triggered criticism on Paris. Among the rest, it was host Wendy William’s that mocked Paris’ statement.
“I get that she considers herself black and everything, but I’m just talking about the visual because you know…black is not what you call yourself, it’s what the cops see you when they got steel to your neck on the turnpike.”
She added: “It’s what they see. But that’s cute and good for her.”
Ron Howard Calls His Wife His ‘Good Luck Charm’ – You Won’t Believe Their 49-Year Marriage Secret!
Ron Howard has been a famous name for almost as long as he has been alive—70 years! He has had a successful career in film and TV that started when he was just a toddler.
Besides his impressive career, Ron Howard has also had a long-lasting marriage. He has been married to his wife Cheryl for nearly 50 years.
Keep reading to learn more about Ron Howard’s amazing career and his long marriage!
Ron Howard was born on March 1, 1954, in Duncan, Oklahoma. From a very young age, it was clear he was destined for Hollywood greatness. At just 18 months old, he appeared in his first film, Frontier Woman. When he was two years old, he made his stage debut in the play The Seven Year Itch.
Soon after, the freckle-faced redhead began his celebrity career with a role on The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 to 1968.
In this show, little Ron Howard played Opie, the son of Andy Griffith’s character. During this time, Ron had the full support of his parents, who both worked in the entertainment industry.
Ron Howard remembers a conversation he had with his parents years ago. They said, “Remember how we always said, ‘You can do it if you want, but you don’t have to?’ Well, if you start this, you can’t quit.” They explained that he didn’t have to take other roles, but if he started this one, he had to keep doing it.
Ron Howard understood what his parents were trying to tell him. He says, “I think it was pretty clear at that point that I was enjoying it, and I was good at it.”
And he really was great at it! He was about to reach an even higher level of fame.
While he was starring in The Andy Griffith Show, Ron also appeared in the 1962 musical film The Music Man, which was a huge hit.
With his natural talent, Ron went on to star in the 1973 film American Graffiti. This movie also featured stars like Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, and Cindy Williams, who he would work with again in the future.
In 1974, Ron Howard was cast as Richie Cunningham in a new TV series created by Garry Marshall called Happy Days. The show became a big hit and was on TV from 1974 to 1984, reaching homes around the world.
Happy Days also led to some popular spin-offs, including Laverne & Shirley, which starred Cindy Williams and Garry Marshall’s sister Penny Marshall, and Mork & Mindy, featuring Robin Williams as the lovable alien Mork.
Before he won a Golden Globe for his role as Richie Cunningham, Ron Howard met his high school sweetheart, Cheryl Alley, in 1970. They got married in 1975.
“I met her, and there was never anybody else,” Speaking with People, the director of the Da Vinci Code continued, “She’s unbelievably supportive and always has been. Our compatibility has endured through all kinds of experiences.”
After 50 years of shared experiences, Howard, who earned an Oscar for directing A Beautiful Mind, commemorated the 50th anniversary of his first date with Cheryl on Instagram.
“Nov 1 1970 Cheryl & I went on our 1st date,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself wearing socks with images of Cheryl’s face. “We went to see a re-release of Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad Mad Mad World and then got some pizza at now defunct Barnone’s in Toluca Lake. Quite a start, right?”
He also shared their plans that day, “We’ll be driving in the same ‘70 VW Bug I picked Cheryl up in 5 decades ago. It runs great. So do we.”
Cheryl made several cameos in Howard’s projects and even played herself on the TV comedy series Arrested Development, produced and narrated by Howard.
Speaking with the Television Academy, Ron called Cheryl his “good luck charm,” and explained that is why she appears in every film he makes.
“At a certain point, I became very superstitious about making sure that she appears, that she’s at least identifiable in one frame,” he said. “They don’t have to be big cameos, but she’s gotta be in there.”
In addition to bringing her husband some luck, Cheryl is also a published author who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in screenwriting.
The power couple are grandparents to six children and the parents of four, daughter Bryce, twins Paige and Jocelyn and son Reed.
Bryce – a recognizable actor – is known for roles in movies like Jurassic World and The Help, while Paige made her feature film debut in the 2009 movie Adventureland. Since she’s appeared in films The Employer and Collection.
Reed is a professional golfer and Paige’s twin sister Jocelyn is very private.
Nearing their 49th anniversary on June 7, the Emmy Award-winning producer shares that “communication” is the secret to their enduring love.
People say, ‘How’d you do it?’ There’s no technique,” Howard tells People. “There’s no tactic, other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways. Beyond that, there’s an element of luck because people either grow together or they don’t and I don’t think you can force that.”
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