Quick Answer: Michael Jackson had three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (known as Prince), Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, and Prince Michael Jackson II (known as Blanket, now Bigi). Prince was born in 1997, Paris in 1998, and Bigi in 2002. All three were raised primarily at Neverland Ranch and are now adults living notably different lives.
Quick Facts
| Michael Joseph Jr. (Prince) | Paris-Michael Katherine | Prince Michael II (Bigi) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | February 13, 1997 | April 3, 1998 | February 21, 2002 |
| Mother | Debbie Rowe | Debbie Rowe | Surrogate (unnamed) |
| Nickname | Prince | Paris | Blanket / Bigi |
| Raised by | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson |
| Guardian (post-2009) | Katherine Jackson | Katherine Jackson | Katherine Jackson |
| Current focus | Film/TV production | Modeling, music, acting | Private life |
Few celebrity families have attracted as much scrutiny as Michael Jackson’s. From their infancy—when the singer dangled Bigi over a Berlin hotel balcony in 2002, triggering global headlines—to their adult lives today, Michael Jackson’s kids have navigated an extraordinary public existence shaped by one of the most famous and complicated fathers in entertainment history.
This article covers what is publicly known, verified through court records, major news organizations, and the children’s own stated accounts, about who Michael Jackson’s three children are, where they came from, and what they are doing now.
The primary sources drawn on here include Los Angeles Superior Court guardianship filings, verified interviews given to major outlets including Rolling Stone and Oprah Winfrey’s network, and coverage from The Associated Press, People, and Variety. Claims that cannot be verified through these channels are flagged accordingly.
Who Are Michael Jackson’s Three Children?
Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (Prince)
Prince was born on February 13, 1997, in Los Angeles. His mother is Debbie Rowe, a former nurse who had worked with Jackson’s dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein. Rowe and Jackson married in 1996, several months before Prince’s birth, and divorced in 1999.
Jackson was awarded full custody of Prince following the divorce. Rowe initially relinquished her parental rights in exchange for a financial settlement, though she later challenged that decision in court. In 2004, a California court reinstated her parental rights. The custody arrangement remained a matter of legal dispute for years, and Rowe has spoken publicly about her relationship with her children being complicated by those early court proceedings.
Prince attended Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California—using a pseudonym for a period to maintain some privacy—and later enrolled at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he studied business. He graduated in 2019.
As an adult, Prince has taken an active role in managing his father’s legacy. He serves as a board member of the Michael Jackson Estate and has pursued work in film and television production. In interviews with outlets including People magazine, Prince has described his father as hands-on and attentive, refuting narratives that characterized his upbringing as isolated or abnormal. His public presence has grown steadily since turning 21, and he maintains an active social media following.
Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson
Paris was born on April 3, 1998, also to Debbie Rowe. She is the only daughter among Michael Jackson’s three children.
Jackson chose the middle name Katherine to honor his mother. Like her brother, Paris wore masks and veils in public during her father’s lifetime—a practice Jackson described in interviews as a deliberate effort to give them some measure of a normal childhood away from constant media attention.
After her father’s death in June 2009, Paris entered Buckley School and began living full-time with her paternal grandmother, Katherine Jackson, under a guardianship arrangement approved by Los Angeles Superior Court. She later attended the Provo Canyon School in Utah, a therapeutic boarding school, following a period of well-documented personal difficulties. Paris has spoken about this period in her own words, including in a 2017 Rolling Stone cover interview, describing the years after her father’s death as deeply difficult and crediting treatment with helping her stabilize.
Paris pivoted toward entertainment in her late teens. She has modeled for Chanel and other fashion houses, released music under her own name (her single “Let Down” came out in 2020), and acted in several television and film projects. She was cast in the Fox series “Star” in 2017. Her public persona is candid and advocacy-oriented; she has spoken openly about mental health, LGBTQ+ rights, and her biracial identity in multiple verified interviews.
Whether Paris is biologically related to Michael Jackson has been a recurring question in tabloid coverage. Paris herself addressed it directly in the 2017 Rolling Stone interview, stating that Jackson is her “real father” in every sense that matters to her. Biological parentage has not been confirmed or denied through any official or legal record available to the public. This article does not speculate beyond what Paris has stated herself.
Prince Michael Jackson II (Bigi, formerly Blanket)
The youngest of Michael Jackson’s children was born on February 21, 2002. Jackson named him Prince Michael II; the nickname “Blanket” came from a phrase Jackson used to describe giving a child unconditional love. As an adult, he has asked to be called Bigi—a preference his siblings have respected publicly.
Bigi’s biological mother has never been publicly identified. Jackson confirmed in a 2003 documentary interview with Martin Bashir that a surrogate carried the child, but he declined to name her. No legal proceedings have publicly established the surrogate’s identity.
Bigi is the most private of the three children by a significant margin. He attended the Buckley School and later enrolled at Fusion Academy, a private school in California. Beyond that, his adult activities are largely undisclosed by choice. His brother Prince and sister Paris have both referred in interviews to respecting Bigi’s preference for privacy.
In 2019, Bigi appeared briefly in a promotional video for the Michael Jackson Estate, which was one of his first public appearances as a teenager. His social media presence is minimal and carefully maintained.
A Timeline: Key Moments in the Lives of Michael Jackson’s Kids
1996 — Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe marry in Sydney, Australia.
1997 — Prince (Michael Joseph Jackson Jr.) is born on February 13 in Los Angeles.
1998 — Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson is born on April 3 in Los Angeles.
1999 — Jackson and Rowe divorce. Jackson is awarded full custody of Prince and Paris.
2002 — Bigi (Prince Michael Jackson II) is born on February 21 via surrogate. In November, Jackson briefly holds Bigi over a hotel balcony in Berlin; the incident is captured on camera and draws immediate international criticism.
2003 — All three children appear masked in Martin Bashir’s documentary “Living with Michael Jackson,” broadcast by ITV in the United Kingdom and ABC in the United States.
2004 — California court reinstates Debbie Rowe’s parental rights following her legal challenge.
2009 — Michael Jackson dies on June 25 from acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication, ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County Coroner. The children are placed under the guardianship of Katherine Jackson by Los Angeles Superior Court.
2012 — A custody dispute involving T.J. Jackson (Michael’s nephew) briefly draws public attention; Katherine Jackson retains primary guardianship.
2017 — Paris gives a landmark interview to Rolling Stone, one of the most detailed public accounts any of the three children has given about their upbringing and their father.
2019 — Prince graduates from Loyola Marymount University. Bigi appears publicly in an Estate promotional video.
2021–present — Paris releases music, continues modeling, and acts. Prince focuses on production work and Estate board responsibilities. Bigi maintains a private life.
How Were Michael Jackson’s Kids Raised?
Jackson was the sole custodial parent from birth until his death. He raised all three children at Neverland Ranch, his private estate in Santa Barbara County, California, and later at rented residences in Las Vegas and Los Angeles following the ranch’s effective closure.
Jackson consistently kept the children out of public view. They wore masks or coverings when appearing in public. He employed private tutors rather than enrolling them in traditional schools during their early years. Both Prince and Paris have confirmed these details in their own interviews.
Court records from the 2005 criminal trial, in which Jackson was acquitted of all charges, do not contain any findings related to how he raised his children. His parenting practices have been characterized differently by different parties over the years, but the verified firsthand accounts from Prince and Paris specifically describe a father who was attentive and deeply involved in their daily lives.
Where Are Michael Jackson’s Kids Now?
Prince Jackson, 28, is the most publicly active of the three in professional terms. He has built a career adjacent to the entertainment industry through production and estate management. He is a board member of Heal Los Angeles, a charitable organization, and has represented the Michael Jackson Estate at public events.
Paris Jackson, 27, works across music, modeling, and acting. She has been signed to Republic Records and released multiple singles. Her advocacy work spans mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ causes, both of which she has discussed in verified interviews with major outlets. She is also a spokesperson for the Heal the World Foundation.
Bigi Jackson, 23, is not active in the public eye. His current activities are not publicly documented beyond confirmation from his siblings that he is well and private by choice.
The Michael Jackson Estate, which manages the late singer’s intellectual property and commercial interests, has been a central institution in the professional lives of all three children since 2009.
What Happened to Debbie Rowe After the Divorce?
Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson’s post-divorce relationship remained publicly contentious for years, largely due to successive legal disputes over her parental rights. After the 2004 court ruling reinstating those rights, Rowe did not pursue active custody.
Following Jackson’s death in 2009, Rowe has maintained a low public profile. She has made occasional statements to press, notably telling TMZ in 2013 that she had a relationship with her children that was separate from the public narrative. She has not sought guardianship and has not been party to any publicly reported legal proceedings related to the children since Jackson’s death.
Rowe was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and later confirmed she was in remission, according to reporting by Entertainment Weekly.
Michael Jackson’s Kids Today: What the Public Record Shows
The picture that emerges from verified sources is one of three adults who have moved into their own identities on very different timelines. Prince has taken a structured path toward professional legitimacy, aligning himself with the Estate and with charitable work. Paris has pursued a public creative career while speaking candidly about personal struggles in ways that have made her a recognizable voice on mental health. Bigi has done the opposite—exiting public life as completely as his circumstances allow.
What connects them is the estate of one of the most commercially valuable and disputed figures in entertainment history, and the experience of growing up under extraordinary scrutiny without having chosen it. Their paths since 2009 reflect those facts plainly.
Frequently Asked Questions About Michael Jackson’s Kids
Who are Michael Jackson’s three children?
Michael Jackson’s three children are Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (Prince), born February 13, 1997; Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, born April 3, 1998; and Prince Michael Jackson II (Bigi, formerly Blanket), born February 21, 2002. Prince and Paris were born to Debbie Rowe. Bigi was born via an unnamed surrogate.
Who is the biological mother of Michael Jackson’s kids?
Debbie Rowe is the biological mother of Prince and Paris. The surrogate who carried Bigi has never been publicly identified. Jackson confirmed in a 2003 documentary that a surrogate was used but declined to name her. No public legal record has established the surrogate’s identity.
Who raised Michael Jackson’s children after his death in 2009?
Los Angeles Superior Court granted guardianship to Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, following his death on June 25, 2009. T.J. Jackson, Michael’s nephew, was briefly named co-guardian in 2012 during a period when Katherine Jackson was temporarily unavailable, but Katherine retained primary guardianship.
Why did Michael Jackson’s kids wear masks in public?
Jackson explained in multiple interviews that he used masks and coverings to protect his children from constant media attention and to give them some degree of privacy. Both Prince and Paris have confirmed this practice in their own words and have described it as an attempt by their father to create normalcy for them.
Is Paris Jackson Michael Jackson’s biological daughter?
Paris has stated publicly—most notably in a 2017 Rolling Stone interview—that Michael Jackson is her “real father” and the only father she has ever known. Biological parentage has not been confirmed or denied through any official or legal record. This article does not speculate beyond what Paris has stated herself.
What is Bigi Jackson doing now?
Bigi Jackson, born February 21, 2002, is the most private of Michael Jackson’s three children. He has not maintained a public profile. His siblings have confirmed in interviews that he prefers privacy. Beyond his brief appearance in a 2019 Michael Jackson Estate promotional video, his current activities are not publicly documented.
Sophia Carter is an entertainment journalist and celebrity culture writer with a passion for covering Hollywood news, celebrity biographies, lifestyle trends, and pop culture stories. She specializes in researching public figures, industry developments, and trending entertainment topics to create engaging, accurate, and reader-friendly content. Through her work, Sophia aims to provide readers with well-researched insights and timely updates from the world of entertainment.