Janet Jackson

She then married Rene Elizondo Jr. The marriage was a hush-hush affair as the duo kept their marital status hidden from not just the international press but also her father. The marriage, however, hit the rocks leading Elizondo to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against her.

Later, in February 2013, Jackson announced she had married Qatari businessman, Wissam Al Mana, in a private ceremony in 2012. The couple welcomed their first child, a son, on January 3, 2017.

Janet Jackson was born as Janet Damita Jo Jackson on May 16, 1966, in Gary, Indiana. She was the youngest of the ten children born to Katherine Esther and Joseph Walter Jackson.

With the entire family into the entertainment business, it was only natural for Janet Jackson to follow suit. She recorded herself in the studio and by the age of seven, had performed at the Las Vegas Strip at MGM Casino.

In 1976, Jackson began acting in the variety show ‘The Jacksons’. The following year, she bagged a main role as Penny Gordon Woods in the sitcom ‘Good Times’. This was followed by a role in ‘A New Kind of Family’ and a recurring role in ‘Different Strokes’.

At the age of 16, Jackson bagged a contract with A&M Records. Under the label, she released her debut album ‘Janet Jackson’ in 1982. The album peaked at number 63 on the Billboard 200, and number six on the publication’s R&B albums chart.

In 1984, Jackson released her second album ‘Dream Street’. The album was moderately successful, peaking at 147 on the Billboard 200, and number 19 on the R&B albums chart. Its lead single ‘Don’t Stand a Chance’ peaked at number nine on Billboard’s R&B singles chart.

Continuous tiffs with her father led Jackson to come out from under his shell. She then teamed with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to come up with her third album ‘Control’ in 1986 which became a major hit. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified five times platinum by the RIAA, selling over ten million copies worldwide.

The breakthrough in Janet Jackson’s career came with her second album ‘Control,’ and after that, she never looked back! Belting out blockbuster singles and albums one after the other, including ‘Rhythm Nation 1814’, ‘Janet’, ‘The Velvet Rope’ and so on, Jackson by the end of the 1990s decade, was ranked by Billboard as the second most successful artist of the decade. Furthermore, she became the only female artist in the history of the Hot 100 to have 18 consecutive top ten hit singles, from ‘Miss You Much’ (1989) to ‘I Get Lonely’ (1998).

Jackson’s popularity escalated exponentially in the 21st century, as all of her albums and singles did exceptionally well at the charts. She became one of the top ten best selling artists in the history of contemporary music. She has been credited for redefining the landscape of pop music and is counted at par with Madonna, Aerosmith, Garth Brooks and Eric Clapton.