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Katherine Jackson | |
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Born | Kattie B. Screws May 4, 1930 Barbour County, Alabama, U.S. |
Spouse(s) | Joseph Jackson |
Children | Rebbie Jackson Jackie Jackson Tito Jackson Jermaine Jackson LaToya Jackson Brandon Jackson (deceased) Marlon Jackson Michael Jackson (deceased) Randy Jackson Janet Jackson |
Parent(s) | Martha Upshaw Albert Screws |
Katherine Jackson (née Screws and Scruise) (born May 4, 1930) is the mother of the Jacksons musical family.
Born Kattie B. Screws in Barbour County, Alabama, she was the daughter of Martha Mattie Upshaw and Prince Albert Screws. Katherine's father later changed his surname to "Scruse", and her name was changed to Katherine Esther Scruse when she was four. Katherine contracted polio as a child, but she eventually made a full recovery from the disease. However, because of the disease's effects, she walks with a noticeable limp. At four, her family moved to East Chicago, Indiana. There she met Joseph Jackson, whom she married in 1949.
During the group's early years, the mid-to-late 1960's, Katherine served a role as the group's designer. She often made suits for her five eldest sons to wear during their lengthy rides to predominantly black venues and theaters where they mostly performed. After the Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records in 1968, Katherine's role was more limited. Throughout the Jackson 5's rise to fame, and later the solo careers of Michael and Janet, she was often described as a devoted mother and wife to her family. In 1984, she joined her husband in helping to create their sons' Victory Tour. In 1985 Essence magazine named her the "Mother of the Year".
In 1990 Katherine issued her biography, My Family[1], which documented her early years and her relationship with her husband and her nine children, eight of whom wrote salutes to their mother in the foreword of the book.[1] She detailed that her husband on more than a few occasions had committed adultery, one of which resulted in the birth of a daughter in 1974.[1] Mrs. Jackson is a devout Jehovah's Witness.
In an unauthorized biography of Janet Jackson, a confrontational family incident was described. This biography claims that in 1979 Katherine and her two youngest children, Randy and Janet, engaged in a confrontation with a woman who worked for Joseph's company. Katherine had often accused Joe of cheating on her with this woman. That incident was re-dramatized for the miniseries, The Jacksons: An American Dream. However, in the miniseries, Katherine was shown confronting Joseph instead of the woman about the alleged incident. The Jacksons movie had Angela Bassett playing Jackson in the role.
Throughout the 1990s, Katherine defended her children in the press, particularly Michael. During Michael's 2005 trial, Katherine was the only Jackson family member to be present at every court hearing and is said to be one of the few relatives that Michael kept in contact with. Katherine splits her time between Las Vegas and her Hayvenhurst home in Encino.
On June 29, 2009, Katherine was granted temporary guardianship of Michael's three children, following his death four days earlier.[2] Court documents indicated that she was also seeking control over the three children's interests in their late father's estate.[2] Although Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of the two eldest children and Michael's second wife, hadn't seen or interacted with the children for years, as of July 4 2009 she was "considering" petitioning the courts for custody of all three children.[2]
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