Who Is Paris Jackson's Mom? 5 Details About Debbie Rowe
Paris was there for her when she needed it, and vice versa.
Getty On June 30, Paris Jackson and her boyfriend released the beginning episodes of their new docuseries called "Unfiltered: Paris Jackson & Gabriel Glenn" on Facebook Watch. The series follows the folk-indie genre music that they have been putting together with their band The Soundflowers.
The docuseries is set to air every Tuesday through August 4.
In the trailer to the series, Paris says, "You see a kid grow up in the public eye and forget that I am a human," as she is followed by paparazzi.
Paris has had a hard life trying to come out from her father's shadow and struggles after his death.
Of course, we know all about her father, Michael Jackson — but who is Paris Jackson's mom?
In March 2019, TMZ reported that Paris had been hospitalized for a suicide attempt. Reportedly, her boyfriend asked the neighbor to call 911, according to the audio of the call itself. Los Angeles police confirmed an ambulance was called for attempted suicide to the 20-year-old’s building.
Paris was not happy about the TMZ report: she cursed out the source on Twitter. She said in since-deleted tweets that it was all lies. Regardless, Paris seemed happy at the event, which was well-attended by a slew of stars. Chris Brown was there, along with Runaways star Gregg Sulkin.
Paris’s family was also in attendance. Macaulay Culkin, her godfather, was there with his girlfriend Brenda Song. Paris’s brother Prince also came in support of his sister. The most surprising guest, however, was Paris’s mother, Deborah, or Debbie Rowe. Paris shared a photo of the two of them kissing on the lips on social media.
Debbie Rowe told the media she was “very proud” of her daughter.
Over the years, Rowe has had a complex relationship with her children and the Jackson family. Her relationship with Michael Jackson was unconventional. Her involvement in her daughter’s life has gained traction in recent years, and it seems they’re on their way to developing even closer ties.
So who is Paris Jackson's mom? Below are details about how Rowe came to be Paris’s mother, and her life afterward.
1. Rowe and Jackson met while he was being treated for vitiligo.
The two connected through Arnold Klein’s dermatology office. Jackson was there for treatment, while Rowe was there working as a nursing assistant. The two hit it off quickly after they met, though Jackson was about to wed Lisa Marie Presley, whom he married in 1994.
Rowe said he was devastated after they divorced in 1996, mostly because he feared he would never become a father. Rowe then made a proposition that would change their lives forever: she said she would bear his children.
Soon after, Rowe was pregnant. She and Jackson got married on November 14, 1996, in Sydney, Australia.
2. She’s also the mother of Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., or Prince.
Prince is the couple’s first-born son. He was born on February 13, 1997. Rowe became pregnant again soon afterward and had Paris on April 3, 1998.
Friends said that Rowe fit Jackson’s ideal image for the mother of his children, as he’d said he wanted blond-haired and blue-eyed kids.
“I believe there are people who should be parents, and he’s one of them,” Rowe has said. “And he is such a fabulous man, and such a good friend, and he’s always been there for me, always, from the day I met him.”
Blanket, Jackson’s youngest son, is not Rowe’s child—he is the son of Jackson and an unnamed mother.
3. They divorced in 1999.
Rowe wasn’t one for motherhood. She relinquished custody in the divorce. In a 2001 hearing, she relinquished parental rights.
"I did it for him to become a father, not for me to become a mother. You earn the title parent. I have done absolutely nothing to earn that title," she told the court.
As for being married to Jackson, she said she would’ve stayed with him—but the media got in the way.
"Had it not been for all the media stuff, I would have stayed married to him forever unless he finally got tired of me,” she’d said.
Jackson was their children’s legal guardian, until his death—then Katherine Jackson, the matriarch of the family, took over … until the court suspended her guardianship. Eventually, it was handed over to TJ Jackson, one of Michael Jackson’s nephews.
4. Paris Jackon's mom had a few legal spats with him and the family after the divorce.
Following Jackson’s charges with child abuse in 2004, Rowe tried to reverse her revoked access to her children. She sued him for an immediate payment of $195,000, and a payment of $50,000 to pursue a child custody case. Jackson ended up being ordered to pay his ex-wife $60,000 in legal fees.
Rowe and Katherine Jackson averted a full-on custody battle after Jackson’s passing in 2009. They quickly agreed that Katherine would be the guardian of Prince, Paris, and Blanket. Rowe, however, would have visitation rights for her biological children.
But, Rowe has recently started defending Jackson against new abuse and child molestation allegations. This came after Martin Bashir released a documentary where Jackson confessed to spending nights and sharing the same beds as young boys.
Rowe has said an interview titled "The Debbie Rowe Interview: The Missing Tapes" that she did not see anything inappropriate happen.
In the interview, she said, "I'm confused as to where people have come up with the decision, the blanket statement that it's inappropriate. It's because they have preconceived ideas that are absolutely incorrect. Period," and "He's their father and he's not a pedophile."
She also said. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt a child. I'm tired of hearing it ... because you can only take the lies for so long and I've reached my limit. And that's why I'm doing this. I'm tired of the lies. I'm tired of the bulls**t."
Two years after the documentary aired, Jackson was cleared of all charges.
But after his death and the release of the documentary Leaving Neverland. In this documentary, Wade Robson and James Safechuck recounted their childhood experiences of being sexually abused by Jackson.
Even with their testimonies, Rowe still avidly speaks out against these allegations.
5. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2016.
Rowe publicly announced she was battling breast cancer in the summer of 2016. In light of her diagnosis, she told Entertainment Tonight, “I’m a fighter and always have been.”
Paris and her mother had a tenuous relationship. The two had not been photographed together publicly since 2013—before then, they had almost never been seen together since Paris was a baby.
Regardless, Paris was by her mother’s side shortly after the diagnosis. She was with Rowe from early October 2016, when she began chemotherapy, to early January 2017, after she finished treatment.
Alison Cerri is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture and relationship topics.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally posted on April 3, 2019 and was updated with the latest information.