Michael Jackson

:For other people with the same name, see Michael Jackson (disambiguation)

Personal life

Michael Jackson continued to engage in door-to-door evangelizing as a Jehovah's Witness after becoming famous, but in disguise. His career and flamboyant lifestyle led to friction with congregation elders. At one point, his sister, LaToya, was shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses, and in 1987, he formally left the religion.

Related Topics:
Jehovah's Witness - LaToya - Shunned - 1987

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Jackson's most famous home is his 2,600 acre (eleven square-kilometer) Neverland Ranch in Santa Ynez, California, which he purchased in 1988. It is named after the magical kingdom, Neverland, from the children's story, "Peter Pan". Jackson, a huge Disney fan, built an amusement park on the ranch, and frequently welcomes sick and poor children there to visit and sponsors charity drives for children. Jackson's relationships with children, both his own and others, have been controversial: his sleepover parties at Neverland have received widespread critical media coverage, especially after he revealed that he sometimes slept in the same bed with several unrelated children.

Related Topics:
Neverland Ranch - Santa Ynez, California - 1988 - Neverland - Peter Pan

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He claims that he likes to be surrounded by children because of their sense of innocence, which he feels he lost too soon. His song "Childhood" included the lyric, "It's been my fate to compensate/for the childhood I've never known". Jackson is fond of animals: he owns a private zoo at Neverland, and was often seen with a chimpanzee named Bubbles and a snake called Muscles in the 1980s. Jackson claims that Neverland has inspired much of his work, having once told an interviewer that he liked climbing trees to write songs like "Will You Be There" and "Heal the World".

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Jackson is noted for his humanitarian efforts, and has often used his music, including the all-star single "We Are the World" (1985), "Man in the Mirror" (1987), "Heal the World" (1992), "Earth Song" (1995), "Cry" (2001), and "What More Can I Give" (2003) to support and promote various causes. The "Heal the World" foundation was created by Jackson in 1992, with assistance from former President Jimmy Carter. Jackson was considering a tour of Africa in May or June 2004 to raise money to fight AIDS; Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Senegal were among the countries he had planned to visit. Heal the World Foundation no longer exists however.

Related Topics:
We Are the World - 1985 - 1987 - 1992 - 1995 - 2001 - 2003 - Jimmy Carter - Africa - 2004 - Zimbabwe - South Africa - Senegal

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Over the years, Michael Jackson maintained a number of high-profile celebrity friendships with entertainers such as Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Macaulay Culkin, Emmanuel Lewis, Chris Tucker, and others. Jackson is also the godfather of Lionel Richie's adopted daughter, Nicole Richie and of Barry Gibb's son Michael Gibb.

Related Topics:
Diana Ross - Elizabeth Taylor - Marlon Brando - Macaulay Culkin - Emmanuel Lewis - Chris Tucker - Lionel Richie - Nicole Richie - Barry Gibb

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Since his trial ended, Jackson has been staying in Bahrain with Shaikh Abdullah Ben Hamed Al Khalifa, the Prince of Bahrain. He recently visited Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Jackson has been touring Dubai with UAE champion rally driver Mohammad Ben Sulayem.

Related Topics:
Bahrain - Shaikh Abdullah Ben Hamed Al Khalifa - Dubai - United Arab Emirates - Mohammad Ben Sulayem

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Relationships

Actress Tatum O'Neal was Michael Jackson's first girlfriend. The two dated in the 1970's. In 1979, Jackson and O'Neal seperated and as a result of this, Jackson dedicated the song She's Out Of My Life to Tatum O'Neal (although, the song was not written by Jackson).

Related Topics:
Tatum O'Neal - 1970's

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Michael Jackson's next girlfriend, was model Brooke Shields. The two started dating in the early 1980's. The two were also seen together in 1993 at the Grammy Awards. It is not known why the two broke up, but rumour has it that Jackson was cheating on Shields with Lisa Marie Presley and that is why Shields left him.

Related Topics:
Brooke Shields - 1980's - Grammy Awards - Lisa Marie Presley

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During Michael Jackson's Bad world tour, in 1988, Jackson formed relationships with girls on tour. Sheryl Crow and Tatiana Thumbtzen dated Michael Jackson during the time of the Bad world tour: Crow was one of Jackson's backing singers and Thumbtzen is a famous model who appeared in Jackson's music video for "The Way You Make Me Feel". Thumbtzen has recently written a book about Jackson titled The Way He Made Me Feel (in reference to the famous Jackson song). In the book she hints at a sexual relationship between Jackson and herself.

Related Topics:
Sheryl Crow - Tatiana Thumbtzen

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Jackson's marriages and children

In 1994, Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley; the marriage was severely criticized by the media and lasted less than two years. Despite some comments questioning the validity of this union, Presley has always maintained that they both shared a normal couple's life during their time together. The separation date on divorce papers was indicated with Sunday, 10 December 1995. A day when Jackson was still hospitalized after suffering dehydration during rehearsals for his "One Night Only" special at New York's Beacon Theater.

Related Topics:
1994 - Lisa Marie Presley - Elvis Presley

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Jackson married nurse Debbie Rowe in 1996, with whom he had a son, Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. (who publicly goes by the name "Prince"), and a daughter, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson. Jackson and Rowe were divorced in 1999. Rowe later said that she wanted Jackson to have the children as a "gift", which she had offered even while Jackson was married to Presley. She resultantly gave up her parental rights to the children, but as of 2005, a family court case is under way regarding visitation. The godparents of the two children are Macaulay Culkin and Elizabeth Taylor.

Related Topics:
1996 - 1999 - 2005

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Around February 2002, Jackson had another son, Michael Joseph Jackson III, called both "Prince Michael II" and "Blanket", apparently with a surrogate mother whose identity has not been disclosed. In late 2002, Jackson stirred up controversy while staying at the Adlon hotel in Berlin, by briefly suspending him over the edge of a balcony so that fans could see him. Jackson defended his actions, saying that he held the child very tightly. Jackson's children are veiled or masked when they appear in public with him, which he describes as a security measure. Rowe said it was her idea from the beginning.

Related Topics:
2002 - Blanket - Surrogate mother - Berlin

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After the children were seen in Martin Bashir's Living with Michael Jackson documetary special, many in the press and the public questioned whether Prince and Paris were actually Jackson's children, as they had no noticeable African features about them. Jackson explained that his own father is African-American, but has blue eyes, and that some of the Jackson family ancestors are Caucasian, and even Indian. However, during the interviews for the same special, Jackson revealed that "Blanket's" mother was black.

Related Topics:
Martin Bashir - Living with Michael Jackson

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There had been rumors that Jackson was having children by various women. One woman claimed that she was giving birth to quadruplets fathered by Jackson, a claim later proven to be false. Jackson had suffered the same problem two decades earlier with a woman claiming Michael was a father of one of her fraternal twins, a story from which his memorable hit "Billie Jean" was derived.

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