What happened to Janet Jackson: the way from sex symbol to Muslim wives

Over the past few years, Janet Jackson's 50-year-old life has undergone a lot of changes: the sex symbol of the era has abandoned frank dresses, embraced Islam and is preparing to become a mother for the first time.

It seems that she, at last, became happy, because all of her previous life is an endless struggle - struggle with her complexes, excess weight and self-disapproval.

Childhood of Janet

Janet Jackson is the famous sister of Michael Jackson and the youngest of nine children. When she was very young, five of her brothers in the band The Jackson 5 blew up the American charts, and the family moved from their wretched house in the city of Gary, Indiana, to a luxurious mansion in Los Angeles. Childhood Janet can not be called cloudless. Everyone knows how hard and despotic the man was her father, who kept all his offspring in fear and obedience.

At the age of 7, her father forced her to perform on stage with her brothers, although she never aspired to make a career in show business. Janet liked horses, and she dreamed of becoming a jockey.

"No one asked me whether I want to do show business"

As a child, Janet was inclined to fullness, and because of this, brothers and sisters constantly laughed at her. The girl was called both "cow", and "pig", and "horse", especially it got from brother Michael. Janet pretended that she did not care about these ridicule, but deep down she was very worried.

"I literally beat my head against the wall, because I felt ugly ... There was a lot of pain in my life"

Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson as a child

At the same time, Janet admits that she was always a little girl.

"I've always been a tomboy. She loved red, white and black. Basically, trousers »

In 1977, a ten-year-old Janet was chosen by the producers to participate in the TV show Good Times. Shooting became a real nightmare for a girl: first, she was separated from her family, and secondly, she was constantly told that she needed to lose weight, and forced to bandage the breast, which had already started to form.

"Every day I was tormented with broad bandages that tightened my chest to hide its natural form. It was uncomfortable and humiliating "

Then the girl, who in fact, was just a little plump, had to go on a diet for the first time. Not surprisingly, Janet formed an extremely negative opinion about her appearance. Over the following years, she struggled with varying success with excess kilograms.

"Even in the most harmonious periods, when my figure was praised, I was not happy with what I see in the mirror"

1983-1988 - liberation from tyranny

At the age of 16, Janet recorded her first album, her father was the executive producer.

Then she first made rhinoplasty. Subsequently, Janet repeatedly corrected the shape of the nose.

At the age of 18, she rebelled against total father control, secretly married musician James DeBarge, and fled with him to his parents' ranch in California. For the Jackson family, it was a common occurrence, almost all the children got married early and married to get rid of their father's tyranny.

However, Janet's marriage lasted only a few months. She divorced her husband and returned to her parents. However, for a long time under the yoke of her father could not. Declaring that she wants to pursue a career on her own, she left her father's house and started recording a new album Control.

The success of this album was stunning, Janet instantly became super popular, it was compared to Diana Ross and Donna Summer.

Many envied a young and successful singer, but she did not cease to engage in samoyedstvom:

"The surrounding people probably thought that I was very happy, and I, on the contrary, felt worse than usual. This joy exacerbated my feeling of dissatisfaction with my appearance "

1989-1994 - Princess of Pop Music

The next album, Janet, devoted mainly to social problems, blew up the world charts. The girl was called "Princess of Pop Music" and "the main role model for teenage girls of the whole country". 23-year-old singer came on the same level with Madonna.

Even then, young Janet began to engage in charity. After the death of Michael Jackson, she recalled that her favorite occupation during rare meetings was to load the machine with various dishes from the restaurant, go to poor areas and distribute food to children.

In 1991, Janet secretly married René Elizondo, who was the author of her songs and the director of video clips. The marriage lasted 9 years, and all this time Janet vehemently denied any rumors related to him. Only in 2000, when Elizondo filed for divorce, it was impossible to conceal their union.

1995-1997 - prolonged depression

However, it is unlikely that Elizondo could make Janet happy. It is known that for two years, from 1995 to 1997, Janet suffered from deep depression. It happened that she could cry all day, feeling that nobody needed and alone. The singer tried to do introspection and understand the reasons for her oppressed condition. She discovered that her depression was rooted in her early childhood, when she was forced to work hard and obey the dictates of her father. One of the most bitter memories was when my father forbade her to call him Dad, but ordered me to call him by his first name.

"I was very small, I was about 6 or 7 years old, and it was very painful"

Also, her self-esteem was influenced by one of the former boyfriends who applied emotional and physical violence to Janet.

However, Janet admirably knows how to control herself. In public, she always looked cheerful and cheerful, and none of the fans did not suspect what was going on in her soul.

The singer expressed her emotional torment in the album The Velvet Rope, which critics called an audio diary of a woman who knows herself.

2000-2004 - The Queen of Pop

In 2001, Janet received the highest award from the American Music Awards and released a new album that sold more than 7 million copies.

Jackson is constantly compared with Madonna, often not in favor of the latter ...

"Janet outstripped the Mercantile Girl by a mile ..."
"Jackson is still the queen of Pop"

2004 - scandalous incident with Justin Timberlake

In 2004, there was a sad comic incident with Justin Timberlake. During the Super Bowl football championship XXXVIII the singers performed at half-time intervals. During the performance of the line: "So that you were naked towards the end of the song," Timberlake tugged at Janet's concert dress, revealing her right breast. The audience froze. About football, of course, everyone forgot completely.

After the speech, Janet and Justin tried to justify themselves, explaining the incident by the shortcomings of the dressmakers.

The singers claimed that, according to their ideas, Janet's chest should not have been completely exposed, but a technical blunder occurred. Very few people believed them. The incident was included in the Guinness Book of Records of 2007, as the most sought-after news for the history of the Internet.

2006-2007 - victorious struggle against excess weight

After the incident, Jackson rarely appeared in public, and in 2006 shocked the fans with the appearance. Always slender and smart Janet Jackson suddenly recovered: with an increase of 162 cm, she weighed 83 kilograms!

However, in some miraculous way, in just a few months, Janet Jackson demonstrated a beautiful press and once again became a slender woman. She said that she managed to lose 30 kilograms with the help of the strictest diet, but some people believe that the case was not without the intervention of a plastic surgeon.

In general, Janet has repeatedly admitted that it is very difficult for her to maintain her weight in the norm. In an interview, she admitted that she had swallowed Kleenex napkins for a while. According to her, napkins fill the space of the stomach, dulling the feeling of hunger.

In 2007, the state of Janet was estimated at more than $ 150 million. Forbes magazine ranked it seventh in the rating of the richest women in show business.

2009 - the death of Michael Jackson

In 2009, there was the most sad event in the life of Janet - the death of her brother Michael Jackson. The last time she saw him was May 14, six weeks before his death and two days before her birthday. They arranged a small family holiday. According to Janet's recollections, Michael was very cheerful that day and laughed so much that tears came from his eyes ...

Upon learning of Michael's death, Janet did not give interview for a long time and concentrated entirely on work, thus trying to overcome grief. Then she broke up with her boyfriend Germain Dupree, whom she met for 7 years.

She first spoke about Michael's death at the 2009 BET Awards:

"Michael is an idol for you, and Michael is a member of the family for us. On behalf of my family, I thank you for your love and support "

For a long time, Janet could not listen to Michael's songs and watch the video with his participation.

"I hope someday I'll start to enjoy my magic voice again, but this day has not come yet"

2010-2012 - the book "The real you"

In 2010, Janet Jackson wrote the book "The real you", where she told about her fight against excess weight and good appetite.

Its attitude to food, it defines as "love-hate." In the book she told that she is not indifferent to gourmet pleasures and can not resist pizza and apples in caramel, but at the same time realizes that delicious food is her main enemy in the fight against her own imperfection. Also, Janet admitted that she always sought comfort in food. In moments of stress and despair, her main comforter was a refrigerator.

2012-2015 - new love, Islam and cardinal image change

In 2010, Janet Jackson met Qatar billionaire Vissam Al-Mana, who is 9 years younger than her. Two years later the couple got married. The ceremony was closed, and none of the journalists were invited to the wedding. After the wedding Janet struck fans with a sharp change of image. Instead of sexual open dresses, the star began to wear extremely modest and closed clothes. The singer handed out her candid dresses to her friends.

According to the insider, her husband carefully watches Janet Jackson's wardrobe, not allowing her to get too naked. He also closely monitors her communication with all the surrounding men: from producers to cleaners at the music studio. For the sake of her husband, Janet accepted Islam.

2016 - Preparation for motherhood

In May 2016 it became known that 50-year-old Janet Jackson was pregnant and was waiting for the birth of her first baby. Since she is no longer young, doctors advised the singer to comply with bed rest, as a result of which she scored 43 kilograms .

But this time the star does not torment the thought of its imperfection. Recently, the first photos of pregnant Janet Jackson appeared for People magazine, later they saw walking in Muslim clothes around London together with her husband . She looked absolutely happy and peaceful.