'''Janet Damita Jo Jackson''' (born May 16 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer and actress. She is the youngest child of the iconic Jackson music family and the sister of pop icon Michael Jackson. Jackson is well known for her detailed dance choreography and music videos. Jackson initially stepped into the limelight as a young actress, appearing in television shows. Upon her father's insistance, she released two studio albums; neither garnered much attention nor success.
After a brief marriage to James DeBarge, Jackson set out to find her own identity. She collaborated with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and the trio created Jackson's breakout album, ''Control'' (1986) and the socially-focused follow-up, ''Rhythm Nation 1814'' (1989). In the early 1990s, Jackson signed a record-breaking recording deal with Virgin Records for the sexually-charged album ''
janet.'' (1993) which proved to be a larger success than its two predecessors. Jackson also returned to acting, starring in ''
Poetic Justice'' (1993).
By the end of the 1990s, Jackson's relationship with Rene Elizondo Jr. was coming to an end. In early 2000, the couple announced their divorce; though Jackson and Elizondo had kept their marriage a secret for nearly a decade. While filming ''
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps'' (2000), Jackson continued to work on ''All for You'' (2001), which gained success on the ''Billboard'' charts.
In 2004, Jackson made headlines for her Super Bowl halftime show performance during a duet with Justin Timberlake when he exposed Jackson's right breast. The event became a media controversy and put a damper on the release of her album ''
Damita Jo'' (2004), which failed to yield any hit singles.
Jackson is currently dating and collaborating with producer Jermaine Dupri and will release her ninth studio album, ''20 Y.O.'', in September 2006.
Early life
Janet was born the youngest of nine Jackson children in Gary, Indiana to parents Joseph and Katherine Jackson. Living in a two-bedroom house with eight older siblings, Janet's father, Joseph, worked as a crane operator in a steel mill, and before she became a devout Jehovah's Witness, her mother Katherine worked as a store clerk for Sears. Before Janet's birth, her father decided to try a hand at a music career fronting the R&B band The Falcons, but never got as far as the top nightclubs in Indiana. According to reports, Janet's father was gregarious and stern while her mother was deeply religious and saintly.
By the time she was a toddler, Janet's older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael had already begun to perform on stage at nightclubs and theaters as the Jackson 5.
