Singer, songwriter, and actress Janet Jackson was born into arguably the most musically talented family in American history. The youngest of nine children born to Katherine and Joseph Jackson, she would grow up in the affluence of the family business. Her five brothers — Jackie, Tito, Marlon, Jermaine, and Michael comprised the chart-topping sensation the Jackson 5 of Motown records. Janet Jackson would make her first onstage appearance during the family’s Las Vegas act, singing and performing impressions alongside brother Randy. For her performances with her family, Jackson would earn the attention of television producers on the TV comedy show ‘Good Times’ who would cast her as a show regular titled ‘Penny.’ She would continue her work in television appearing in the sitcom Different Strokes and the teen drama Fame. 

Janet would go on to become a pop icon with the release of her third album ‘Control.’ Jackson’s collaboration with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would deliver such hits as ‘When I think of You’ and ‘What Have You Done for Me Lately.’ She would make the mature statement of being in control of her own destiny. She followed up the success of ‘Control’ with the album ‘Rhythm Nation.’ Her innovation and socially conscious artistry made Jackson stand out in the music industry. ‘Rhythm Nation 1814’ would sell over eight million records and made Jackson the first artist to have seven Top 5 hits from a single album.

In 1993, Jackson would star in her first big-screen lead role as ‘Justice’ in the John Singleton film ‘Poetic Justice’ alongside rapper Tupac Shakur. In the same year, she would release her self-titled album ‘Janet,’ which would sell more than six million copies and feature hits ‘That’s The Way Love Goes,’ ‘If,’ and ‘Any Time, Any Play.’ In 1997, Jackson would release her sixth studio album, ‘The Velvet Rope,’ which would feature tracks ‘Together Again’ dedicated to those who passed from AIDS and ‘Got ‘Till It’s Gone’ which earned her a Grammy. She would continue her acting career in 2000, opposite Eddie Murphy in the blockbuster comedy ‘The Nutty Professor II’ which featured another Jackson No. 1 pop single ‘All for you.’ In 2007, Jackson would collaborate with Tyler Perry as part of the ensemble cast of ‘Why did I get Married.’ She would tap into another creative outlet with the release of the book ‘True You: A Journey to Finding and Loving Yourself,’ which would reveal her struggles with her weight and body image, a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. In 2019, Jackson would receive the honor of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.