PARIS REINK-VENTED
Inside Paris Jackson’s dramatic transformation as she covers up her 80 tattoos and lets go of her ‘dark past’
And how the King of Pop's daughter was once linked to a famous Brit model
NESTLED in between pop royalty at a Stella McCartney catwalk show, Paris Jackson cut a statement figure by hiding her 80 tattoos.
The 25-year-old daughter of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson stunned in a long-sleeved polo neck dress as she sat next to her dad’s old nemesis, Paul McCartney, 81, and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr 83, during Paris Fashion Week.
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Her unlikely appearance with the remaining Beatles — Jacko controversially bought the rights to their songs in 1985 — wasn’t the only thing that got people talking.
It is the second time this year Paris has covered up her body art, prompting speculation she is undergoing a major transformation as her music career takes off.
The model, actress and singer — heavily inked on her legs, arms, chest and feet — unveiled a more pristine and professional look last month when she hit the red carpet at the Grammy Awards.
Dressed in a Celine strapless cutout black dress, her skin appeared completely tatt-free.
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Paris shared a behind-the-scenes video on Instagram revealing how her team managed to cleverly conceal her tattoos using vegan body make-up.
“I wanted to give the Celine dress its moment,” she said.
“I love the piercings, the tattoos, all the body mod stuff, but sometimes it can distract from the art.”
Paris, who got an alien on her breast when she was 18 as her first tattoo, told how body art helped her recover from a darker time in her life when she self-harmed.
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‘Need for control’
“I can look at my inner forearms and see art that has meaning for me, I don’t see a dark past any more,” she explained.
“My scars and past of self-hatred have been covered by loving marks, creativity, ingenuity and depth.”
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First look at Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar playing King of Pop in big budget film
Paris grew up on her dad’s Neverland Ranch in California with her older brother Prince and half-brother Prince Michael II, also known as Bigi and nicknamed Blanket.
Her mother is Debbie Rowe, who worked at the dermatology department where Jacko was being treated for vitiligo.
The two married in 1996 and after their split in 1999 Michael was given full custody of the children.
Growing up, Paris told how she “hated” being dressed like a doll by her father.
She said: “I was the only girl. For the first ten, 11 years of my life my dad loved playing dress-up. I looked like a porcelain doll and I hated it.”
After her father’s death in June 2009, the fame became too much for Paris, who was 11 at the time.
She and her brothers went to live with her grandmother Katherine Jackson.
But she explained: “Food became an addiction and then a cousin called me fat, so I was like, ‘OK, I can’t do that any more’. And that’s how I fell into self-harm.
“There’s a lot of things that cause a dopamine release.
“Self-harm was one of them, tattoos was one of them and so there was that and then also it was a distraction from emotional pain and transferring to physical pain and the need for control.”
By age 15 Paris had become an intravenous drug user and then attempted suicide.
She later explained it was driven by feelings of inadequacy and a belief she was not deserving of life.
She also admitted it was one of many attempts.
“It was just once that it became public,” Paris revealed during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, explaining how she had been cutting herself at the time and hiding it from her family.
“It was just self-hatred, low self-esteem, thinking I couldn’t do anything right, not thinking I was worthy of living any more.”
Paris told how she was hanging out with a lot of “older crazy people”.
“I was doing a lot of things that 13, 14, 15-year-olds shouldn’t do. I tried to grow up too fast,” she added.
She also faced online bullying.
“The whole freedom of speech thing is great,” she continued.
“But I don’t think our Founding Fathers predicted social media when they created all of these amendments.”
Paris later told how she was sexually assaulted by a “complete stranger” when she was 14.
To help her deal with the trauma she was sent to the therapeutic Provo Canyon, a psychiatric school in Utah.
She later revealed — along with heiress and socialite Paris Hilton — how the school had subjected her and other students to extensive abuse, which led her to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
But she told how “practising self-love” has helped her heal from the trauma.
Paris has a passion for music, just like her dad.
This journey started with The Soundflowers, an indie folk band she formed with her former partner, musician Gabriel Glenn.
The two crossed paths at the iconic Rainbow Bar & Grill on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in 2018 and within a week they moved into Gabriel’s van to make music together.
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While Paris is now single, she has also been linked to model Cara Delevingne after they were spotted holding hands and kissing.
They became friends after meeting at the 2017 MTV Movie and TV Awards.
The decision to get matching tattoos added to the rumours that they were romantically linked.
Yet in 2019 Paris checked herself into rehab.
A source said at the time: “After a busy year of work engagements that took her all over the globe, Paris decided she needed to take some time off to reboot, realign and prioritise her physical and emotional health.”
She signed a deal with Republic Records in 2020 and released her first single, Let Down.
Her indie folk debut album, Wilted, was released shortly after and received positive reviews.
Although her musical style is significantly different from her father’s iconic pop legacy, he still influences her.
“I believe he’ll forever shape everything I do, whether it’s a deliberate choice or something that comes naturally,” she explains.
“Being constantly surrounded by his creative presence, it’s inevitable that I absorbed a lot from it.”
In June 2022 she released the song Lighthouse. The video has a 1990s grunge vibe that pays homage to Nirvana and Kurt Cobain.
And last year she released Hit Your Knees, from the forthcoming second album she is in the process of finishing.
She told how her priority lies in feeling a sense of pride over a song, rather than focusing on its sales figures.
While Michael died with a reported debt of $500million (£393million), since his passing his family has reportedly generated more than $700million (£550million) through music royalties and other business endeavours.
But Paris says she cares “How many times can I get three performances in a row that I feel good about? Writing a song that I’m proud of and putting it out.
“I’m not as caught up on sales. I’m not in this for money”.
So despite being the daughter of the King of Pop, it seems Paris is determined to carve out her own identity separate from her father’s immense shadow.
PRIVATE PRINCE
PRINCE Jackson, the eldest child of Michael and Debbie Rowe, has mostly kept a low profile.
Like his father, who covered his kids with blankets to keep them out of the public eye, Prince, 27, values his privacy but does share glimpses of his life on social media.
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He posted a selfie on Instagram in 2023 from an apparent production meeting for the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic.
He graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Virginia in 2019 with a business degree.
It was where he met longtime girlfriend Molly Schirmang.
Although many details about Molly are sketchy, Prince shared his admiration for her on social media.
“I’ve grown and learned so much with you and am so lucky to be able to go on all our adventures together,” he wrote on Instagram.
BLANKET STAYS HID
BIGI Jackson is the pop legend’s youngest child and was reportedly born via a surrogate mother.
The 22-year-old was introduced to the world when his father dangled him over a balcony in Berlin, an incident that made headlines around the globe.
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Born Prince Michael Jackson II in 2002, he was nicknamed Blanket by his dad, who would often cover his face with a blanket in public to hide him from photographers.
He now lives in Calabasas, California, and shuns the limelight.
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Single and living in a mansion not far from his grandmother Katherine, who raised him, he has no interest in fame or the music industry.
He is said to have inherited £82million and receives an allowance of £5.5 million a year.
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