The Jackson family tree explained: Who's who and how many members are there?
16 September 2024, 15:35
The Jackson family is one of the most iconic families in the entertainment industry.
Led by Joe Jackson and Katherine Jackson, the Jacksons took over the entertainment from the late 1960s onwards.
But who is exactly who within the Jackson family, and how many children and grandchildren are there? Here's a full explainer:
-
First generation: Joe Jackson and Katherine Jackson
Joe and Katherine in 1993. Picture: Getty The family patriarch and matriarch, Joe and Katherine headed up the Jackson family as we know it.
Joseph Walter Jackson was born in 1928, and grew up with his father Samuel Jackson, a school teacher.
Aged 18, he moved to Indiana, to be with his mother Crystal Lee King, and to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional boxer. At 21, he married Katherine Scruse, 19, in 1949, and they immediately started a family.
Joe was the eldest of five children, while Katherine was the eldest of two daughters. Her parents were Martha (née Upshaw) and Prince Albert Screws (who later changed his surname to Scruse).
Joe and Katherine with Michael in 1973. Picture: Getty Joe switched careers from boxing to being a crane operator, while his family continued to grow, having nine children in total with Katherine.
After a short musical stint of his own in the 1950s, he soon saw the talent of his children, and started to make music with them instead.
Throughout her life, Katherine remained a devoted Jehovah's Witness, and raised her children under the same spiritual teachings.
Katherine and Joe would spend 68 years as a married couple, though they were separated for large periods of time over the years, usually due to Joe's infidelities.
Joe Jackson - known for being a strict father who allegedly beat his children - passed away in 2018, aged 89.
-
Second generation: Michael, Janet and the Jacksons
Together, Joe and Katherine Jackson had 10 children (their son Brandon, Marlon's twin, died shortly after birth).
The other nine grew up to become professional musicians and other professions.
The eldest child, daughter Rebbie, was born in 1950. While not as famous as her younger siblings, Rebbie did finally release her own music in the 1980s.
Rebbie Jackson in 1984. Picture: Getty The oldest member of the Jackson 5, Jackie was born in 1951. He has also released a couple of solo albums.
Jackie Jackson in 2018. Picture: Getty 3. Tito Jackson
The quiet member of the Jacksons, Tito was born in 1953 and was a singer and guitarist, who first released his own solo albums in 2016. Tito passed away in 2024, aged 70.
Tito Jackson in 2019. Picture: Getty Perhaps the most famous Jackson 5 member outside of Michael, Jermaine was born in 1954, and has had his own successful solo career, and was the band's second main vocalist.
Jermaine Jackson in 1986. Picture: Getty Born on Rebbie's sixth birthday in 1956, La Toya became something of an outsider of the Jackson family in the 1980s after her ill-fated marriage to Jack Gordon. She eventually returned to the family, and she also had a decent career as a solo artist.
La Toya Jackson in 2013. Picture: Getty Born in 1957, Marlon had a twin brother called Brandon who sadly died at childbirth. The second youngest brother, Marlon also released one solo album in the 1980s.
The future King of Pop was born in 1958, and was the Jackson 5's lead singer before he became arguably the most famous singer on the planet by the early 1980s. Michael passed away in 2009, aged 50.
Michael Jackson in 1986. Picture: Getty Born in 1961, Randy was not an original member of the Jackson 5 as he was too young, but he later joined the group as the Jacksons.
Randy Jackson in 2017. Picture: Getty The youngest member of the family was born in 1966, and Janet would later challenge her brother Michael to be one of pop's biggest stars by the late 1980s.
Janet Jackson in 2019. Picture: Getty Note: Joe Jackson also fathered a daughter with Cheryle Terrell, named JohVonnie. Born in 1974 and the half-sister to the above siblings, JohVonnie is an author. She gave birth to daughter Yasmine in 1995.
-
Third generation: Paris Jackson and 3T
The Jackson siblings have had their own marriages and children, as detailed below:
1. Rebbie Jackson's children
Rebbie married childhood lover Nathaniel Brown in 1968, aged 18. Nathaniel passed away in 2013, of cancer.
Rebbie and Nathaniel had three children:
- Stacee Brown (born 1971)
- Yashi Brown (born 1977)
- Austin Brown (born 1985)
Rebbie and son Austin in 2013. Picture: Getty Rebbie and her daughters Yashi and Stacee in 2001. Picture: Getty Austin Brown is a singer-songwriter and producer himself, and has worked with the likes of The Roots, Ariana Grande and Macy Gray among others.
2. Jackie Jackson's children
Jackie Jackson has been married three times, and has four children.
He married his first wife, Enid Arden Spann, in 1974 after five years together. They split up by the mid-1980s, and she died from a brain aneurysm in 1997.
They had two children together: Sigmund Esco 'Siggy' Jackson Jr (born 1977), and Brandi Jackson (born 1982).
In 2001, he married his second wife, Victoria Triggs, and they later divorced. He married his third wife, Emily Besselink, in 2012. She gave birth to twin boys, Jaylen and River Jackson, in 2013.
3. Tito Jackson's children
Tito Jackson married partner Delores 'Dee Dee' Martes in 1972, aged 18, but the couple divorced in 1988.
In 1994, Delores was found dead in a swimming pool. The death was originally ruled accidental, but Los Angeles businessman Donald Bohana was later charged with murdering her in 2000.
Tito and Delores had three kids together:
- Toriano Adaryll Jackson, Jr. ("Taj") (born 1973)
- Taryll Adren Jackson (born 1975)
- Tito Joe Jackson ("TJ") (born 1978)
Taj, Taryll and TJ in 2015. Picture: Getty 
3T - Anything
Taj, Taryll and Tito formed the trio 3T in the 1990s, managed by their father.
3T scored a number of hits around the world, including two UK number two songs in 1996: 'Anything' and 'Why', the latter of which featured their uncle Michael Jackson.
4. Jermaine Jackson's children
Jermaine Jackson has been married and divorced three times, and has seven children.
His first marriage was to Motown founder Berry Gordy's daughter, Hazel Gordy, from 1973 to 1988.
Jermaine and Hazel have three children together: Jermaine La Jaune 'Jay' Jackson Jr (born 1977), Autumn Joi Jackson (born 1978), and Jaimy Jermaine Jackson (born 1987).
(From L to R) Jermaine Jackson Jr., Autumn Jackson, legendary Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Hazel Gordy, Kerry Gordy and Jaimy Jackson. Picture: Getty He was in a relationship with Margaret Maldonado from 1986 until 1993. They have two sons together: Jeremy Maldonado Jackson (born 1986), and Jourdynn Michael Jackson (born 1989).
Jermaine started a relationship with Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza while she was dating his younger brother Randy, with whom she already had a daughter and a son. He married Oaziaza in 1995, until they divorced in 2003. They have two sons: Jaafar Jeremiah Jackson (born 1996), and Jermajesty Jermaine Jackson (born 2000).
This means that Jermaine and Randy's kids are technically both siblings and cousins at the same time.
In 2004, Jermaine met Halima Rashid while waiting in line at a Starbucks. A couple of months later, he proposed to her, and five months later, they were married. Rashid was arrested in 2015 for alleged domestic violence. She filed for divorce the following year.
5. Marlon Jackson's children
In August 1975, an 18-year-old Marlon married his girlfriend, Carol Ann Parker. The couple had met in New Orleans during one of the Jacksons' tours.
Marlon and Parker have three children:
- Valencia Caroline Jackson (born 1976)
- Brittany Shauntee Jackson (born 1978)
- Marlon David Jackson, Jr. (born 1981)
Marlon Jackson and wife Carol with their three kids in the 1980s. Picture: Getty 6. Michael Jackson's children
Michael's second wife Debbie Rowe met him while working as a nurse in Dr Arnold Klein's dermatology office. She said that after Jackson's divorce from Lisa Marie Presley, he was upset at the possibility that he might never become a father.
Rowe, a longtime Jackson fan, proposed to give him children. Jackson and Rowe married on November 13, 1996.
With Rowe, Michael had two children: Prince Michael (born 1997) and Paris Jackson (born 1998).
Paris, Prince Michael and Blanket in 2010. Picture: Getty In 2002, an anonymous surrogate mother gave birth to Michael's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (previously nicknamed 'Blanket'), who had been conceived by artificial insemination.
7. Randy Jackson's children
In 1986, Randy Jackson met Alejandra Oaziaza. The couple dated for several years, and have two children together:
- Genevieve Jackson (born December 3, 1989)
- Steven Randall Jackson Jr. (born October 3, 1992)
— Stevanna Jackson (@StevannaJaxxnn) April 16, 2016
As was mentioned above, Oaziaza would go on to marry and divorce Randy Jackson's brother Jermaine.
Randy Jackson then married Eliza Shaffy in 1989, but divorced in 1992. They also have a daughter together, Stevanna Jackson (born June 17, 1990).
8. Janet Jackson's child
Janet Jackson is a mother to one child, born with third husband Wissam al Mana.
In 2016, Janet announced that they were expecting their first child together.
On January 3, 2017, Janet gave birth to a son, Eissa Al Mana. She was aged 50 at the time.
-
Fourth generation: Great-grandchildren
1. Rebbie Jackson's grandchild
Rebbie's kid Stacee welcomed daughter London Blue Salas, in 2005.
2. Jackie Jackson's grandchildren
Jackie's son Siggy married Toyia Parker in 2017. They have three children: Jared (born 2011), Kai-Ari (born 2014) and Skyy (born 2018).
3. Tito Jackson's grandchildren
Tito has eight grandkids in total:
- Royal Jackson (born 1999 via TJ)
- Bryce Connor Jackson (born 2008, via Tarryl)
- Dee Dee Jackson (born 2008, via TJ)
- Jordan 'JoJo' Jackson (born 2010, via TJ)
- Adren Michael Jackson (born 2011, via Tarryl)
- Rio Tito Joe Jackson (born 2015, via TJ)
4. Jermaine Jackson's grandchild
Jermaine's son Jermaine Jr and his longtime girlfriend, Asa Soltan Rahmati, have a son.
Soltan Soul Jackson was born in 2017.
5. Marlon Jackson's grandchildren
Marlon has five grandchildren. The two from Valencia are: Noah Laniak (born 2006), and Sophia Laniak (born 2007).
The three from Brittany are: Phoenix Sanchez (born 2010), Savanna Bella Sanchez (born 2011), and Summer Blue Sanchez (born 2014).
