Paris Jackson Reflects On Childhood With Her Dad: ‘Made Me Who I Am Today’

Paris Jackson has recently opened up on how her childhood with her dad, Michael Jackson, made her who she is today. She was just 11 years old when her father died in 2009 and the world was in shock. Now just days away from her 23rd birthday, she remembers how he shaped her life back then and continues to, to this day.

“My dad was really good about making sure we were cultured, making sure we were educated, and not just showing us, like, the glitz and glam — like hotel hopping, five-star places,” Jackson tells Naomi Campbell in an interview for her YouTube series, “No Filter.”

Paris Jackson reflects on her childhood with her late father, Michael Jackson

“It was also like we saw everything,” she says, referencing brothers Prince, 24, and Bigi, 19. “We saw third world countries. We saw every part of the spectrum.”

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She regards her upbringing as “a blessing and a privilege to be able to experience so much at a young age.” Jackson adds that her father left her with enough life lessons to last her entire life… not just a material inheritance. “I’m also a full believer that I should earn everything,” she says, noting her interest in entertainment and fashion. “I need to go to auditions. I work hard. I study scripts. I do my thing.”

Musical influences and life lessons

She continues, “Even growing up it was about earning stuff… If we wanted five toys from FAO Schwarz or Toys ‘R’ Us, we had to read five books. It’s earning it, not just being entitled to certain things or thinking, ‘Oh, I got this.’ It’s like working for it, working hard for it, it’s something else entirely. It’s an accomplishment.”

Her late father has inspired her in many ways, although she credits multiple musicians for influencing her musical interests. “I feel like every part of my childhood will always influence how I am today, whether it’s experiences or all of the music we listened to,” Jackson further explains. “He loved classical music, jazz and hip-hop and R&B and, obviously, the Motown stuff, but also radio’s Top 40. He loved rock music, soft rock, the Beatles.” It’s very safe to say Michael Jackson will always be a vital part of Paris Jackson’s life.