Janet Jackson

Jackson in 2008, Entertainment Press / Shutterstock.com

Birth Name: Janet Damita Jo Jackson

Place of Birth: Gary, Indiana, U.S.

Date of Birth: May 16, 1966

Ethnicity: African-American

Janet Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Having sold over 100 million records worldwide, Janet is ranked as one of the best-selling artists in the history of contemporary music.

Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians, and is the daughter of Katherine/Kattie Esther/B. (Scruse), who had played clarinet and piano, and aspired to be a country-and-western musician, and Joseph Walter Jackson, who played guitar with a rhythm and blues band, the Falcons. Among her many siblings are musicians La Toya Jackson and Michael Jackson. She is the aunt of Paris Jackson and musicians 3T (Tariano Jackson, Taryll Jackson, and Tito Jackson), among others.

Janet is African-American.

Janet has a son with her husband, Qatari business magnate Wissam Al Mana.

Janet’s father had stated that he has Native American ancestry. Janet’s brother Jermaine has said this also. It is not clear if this ancestry has been verified/documented. Joseph also stated that he had some European roots. It has also been said that Janet’s mother has Blackfoot Native American ancestry, also as yet unverified, at least publicly.

Janet’s paternal grandfather was Samuel Joseph Jackson (the son of Israel Nero Jackson and Emeline Williams). Samuel was born in Mississippi, and was said to be of partial Choctaw Native American descent (as well as having black ancestry). It is not clear if this has been verified. Israel and Emeline are listed only as “Black” on United States censuses. Israel was the son of Jack July Gayle/Milam and Mary Freeman or Gina Gale.

Janet’s paternal grandmother was Crystal Lee King (the daughter of Samuel King and Gertrude Daniel). Crystal was born in Arkansas. Samuel was the son of William King and Nellie. Gertrude was the daughter of Thomas “Tom” Daniel and Martha “Mattie” Cason. Mattie was said to be the daughter of a white woman and a black slave man.

Janet’s maternal grandfather was Prince Albert Screws/Scruse (the son of Prince Scruse and Julia Belle Jordan). Janet’s grandfather Prince was born in Alabama. Janet’s great-grandfather Prince was the son of Prince Screws and Mary Etta. Julia was the daughter of Julius Willis Jordan and Rosetta Hall.

Janet’s maternal grandmother was Martha “Mattie” Upshaw (the daughter of Daniel Upshaw and Jeanette Brown). Martha was born in Alabama. Daniel was the son of Jonas Upshaw and Minerva Grant. Jeanette was the daughter of Columbus Brown and Henrietta Peterson.

Sources: Genealogies of Janet Jackson – http://www.wargs.com
http://www.geni.com

Information (some potentially unverified) on Janet’s family history – http://www.truemichaeljackson.com
http://i845.photobucket.com

Janet’s paternal great-grandparents, Israel Nero Jackson and Emeline Williams, on the 1880 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Israel Nero Jackson and Emeline Williams on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Israel Nero Jackson and Emeline Williams on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Israel Nero Jackson and Emeline Williams on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Likely Janet’s great-grandfather, Israel Nero Jackson, on the 1870 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Janet’s maternal grandparents, Prince Albert Screws/Scruse and Martha “Mattie” Upshaw, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

ethnic

Curious about ethnicity

46 Responses

  1. London says:

    I always wondered what janets ethnic background was I consider the Jackson family as black but can tell the Jackson family have some mixed heriatage through their high cheekbones a trait of cheroke indians and you can also tell by their eyes and natural baby hair

  2. Annie says:

    Fianlly! Someone acknowlegdes the mixture in the Jacksons! Thank you ethnic for this. I really don’t understand why people have a problem accepting that the Jacksons’ are very mixed ethnically; they are not pure black as paople want to think. They are mixed with white ancestry, Native American Ancestry, African Ancestry and I think Chinese Ancestry too! Its not like they’re straight from Africa, They’re African American and its fact that african americans are not pure black, due to slavery, alot of mixes have occured. Oh, and it also means that michael is not pue black either! Just look at Latoya Jackson! How do you explain her highly fair colour?! Just Sayin’…

    • ohplease says:

      Sound like African American to me

      • Amber Berg says:

        the Jacksons dad is lying you know he brainwashed all them kids to thinking they were really white thats why they went and did that to their faces including him. He use to be black as hell and now he aint even 25% black, get real- no wonder his kids hate they skin color.

    • Amber Berg says:

      It’s called skin bleaching, Who the hell doesnt know the Jacksons are black wow I guess know ones white any more and know ones black anymore, so there is no need from this website.

      • Amber Berg says:

        I meant to say no one sorry, guess this site is make me go crazy

      • Dasher says:

        According to the people on this site, there is no such thing as a black or white person. If you are not “full white” or “full black,” meaning EVERY, SINGLE, ONE OF YOUR LAST ANCESTORS were white or black, you are not white or black, which is impossible, by the way! They encourage the “one drop rule” so that everyone will claim that they are mixed. They say race does not matter yet they try to instill a racist ideology.

        Pathetic.

    • liyah says:

      yea but lets face it if they tried to fit in with Europeans or natives they wouldn’t fit in. Everything about them screams black. My great grandfather was white on my father side and my grandfather on my mother side is half indian but when you see me you will only see black. Everyone is mix there are white people that have far far black ancestry or another mix of race but they still consider themselves white, i’m pretty sure there are brown people that have some sort of mixture far far back in their ancestry but at the end of the day they say their brown. I find it foolish that black people think thier mix because there was a mixture far far back in their ancestry we are the only ones who act that way.

    • liyah says:

      letoya is light because of the makeup she puts on, i saw an old pic of her with janet and i thought she was very pale and was shocked to see how pale she was next to janet. Their was an up close pic of her in the same event and you could tell she was wearing a way lighter foundation than her skin tone and you could see her real skin tone around her hairline and other areas of her face. If you want to see yourself look at this link and stroll down you’ll see other pics, i believe the pictures speak for itself.

      http://bestofmichaeljackson.jclondon.com/2010/02/07/photo-find-janet-and-latoya-jackson-at-the-12th-annual-american-music-awards/

    • mari says:

      they aint no chinese they probably a bit white and native american but we all know they mostly black

  3. Mari says:

    All of the Jacksons are black. If there is a mix it is from slavery times but in that case AA are all mixed. There is no immediate mix. Katherine is black. Joe is black. Janet is black.

    • mari says:

      thank you thats what im sayin

    • Seba says:

      Mari! Sorry, but you don’t read too well and you get an “F” for comprehension! Now didn’t you just read what they said MJ and his roots were! Mmmmm! Who the heck are you to restate his history????? It’s very clear that his makeup is as diverse as most African-Americans are! The worst thing they could have come up with is that one drop rule! Didn’t make sense at inception and damn sure doesn’t make sense now! Man I tell you, introduce people to ignorance and they are off an running! All I can say is let it go folks!!!!

    • Tony says:

      This is the best response I’ve heard yet. To elaborate on Mari’s comment, Most African American’s who can trace their history back to slavery most definitely have Native American or caucasian blood. I can trace my family back to the early 1830’s on both sides and there’s most definitely a strong Native American and caucasian influence, hence the reason we have varied facial features, complexions and eye color today. Even so, we are still black and I identify as black.

  4. sandy says:

    if u don’t know her backgroud i did some research n it said that she is mixed with bLACK n JAPANESSE WITH AZTEC

  5. total23 says:

    FINALLY! Thank You Ethnic!

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