The youngest member of the musical family dynasty had a front-row seat to one of the greatest musical phenomenons of all time. Janet Jackson was Michael’s housemate and closest sibling in Encino, Calif., when Off the Wall and then Thriller revolutionized the music industry. In fact, she contributed to it in a small way; she and sister La Toya contributed background vocals to the sassy hit “PYT,” the seventh top 10 hit (then a record) from the all-time best-selling album.
Janet admitted in a mid-’80s interview that she was envious of Michael’s success — in a good way — and she wanted to experience that level of success. And in many ways, she has. She’s the only sibling to step outside of Michael’s titanic shadow and forge a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Along the way, she has done something that none of of her other siblings were able to do: become an accomplished actress. It first started, of course, with the role of Penny in the seminal half-hour sitcom, “Good Times,” and has continued to this day with Janet starring in no less than three major motion pictures that opened at No. 1.
Janet Jackson is now known for her phenomenally-successful award-winning career as a singer and performing artist whose world tours have broken countless attendance records. She has sold over 45 million albums worldwide, and her 19 gold-certified singles are the most of any female recording artist in history.
