The family · the matriarch
Katherine Jackson
The emotional anchor of one of music's most famous families — mother of ten, the gentle counterweight to Joe's drive, and, after the unthinkable loss of her son, the guardian who raised his children.
Alabama to Indiana
Early life
Katherine Esther Jackson was born May 4, 1930 in Barbour County, Alabama, and moved north to Gary, Indiana as a child. She contracted polio young, which left her with a lifelong limp. She married Joe Jackson in 1949, and together they raised ten children in a small two-bedroom house on Jackson Street — the home that would later be immortalized in song.
The heart of the home
Mother of ten
If Joe was the family's engine, Katherine was its heart. A devout Jehovah's Witness who raised the children in the faith, she was the warmth and stability Michael returned to again and again in interviews — he often described her as the person he loved most in the world. She fostered the children's love of music and singing at home, and remained the figure the whole family orbited through fame, fracture, and grief.
After June 2009
Guardian of his children
When Michael died in 2009, Katherine was granted guardianship of his three children — Prince, Paris, and Bigi — raising them alongside grandson TJ Jackson, who became co-guardian in 2012. She stepped back from the role as she aged. She also became a central figure in the long-running tensions over the estate, including her opposition to the 2024 sale of half of Michael's catalogue to Sony, which the courts ultimately allowed to proceed.
As of 2026 Katherine is 96 years old — the enduring matriarch of the Jackson family. Where things stand today →
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