All About Katherine Jackson's 27 Grandchildren

Jackson family matriarch Katherine Jackson is a grandmother to 27 through her 10 children

Katherine Jackson is the matriarch of the famous Jackson family.

After marrying Joe Jackson in 1949, the two welcomed 10 children, including Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Janet Jackson and La Toya Jackson. Their 10 sons and daughters went on to have kids of their own, resulting in 27 grandchildren for Katherine and several great-grandchildren.

The most notable of the bunch are Prince, Paris, and Bigi Jackson (formerly Blanket), the children of the late Michael. Her other grandchildren include daughter Rebbie's three children Stacee, Yashi and Austin; son Jackie's four kids Siggy, Brandi, Jaylen and Rive; son Tito's three sons Taj, Taryll, TJ; son Marlon's four children Valencia, Brittany and Marlon Jr.; son Randy's three kids Genevieve, Steven and Stevanna; as well as son Jermaine's seven children Jermaine II, Jaimy, Jeremy, Jourdynn, Jaafar, Jermajesty and Autumn. Katherine's youngest grandchild, Eissa, was born to daughter Janet in 2017.

Like her children, many of her grandchildren have launched music careers including Paris and Tito's three sons. The Jackson grandchildren have also been fierce defenders of Michael's legacy since his death in 2009.

Related: Inside the Fight over Michael Jackson's $2 Billion Estate — and His Mom's Battle with Her Grandson Bigi

From raising some of her grandchildren at the Jackson family estate in California to the legal battle she is currently facing with her grandson Bigi, here's is everything to know about Katherine Jackson's grandchildren.

Her first grandchild was born in 1971

Katherine became a first-time grandmother in May 1971 when her eldest daughter Rebbie welcomed her first child, a daughter named Stacee, with husband Nathaniel Brown. Rebbie and Nathaniel went on to have two more children, Yashi and Austin.

Several of Katherine's other children, including Tito, Marlon, Randy and Jermaine, also started their own families during the 1970s and '80s, making Katherine a grandmother several times over.

She became Prince, Paris and Bigi's permanent guardian after Michael's death

After the death of Michael in 2009, Katherine was granted custody of his three children, Prince, Paris, and Bigi (who were 12, 11 and 7 at the time). She reached a settlement with Prince and Paris' mother Debbie Rowe, making Katherine her grandchildren's permanent guardian while Rowe received visitation rights and continued spousal support.

However, Katherine was suspended as the children's guardian in 2012 after she traveled to Arizona without telling her family and was reported missing. After she was located, Katherine was reinstated as co-guardian with her son, Tito, and looked after her three grandchildren until she resigned as co-guardian in 2017. Tito was named then-15-year-old Bigi's sole guardian.

Related: Michael Jackson's 3 Kids: All About Prince, Paris and Bigi

Several of Katherine's grandchildren have lived with her at the Jackson family estate in California

Around the time Katherine was caring for Prince, Paris and Bigi, she also had several other family members live with her at the Jackson estate, Hayvenhurst, in Encino, California, including her grandchildren Jermajesty, Jaffar and Genevieve.

"It's like a hotel for kids," a family insider told PEOPLE of the estate in August 2009. "You'll see a group of them playing in the grass, another by the pool and another raiding the refrigerator."

Katherine's oldest daughter, Rebbie, also lived on the property and helped Katherine care for the young children.

Prince, Paris and Bigi continue to honor their late father

The eldest son of Michael, Prince was born in 1997. While he grew up largely out of the spotlight, Prince has become more public as an adult, sharing some of his life on Instagram.

In 2019, he graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a degree in business administration. He put his degree to work during the COVID-19 pandemic, starting his own charity, Heal Los Angeles, which partnered with a meal delivery service to provide food to those in need.

He spoke to Entertainment Tonight about what his dad would think about his philanthropic efforts, saying, "I would like to think that he would be very proud because I think this was one of his main goals, was not only to spread his message of positivity and happiness but to see it enacted in his kids." He continued, "As a father, I think that's what you want to do when you raise kids. You're preparing them for the world and the type of person they're going to be."

Prince and his younger siblings have paid tribute to their late father multiple times throughout the years, despite Bigi living a quite private life. Paris followed in Michael's footsteps by pursuing a music career. She is also a model and has several acting credits to her name.

In March 2024, the three siblings made a rare red carpet appearance at a preview night of MJ: The Musical at the Prince Edward Theatre in London.

Brandi and Taj have defended their late uncle Michael's legacy

Both Jackie's daughter Brandi and Tito's son Taj have been fierce protectors of their uncle Michael's legacy. In 2019, they both appeared in the 30-minute documentary Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary to refute allegations of abuse against Michael in the HBO film Leaving Neverland.

Even before the four-hour HBO exposé, which saw Wade Robson and James Safechuck claim Michael sexually abused them both as children, premiered in April 2019, Taj vehemently denounced the allegations made against his late uncle. (Michael repeatedly denied any wrongdoing prior to his 2009 death, and was acquitted in a child sex abuse case leveled against him in California in 2005.)

“My family and I have known Wade and his family since he came to America. Don’t tell me a 4 hour one sided hit job that you watched is more reputable than people who actually knew him and saw his interactions,” Taj posted on X (formerly Twitter) after the documentary's premiere at Sundance Film Festival in January. “This is all about money and the desperate need to be relevant again.”

In a statement to PEOPLE, Leaving Neverland's director said, “Anyone who sees the film will know it is solely about hearing the stories of two specific individuals and their families in their own words, and that is a focus we are very proud of. We feel no need to include the opinions of people with no direct knowledge of what happened to those individuals.”

Three of Katherine's grandsons formed a musical group

Tito's three sons, Taj, Taryll, and TJ, followed in their father's footsteps by starting their own family band, 3T. The trio learned to play instruments at a young age and were signed to Michael's label when they were teenagers. The three brothers later starred in a reality show called The Jacksons: The Next Generation in 2015.

Today, Taj works as a photographer and director and is married with three daughters. Taryll is still a full-time musician and songwriter. He has two sons with his partner. TJ is a passionate father to four children and runs a parenting and relationship advice website, The Family Rules.

Katherine's youngest grandchild, Eissa, was born in 2017

Katherine's youngest daughter Janet had her first child, a son named Eissa, with then-husband Wissam Al Mana in 2017 when she was 50 years old. Eissa made his social media debut on Janet's X account at just a few weeks old, but has largely stayed off of social media in the years since.

Despite Janet keeping her son's upbringing private, she has shared a few sweet anecdotes about him. According to Janet, he takes after his uncle Michael and is "incredibly musical."

“He makes up melodies, he carries a tune, he has really good pitch,” Janet said on the Australian show Carrie & Tommy in 2019, adding that her son “does this thing that my brother [Michael Jackson] did from ‘[They Don't] Care About Us,’ the march and the hand.”

Jaafar is playing Michael in an upcoming biopic

Jermaine's son Jaafar is continuing the Jackson family legacy in a unique way: by portraying his late uncle in the upcoming biopic Michael.

"There was such a spiritual connection when I first met Jaafar, who has a natural ability to emulate Michael and such a great chemistry with the camera,” director Antoine Fuqua told Variety in January 2023.

In February 2024, Lionsgate released a first-look photo from the upcoming film, which showed Jaafar transforming into his late uncle. "With Jaafar, every look, every note, every dance move is Michael,” producer Graham King said in a statement. “He embodies Michael in a way that no other actor could."

Katherine and her grandson Bigi are in an estate dispute

Bigi took his grandmother to court in March 2024 to ask that she not use Michael's estate to fund her legal battle against the executors. Per court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Katherine is involved in a disagreement over a "recent transaction," though details have not been made public.

A deal was not explicitly named in the filing, but it appears to be the estate's estimated $600 million sale of the late singer's catalog to Sony. While Bigi and Katherine were both originally opposed to the estate's proposed transaction, Bigi and his siblings accepted the court's decision to move forward with the deal last year. Katherine filed an appeal, which is currently pending, and in December, asked that the estate pay her legal bills from the objection.

In Bigi's court filing, he claimed Katherine using the estate to fund her legal battle would be "unfair."

"It is readily apparent that a reversal on appeal would be an extreme longshot,” wrote lawyers on behalf of Bigi. “Given those odds, Bigi decided not to waste his resources to participate in an appeal. Nonetheless, Katherine has decided to appeal this court’s ruling. That decision is not for the benefit of the heirs.”

Katherine filed a response to her grandson's objection on March 20, which was obtained by PEOPLE, arguing that the estate is being too frugal with how the money is being dispersed to beneficiaries and claims the estate can afford the amount she is requesting. The amount Katherine is seeking remains undisclosed.

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