Janet Jackson has always been one of the most naturally beautiful women in the entertainment industry since she was a kid star. It was only right that InStyle Magazine choose her to be on the cover of The Beauty Issue for the month of October. In the issue Ms. Jackson speaks on a range of topics from her becoming a first time mother at 50 years old, her late great brother Michael Jackson, & her long battle with her self-esteem.
On having a baby at 50:
LB: You had a child at 50! That’s unbelievable — it says a lot about what your body can handle.
JJ: I give it up to Paulette. She’s incredible. And she never made me feel like I have to deprive myself of anything. She would say, “What do you like? OK, I’m going to put that in. What do you enjoy? OK, I’m going to put that in.”
On adjusting to fame as a child:
LB: How did you adjust to fame so young?
JJ: From the beginning. It’s so funny — my brothers talk about it to this day. We would play to a crowd of 20,000 people, and the next day we were at home. My parents would make us get up at 7 in the morning. Why? We had to rake the whole yard. Now, we’re talking about 3 acres. Every leaf had to be gone out of that yard. You had to clean all the animal cages and wash all the animals. We had a house-keeper and chefs growing up. And the house-keeper was there to watch us take care of our rooms. Make our beds, vacuum the floor, mop the kitchen. She was there making sure we did what our parents wanted us to do.
On self image in the entertainment industry:
LB: Did you and Michael ever talk about self-image?
JJ: I remember growing up and being in this business was always this important thing. Because it was the thing. And you had to be a certain size, you had to be thin to be an entertainer. Stupid crap like that. That’s just this business I’m in. I think it’s changed, thank God. People are more accepting of others. Which is the way it should’ve been from the jump. That can really mess with you.
LB: What would you say to teenagers in the industry now?
JJ: It’s tough. They have to know who they have to be and who they are. Not what someone else wants them to be, not what they think they should be by looking at someone else. Individuality is beautiful. God made you as you are, and that’s beautiful. You are unique, special. You don’t want to look like someone else or be that other person.
On her insecurities:
LB: What were you insecure about before that you are more secure about now?
JJ: I would have to say my body. A lot of it has to do with experience, getting older. Understanding, realizing that there isn’t just one thing that is considered beautiful. Beautiful comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
LB: How do you deal with being photographed?
JJ: I’m better about it, for sure. It’s not what it used to be. And when those moments come about, I don’t look. Therapy helped a great deal with that. I had to find something in my body that I loved, and that was difficult for me to do.
On what makes herself & other women beautiful:
LB: What do you think makes a woman beautiful?
JJ: Lots of different things. It’s vulnerability. It’s power. It’s confidence. It’s happiness. It’s seeing the goodness in the soul. It’s spirituality. It’s being selfless and what you do for others before doing for yourself.
LB: When do you feel most beautiful?
JJ: I feel like I’m being corny here, but it’s just the honest truth: I feel most beautiful when I’m with my son, because of the gift that God has given me and that he allowed me to do so at that age. My baby is so sweet and so healthy, so happy and so full of love.
Read the full length cover interview with Laura Brown & Janet Jackson HERE.
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