Janet Jackson is a showbiz icon who’s known for setting records and upsetting expectations. The Grammy Award winner from the legendary musical family has done so time and again, whether she’s being named the first-ever artist to generate seven top 5 hits off the same album (as she did in 1989 with Rhythm Nation 1814), delivering a much-raved-about performance on film (in the 1993 drama Poetic Justice) or becoming one of the few Black women to ever be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (like she was in 2019). But Jackson may have surprised her fans the most when she revealed in 2016 that she was pregnant with her son at 50 years young.
In an April 2016 video, Jackson revealed in an intimate video to fans, “My husband and I are planning our family.” The message came with the news that she would be postponing her then-current Unbreakable tour, adding, “Please understand that it’s important that I do this now. I have to rest up, doctor’s orders.”
She didn’t outright announce her pregnancy at the time, but she confirmed it a few months later with a baby-bump pic.
Janet Jackson puts her baby bump on display! https://t.co/IXnFfAQc0T pic.twitter.com/pcieEcFXRT
— The Root (@TheRoot) October 12, 2016
The new addition to Jackson’s family was one she’d apparently left up to forces greater than her; in 2009, she told Harper’s Bazaar, “I think that if I’m really supposed to have kids, it will happen, if that’s God’s plan for me.” Since becoming a mom, Jackson has maintained a super-low profile—and delivered another shocker when she announced just months after giving birth that she was separating from her husband.
Here’s what we know about Janet Jackson’s son, what their life together is like and what Jackson has said about having more kids.
Who is Janet Jackson’s son?
Jackson she gave birth to Eissa Al Mana on Jan. 3, 2017. Her son’s given name means “Yahweh is salvation.” Since his birth, Janet has been vocal about how much she prioritizes her role as a mother. “My son has shown me that love, no matter how deeply you believe you have experienced that emotion, can always go deeper. Love is limitless. And for someone like me, raised in show business where self-concern is always a priority, how fortunate I am now to be concerned, first and foremost, with the welfare of someone else,” Jackson told Billboard in 2018. “Day after day and night after night, holding my baby in my arms, I am at peace. I am blessed. I feel bliss. In those moments, all is right with the world.”
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Jackson has also revealed that she’s chosen not to rely on a nanny to help her raise her son. “My mother did it. Her mother did it. Why can’t I?” Jackson said in an interview with an Australian radio show. “We’ll see. I’m sure I will need someone in the future, some help here and there, but I don’t have anyone [right now] and I love it. I’ve always been a patient person, but there’s more patience that you have to have [in motherhood] and I never knew I was as patient as I really am. He’s first and foremost in my life. I get up, I go to sleep—everything is about him. He comes first in my life.”
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Who is Eissa’s father?
Eissa’s father is billionaire Wissam Al Mana, a billionaire tycoon who runs his family’s business empire as executive director of the Al Mana Group. He oversees the operating activities for 50 companies in the Gulf region in real estate, automotive, distribution, food services, media, engineering and construction. Jackson and Al Mana met at a hotel opening in Dubai in 2010 and began dating shortly after. They were married in 2012, but didn’t confirm it until 2013 after rumors surfaced about their extravagant, over-the-top nuptials. “The rumors regarding an extravagant wedding are simply not true. Last year we were married in a quiet, private, and beautiful ceremony,” the couple said in a 2013 joint statement via Entertainment Tonight. They separated three months after Eissa’s birth in 2017, and a custody battle ensued, including Janet calling police for a welfare check on her son in 2018; police found the baby safe. Jackson reportedly wanted to co-parent Eissa with Al Mana at first, but decided to ask for full custody due to their cultural differences when it comes to parenting. There’s no word yet if their divorce has been finalized or what current custody arrangements might be,
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Does Janet Jackson have a daughter with James Debarge?
When she was 18, Janet eloped with singer James DeBarge in 1984, but their marriage was annulled the following years. It has been rumored for years that they had a secret love child together, which DeBarge even once insisted was true after a woman came forward alleging to be their child. However, none of that was ever proven to be true.
Others have purported that Jackson’s niece, Stevanna Jackson (whose father is Janet’s brother, Randy Jackson—who is a different Randy Jackson from the onetime American Idol judge), is actually her love child with DeBarge, but again, that’s false.
Does Janet Jackson have a daughter?
Eissa is Janet’s first and only child.
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What does Eissa like to do?
Janet has shared a lot with fans about what it’s been like raising her son as a single “mum” in London. No surprise: Eissa’s into music! He plays the cello and violin, loves Bruno Mars and likes to dance to his late uncle, Michael Jackson. “He says, ‘See mama dance. Watch Uncle Michael and mama,’ and he wants to see ‘Scream’ at that point,” Janet said in 2019 of Eissa’s love of watching her and Michael’s videos.
She also revealed that Eissa is well on his way to mastering some of Michael’s moves. “He does this thing that my brother did from ‘Doesn’t Really Care About Us,’ the march and the hand,” Jackson explained. “He does a few things. He does the head. He loves ‘Smooth Criminal.’”
Of course, Eissa’s also just a regular kid, so he also loves Paw Patrol, pancakes and working alongside his mom whether it’s cleaning the house or building a project together.
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How has Janet Jackson kept son Eissa out of the spotlight?
Jackson and Wissam have both kept their son’s life out of the public eye. In an interview with InStyle, Jackson talked about spending time with her son outside while still risking being spotted by fans and paparazzi. “I get bothered and recognized, but I do it anyway. I just try to be cordial and smile. And just keep it moving, really.” Jackson also aims to make sure Eissa grows up with some of the lessons instilled in her from a young age. “The foundation of being grounded and also of a higher power. Knowing who he is and that we are all equal no matter the race or gender. And that he is to be respectful towards others but also that others are respectful to him,” Jackson told InStyle.
What does Janet Jackson’s son look like today?
It’s hard to say what Eissa looks like today, because Jackson has virtually never shared a photo of him online. However, she has words aplenty to share about her boundless love for him. On January 3, 2021, Jackson celebrated Eissa’s 4th birthday by writing on social media, “Happy 4th to my baby. You are my love, my life, my soul. You are everything to me! You’re God’s gift to me. Mama loves you.”
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