Katherine Jackson Biography

Public figure best known as matriarch of the famous Jackson family of singers and musicians. Born May 4, 1930, as Kattie B. Screws in Barbour County, Alabama. The daughter of Martha Mattie Upshaw and Prince Albert Screws. As a child, Screws contracted polio. While she eventually recovered from her illness, the disease left the young girl with a life-long limp. At the age of four, her family moved to East Chicago, Indiana, and changed Kattie's name to Katherine Esther Scruse.

Scruse met Joseph Jackson when she was still a teenager. Jackson was a boxer and aspiring musician who was married when the two first met. In November of 1949, after Jackson divorced his first wife, the couple married. They moved to Gary, Indiana, and had ten children over the next 16 years. While her husband worked as a crane operator at U.S. Steel, Katherine raised the children. A devout Jehovah's Witness, Katherine brought up the kids in her faith, and with strict discipline. A pianist and singer, she also encouraged the family's musical talents. Her son Michael later credited his mother with giving him his vocal gifts.

After her husband noticed the childrens' various musical abilities, he devoted himself to molding them into a well-rehearsed group. In 1964, The Jackson Five was formed, consisting of sons Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael and Tito Jackson. As their fame grew, the group performed at talent shows and opening acts that took them to places such as the renowned Apollo Theater in Harlem, where they won an amateur-night competition in 1967. During this time, Katherine acted as the group's as the group's designer, often making suits and costumes for her sons to wear during their performances.

After The Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records in 1968, Katherine took a backseat on the group's affairs. However, she continued to be a supportive mother. As her son, Michael, skyrockted to fame as a solo artist, she stuck by his side through his highs and lows, from his success with the album Thriller to his 2005 struggle with child molestation charges. She also continued to be a supportive wife through her husband Joe's public indiscretions with women. Despite several tumultuous moments in their relationship, they remain together in their mansion in Encino, California.

In June 2009, Katherine was pulled into the media spotlight when her son, pop icon Michael Jackson, died of mysterious causes. In a copy of Michael's will, his mother was listed as the guardian of his three children. She was also named as one of the recipient's of the pop stars estimated $500 million fortune.

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