Deborah Jeanne Rowe (born December 6, 1958) is an American dermatology assistant best known for her marriage to pop musician
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
, with whom she had two children. She lives in
Palmdale, California.
Early life
Debbie Rowe was born on December 6th, 1958 in
Spokane, Washington, the daughter of Barbara Chilcutt and Gordon Rowe. Her father divorced her mother a few weeks before her second birthday. She was raised by her mother, a few aunts, and her maternal grandmother.
Rowe first married Richard Edelman in 1982 and converted to Judaism. The couple divorced six years later in 1988.
Relationship with Michael Jackson
Rowe met
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
while working as an assistant in
Arnold Klein
Arnold William Klein (February 27, 1945 – October 22, 2015) was an American dermatologist.
In the infancy of the AIDS epidemic, Klein became one of the first doctors in Los Angeles to diagnose a case of Kaposi's sarcoma in a young patient. He ...
's dermatology office, where Jackson was being treated for
vitiligo.
She recalled that after Jackson's divorce from
Lisa Marie Presley in 1996, he was upset that he might not become a father. Rowe, a longtime Jackson fan, proposed to bear his children.
[''The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant to See''] In an interview with ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'', Lisa Marie stated that she knew at the time that she and Jackson were married that Rowe wanted to have his children and that Rowe had "a crush on him".
Children and marriage
Rowe had suffered a miscarriage in 1996 which devasted her. Jackson consoled her the whole way through and it was announced Rowe was pregnant again in 1996; the two were married on November 14, 1996, in
Sydney, Australia.
Rowe had a son, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr.
(born February 13, 1997, at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...
in
Los Angeles), who was subsequently nicknamed Prince. The next year she gave birth to a daughter,
Paris Jackson
Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson (born April 3, 1998) is an American model, actress, and singer. She is the second child and only daughter of Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe.
In 2020, Jackson signed a deal with Republic Records. Her first sing ...
(born April 3, 1998, at Spaulding Pain Medical Clinic in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
in
Los Angeles). Rowe later stated that she had been artificially inseminated and never had sex with Jackson.
Jackson took full responsibility for raising the children.
Divorce
Rowe, who described herself as a private person and almost never gave interviews, was overwhelmed by the publicity that came with being married to Jackson.
The couple divorced in April 2000, and Rowe gave full custody rights of the children to Jackson. Rowe received a US$8 million settlement and a house in
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Be ...
.
[Case Reopens Debate on Private Judges; Michael Jackson's clash with ex-wife heads for county court as officials seek to reform system.]
, Los Angeles Times (archive), September 6, 2006 Court documents indicated she had signed a
prenuptial agreement and therefore could not obtain an equal division of
community property under California law.
In 2001, Rowe went to a
private judge to have her
parental rights for the two children terminated.
[ In 2004, after Jackson was charged with 10 counts of child abuse, she went to court to have the decision reversed.][Michael Jackson sued by ex-wife]
, BBC News, July 13, 2006 According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Rowe, who is Jewish, sought the reversal in part because she feared the nanny and some of Jackson's siblings were exposing the children to teachings of the Nation of Islam. Court documents from 2005 noted that " cause she is Jewish, Deborah feared the children might be mistreated if Michael continued the association."[Rowe seeks parental rights over Nation of Islam]
, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 3, 2009. On the stand, in the 2005 People v. Jackson case, she explained that she had been granted limited visits to her children, for eight hours every 45 days.
In 2005, Rowe sold her Beverly Hills house for $1.3 million and bought a ranch in Palmdale. In 2006, she sued Jackson for one immediate payment of $195,000 and one payment of $50,000 to pursue a child custody case. Jackson was ordered to pay her $60,000 in legal fees.
After Jackson's death
Following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, Rowe made statements through her attorney to deny a series of gossip reports, including reports that she was not the children's biological mother[Debbie Rowe, Dermatologist Respond To Reports Over Michael Jackson's Children]
but NBC New York, June 30, 2009 and that she was attempting to bargain her parental rights for money.
In July 2009, she filed a lawsuit for defamation and invasion of privacy against a source who handed over alleged private e-mails to the television entertainment news program ''Extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* '' Extra!'', an American m ...
'', and on March 3, 2010, she was successful in the defamation lawsuit. She was awarded $27,000 in damages, although she had originally sought $500,000.
In August 2009, Rowe reached a settlement with Katherine Jackson
Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse, born Kattie B. Screws; May 4, 1930) is the matriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers that includes her children Michael and Janet Jackson.
Early life
Jackson was born as Kattie B. Scruse on May 4, ...
, the children's guardian, under which Rowe has rights to supervised visitations.
In April 2014, Rowe announced on '' Entertainment Tonight'' that she was engaged to music producer and former Neverland Ranch
Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch["Neverland Never More"](_blank)
, by William Etling (author ...
videographer Marc Schaffel, who worked with Jackson on his 9/11 charity single "What More Can I Give
"What More Can I Give" (also "Todo Para Ti" in Spanish) is a song written by American singer Michael Jackson and recorded in 2001 by Jackson and a supergroup of singers following the September 11 attacks. The inspiration for the song had initiall ...
". Schaffel was the sole Jackson employee who was permitted access to visit Rowe following their divorce in 1999 and he assisted Rowe with her health problems.
Health
In 2016, Rowe was diagnosed with breast cancer.
In popular culture
Rowe was portrayed by April Telek
April Amber Telek (born April 29, 1975) is a Canadian actress.
Early life and career
Telek was born and raised on the North Shore of Vancouver, British Columbia. In Japan, she pursued her modeling career and won a Shiseido Cosmetics contract fo ...
in the 2004 film '' Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story''.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Debbie
1950s births
Living people
20th-century American Jews
Converts to Judaism
People from Spokane, Washington
People from Palmdale, California
Michael Jackson
21st-century American Jews