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Paris Jackson slowly built a bond with her mother, Debbie Rowe, in the years after her father Michael Jackson’s death.
The King of Pop married Rowe in November 1996, before they welcomed son Prince and daughter Paris. After the pair’s divorce in 1999, Rowe signed over her parental rights.
Michael died in June 2009 at age 50, naming mother Katherine Jackson as the guardian of his three children. (Michael was also the father of son Bigi, whom he welcomed via surrogate.)
While Rowe initially publicly planned to fight for custody, she reached an agreement with the Jackson family without legal contest. Katherine served as Prince, Paris and Bigi’s guardian with Rowe retaining visitation rights to see her two children.
“The sole consideration between the parties was the best interests of the children,” Rowe’s attorney Eric George said in a statement at the time.
Keep scrolling for more on Paris’ relationship with Rowe:
Paris Jackson Was 15 When She First Met Debbie Rowe
Paris was raised primarily by her father and was around 10 when she first started asking questions about the identity of her mother.
“I remember, you know, kind of asking about it when I was probably around, like, 10 or 11 and the answers I got were, you know, sufficient to me,” Paris said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in August 2026. “Just like, ‘Oh, what’s her name?’ I got told her name and I’m like, ‘All right, cool,’ like, [I] moved on.”
Paris didn’t meet Rowe until years later.
“We connected when I was about 15 and then really started getting closer towards the end of my teen years and things like that,” Paris recalled on the podcast. “I remember coming downstairs and she was in the living room with my grandma. I came in and I was just like, ‘Hey, mom.’ And she was like, ‘Hi.’ I sat down, we talked for a second, and then we went out for the day and just hung out.”
The musician continued, “She’s a [Sagittarius], so she’s got the fire, and I’m an Aries, so I got the fire. We’re very similar.”
Paris Jackson Says the Bond Has ‘Gotten More Refined’
Speaking with podcast host Alex Cooper in August 2026, Paris credited a shift in her own mindset for helping the mother-daughter relationship grow.
“I think what’s really cool about my process, in general, is learning how expectations kind of f*** us up,” she noted at the time. “If I walk into a relationship with expectations, probably going to end up being, maybe, disappointed or frustrated or irritated or a resentment will be born or something.”
She added, “When I walk into something and I don’t have expectations, it creates this really cool space for something organic to just blossom. I’d say it’s gotten more refined [over the years].”
Paris Jackson Supported Debbie Rowe During Her Breast Cancer Battle
Rowe — a former nurse who met Michael while working in his dermatologist’s office — was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2016. While Rowe and Paris had a distance relationship at the time, Rowe’s diagnosis brought them closer.
“They have stayed in touch but just haven’t been as close,” a source told Us at the time, noting Paris, then 18, reached out with a text saying, “I love you.”
By October 2016, Paris shared a hospital-room photo with her mom on Instagram, writing, “I’m a fighter because she’s a fighter. Love you, mom.”
Rowe completed chemotherapy in January 2017, which Paris celebrated on Instagram.
“My badass mom, kickin butt [and[ takin’ names. ain’t she f***in fabulous????” Paris captioned an image Rowe holding a “Chemo Done” sign
Paris Jackson Shares Rare Reunion Photos With Debbie Rowe
Paris also shared rare photos from another low-key reunion with Rowe in February 2026. In one snap, Paris sported in a patterned jacket and a teal-and-tan baseball cap layered with necklaces, while Rowe smiled in a cream-colored long-sleeve shirt. Another portrait captured Rowe in a plaid flannel, beaming beside her daughter inside a house.
Paris captioned the image “lately” with a red heart emoji.
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
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