As the youngest of the Jackson family siblings, Janet Jackson was destined to be a star. In 1977, she made her first appearance on Good Times during its season five premiere, “The Evans Get Involved: Part 1.”
She was Penny Gordon, the adorable little girl obsessed with J.J. In the show, Penny hides that her mom, Linella Gordon, played by Chip Fields, was abusive. She’s eventually saved by the Evans family and Willona Woods.
Janet would go on to star in the last two seasons of the series. Then, in 1980, fans saw her recur on Diff’rent Strokes as Charlene DuPrey, Willis Jackson’s (Todd Bridges) girlfriend.
On both series, she showed off her vocals, even singing a song from her debut album on Diff’rent Strokes. The self-titled debut garnered Janet a lot of attention in 1982, and her single “Young Love” became a hit.
“Even I was surprised. I never thought I’d become a singer because I was so involved in acting all these years,” Jackson told the Daily News the same year. “I’m happy with my singing success. But acting is what I want to do. It is what really makes me happy.”
Janet Jackson continued to release music and got her biggest break with her third album
After two episodes of The Love Boat and starring in a show titled Fame, which she reportedly didn’t enjoy, acting took a backseat to music for several years. Her father, Joe Jackson, signed her to a recording contract with A&M when she was 15. A few years later, Control, her third album, became Janet’s commercial breakthrough.
Released on February 4, 1986, the project has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and gained a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Since then, Control is deemed one of the most definitive albums of all time by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Throughout her music career, Janet released hits such as “Nasty,” “Control,” “Together Again,” and “All For You,” which is my personal favorite.
A return to acting: Poetic Justice, The Nutty Professor, and more
In 1993, Janet Jackson returned to acting and starred in the classic film Poetic Justice. It also starred Tupac Shakur, Regina King, and Maya Angelou. She played Justice, a hairdresser who wrote poetry to deal with the loss of her boyfriend.
In 2000, she joined Eddie Murphy in the second installment of The Nutty Professor, The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, as Professor Sherman Klump’s love interest, Denise Gaines. Other credits include Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married film series and For Colored Girls.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Releasing
