Meet Michael Jackson’s secret half-sister, Joh’Vonnie: she only met the King of Pop at 29 and isn’t close to Janet – but Paris and her daughter Yasmine played together as kids
Katherine and Joe Jackson were Michael’s parents and he was number eight of 10 children. From oldest to youngest – Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon (whose twin Brandon died in child birth), Michael, Randy and Janet.
However, have you ever heard of Joh’Vonnie Jackson? Here are a few facts about Michael’s secret sister.
Joh’Vonnie is the daughter of the late Joe Jackson and his girlfriend of 25 years, Cheryle Terrell
Now aged 47, Joh’Vonnie lives and works in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the timeshare industry. She wrote B*****d Child in 2018 about growing up as the secret half-sister of the Jacksons. She has a 23-year-old daughter named Yasmine.
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Joh’Vonnie grew up less than 10km away from her famous siblings, but Joe wanted to keep her hidden away from the prying press
Joh’Vonnie was born the day after Michael’s 16th birthday and, in her book, recalled what it was like being an outsider in one of the world’s most famous families.
“I was very aware that I was in the Jackson family growing up. I saw them on TV, I listened to their music,” she told the British press in a 2018 interview. “But I was hidden away, kept secret for years, not able to become part of the family. It was hurtful.”
The book also relates how she was bullied at school for being Michael’s sister.
Joe Jackson did eventually tell his family about Joh’Vonnie, but they would not accept her
Joh’Vonnie eventually met her half-siblings, but she said that there was something stopping them from being close to her. She explained in her book that when she was with them, they showed her love but when she was gone, they never called or asked about her daughter Yasmine.
When her mother died, it was Katherine who was first to call and also Rebbie, who Joh’Vonnie said is the only one of her siblings who really cares about her. “Rebbie has been very consistent with guidance and love,” she told the British press.
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Joh’Vonnie met Michael for the first time when she was 29 at a family reunion at Neverland Ranch
She described Michael as cold and emotionless towards her, but said he was “in awe” of her eight-year-old daughter. “Michael was looking at me and seemed cold and stand-offish, he just said hi, and then saw my daughter Yasmine, and he was just fascinated with her, in awe,” she told a British tabloid.
She stayed close to her father Joe until he died in 2018
According to Jackson family insiders and as reported by the British tabloids, Michael resented his father for favouring Joh’Vonnie over the rest of his children. Joe used to visit Joh’Vonnie every day, showering her with gifts.
When Katherine and Joe finally split, Joh’Vonnie moved in with her father in Las Vegas, where she worked as a baggage handler at the airport.
- We all know the Jackson 5 and possibly even the King of Pop’s other siblings, Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Randy and Janet, but what about his secret half-sister?
- The Las Vegas-based mum of one wrote in her tell-all memoir, B*****d Child, that Michael shunned her and she was bullied in school for being his sister