WHERE NOW PLUS
JANET JACKSON
Whatever happened to… W H E N Y O U T H I N K B A C K T O T H E N A M E S T H AT I M P R E S S E D Y O U I N Y O U R G R O W I N G U P Y E A R S , T H E S TA R S T H AT M A D E Y O U R H E A R T B E AT T H AT L I T T L E B I T F A S T E R , T H E S P O R T S P E R S O N A L I T I E S Y O U W A N T E D T O E M U L AT E . . . Y O U W O N D E R H O W T H E D E C A D E S H AV E T R E AT E D T H E M
Wo rd s: J I L L E C K E R S L E Y
EDDIE MURPHY
80s
ALGARVE P L U S
l
86
90s
The youngest of ten siblings, Janet began her career starring in the US TV show The Jacksons in 1976. The family hailed from Gary, Indiana, and was headed by a father who was ambitious for his children, helping his daughter to a recording contract in 1982. Pop stardom followed, with Janet as a ‘crossover’ star, combining disco, funk and rhythm ‘n’ blues. By the early 1990s, she was one of the music industry’s best-paid stars. According to Billboard magazine, she was the second-most successful 1990s musician after Mariah Carey. In 2004 she appeared as a guest artist at the Superbowl alongside Justin Timberlake, and this led to what became known as the ‘wardrobe malfunction’ incident where he tore part of her dress off, exposing her nipple. A huge backlash followed and Janet had to apologise for what some commentators saw as a mere publicity stunt. Shortly afterwards she began to take control of her own career, releasing more highly-successful records which, she hoped would cross the racial boundaries in the music business. Janet, sister of the late Michael Jackson, has been married and divorced three times and gave birth to her only child, a son, in 2017. She now says that although she loves her work too much to give it up, being Mom to Eissa is her priority. Janet is based in Los Angeles but co-parents with Eissa’s father who lives in London.
New York-born Eddie Murphy became famous at 19, when he joined the cast of US TV’s top variety show Saturday Night Live in 1980. As an actor, singer and stand-up comic, he was sometimes controversial, sometimes outspoken, but always watchable. After a difficult childhood, part of which was spent in foster care, he admits he used to bunk off high school to appear on the stage in local clubs. The many roles he took on in Saturday Night Live made him a star. He soon branched out into movies. In 1982 he starred alongside Nick Nolte in 48 Hours, and the the following year in Trading Places with Dan Aykroyd. Beverly Hills Cop was another smash hit. In the new century, he was most often seen in movies but returned to Saturday Night Live in 2019, winning both Grammys and Emmys. A series of relationships has produced ten children – six daughters and four sons – some of whom have followed Dad into show-business. “I love fatherhood,” he has said, “and my kids are all great, normal people!” A romance with former Spice Girl Mel B produced a daughter called Angel Iris Murphy Brown, born in 2007. Eddie owns property on Long Island, New York and is an active supporter of many good causes, including AIDS and cancer charities as well as those working for the homeless and improvements in education. He also donated US$100,000 to the Screen Actors Guild Strike Relief Fund.
