Janet Jackson.

Janet Damita Jo Jackson was born on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana. She's the youngest of 9 children born to Joe and Katherine Jackson. Growing up in the Jackson family, Janet was aware of the lures of performance early on. Since the Jackson 5 were already stars by the time Janet was a teenager, it may never have occurred to her that it was possible to fail in show business.

As she grew older, her interests branched out into several directions -- dancing, acting and singing. She appeared on stage in her brothers' show in 1973, when she was only seven years old. In 1977, Norman Lear offered her a job on Good Times on CBS. After that, she began appearing on other TV shows such as Diff'rent Strokes and A New Kind of Family. In 1982, Janet released her first self-titled album. Being sixteen at the time, Janet had yet to find a style and a specific audience. She began touring and during her tour, she met two members of the band The Time -- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis -- two men who ultimately became major figures in her career.

In 1983, Janet landed a role on Fame. During her time on the show, she remained in the protective clutches of her parents who were often on the set. By 1984, Janet eloped with singer James DeBarge. But the following spring, she moved back into her parents home and had the marriage annulled. Also in 1984, Janet released her second album, Dreamstreet, and although it was a little more personal, it was not well received by fans or critics. In 1995, Janet joined her brother Michael on the hit single "Scream" and appeared in the song's video clip. In 1996, she released Janet Jackson 1986/1996 Design of a Decade, an album containing the best music from her last ten years of making music.

In autumn 1997, Janet released The Velvet Rope, one of the most anticipated albums to be released in music. Although the album became an instant success (with songs like "Together Again" and "Got 'Til It's Gone"), her personal life took a serious hit. Her secret marriage to Rene Elizondo came to a screeching.

Honored with the Award of Merit at the 2001 American Music Awards (her brother Michael, Gloria Estefan and Frank Sinatra are among past recipients), Janet is truly a pop icon, and her music is "All For You." After some time away from the spotlight, not counting the legal troubles Michael is facing, Janet shocked the millions of football fans watching Super Bowl XXXVIII, when her right breast was exposed at the end of Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's halftime duet of "Rock Your Body." While Janet apologized and claimed it was a stunt that went awry, Justin called it a "wardrobe malfunction." Well it surely won't hurt sales of Janet's latest album Damita Jo.