LaToya Jackson

La Toya Yvonne Jackson, born May 29, 1956, is an American singer and television personality. She is the fifth child and middle daughter of the Jackson family. Jackson first achieved recognition on her family's CBS variety television series, The Jacksons, between 1976 and 1977. She subsequently launched a solo recording career in the 1980s and 1990s, releasing nine studio albums over a 15-year period under labels such as Polydor, Sony Music, RCA, Private-I, Dino Records, and BCM Records.

Jackson was born at St Mary's Mercy Hospital in Gary, Indiana, to Joe and Katherine Jackson. She grew up alongside nine siblings, including her sisters Rebbie and Janet. After her mother joined the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1966, Jackson followed the faith and spent time preaching door-to-door. She attended California Prep school in Encino, Los Angeles, initially aspiring to become a business law attorney and briefly attending college before pursuing show business. In 1974, she began performing tap dancing routines in Las Vegas with her family. Later, she lived in New York with her brother Michael while he filmed The Wiz in 1977.

In 1980, Jackson released her self-titled debut solo album, which contained her first Top 40 US R&B hit, "If You Feel the Funk", as well as "Night Time Lover", co-written and produced by Michael Jackson. Her 1984 album, Heart Don't Lie, featured her highest-charting US Billboard Hot 100 single of the same name, along with tracks like "Bet'cha Gonna Need My Lovin'", "Hot Potato", and a cover of Prince's "Private Joy". In 1985, Jackson participated in the charity single "We Are the World" and the anti-drug video "Stop the Madness", while her song "Baby Sister" won an Outstanding Song Award at the World Popular Song Festival in Japan. Her subsequent releases included the albums Imagination (1986), La Toya (1988)—featuring the anti-drug track "Just Say No"—Bad Girl (1989), and No Relations (1991), which contained the hit "Sexbox".

Beyond her music, Jackson launched business ventures, licensing her name to the "David Laurenz for La Toya" clothing line in 1984, modeling for Nikon and Mahogany Image, and launching her own fragrance. She became a two-time New York Times best-selling author, beginning with her 1991 autobiography La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family, which she promoted by posing for Playboy magazine in 1989 and 1991. In 1992, Jackson signed a contract to star in the revue Formidable at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, becoming the highest-paid performer in the cabaret's history.

Jackson's career faced a decline in the 1990s following a troubled marriage to her manager Jack Gordon, who subjected her to domestic violence, isolation from her family, and strict control. She divorced Gordon in 1997. After a period of public seclusion, Jackson returned to music in 2004 with singles such as "Just Wanna Dance", "Home", and "Free the World", which achieved success on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart. In 2011, she released the extended play Starting Over alongside a new autobiography. Jackson also built a career in reality television, appearing in shows including Celebrity Big Brother, The Celebrity Apprentice, her own series Life with La Toya, and international versions of The Masked Singer.