March 15 (UPI) — Paris Jackson says she was her dad’s “princess” during his lifetime.
The 18-year-old aspiring actress and only daughter of late singer Michael Jackson discussed her sheltered childhood and recent step into the spotlight in the April issue of Harper’s Bazaar.
“When I was a kid, I was with my dad and my two brothers,” she said of her dad and siblings Prince and Blanket. “Growing up, I was treated as the favorite because I was the only girl. I was the princess; I was perfect in my dad’s eyes.”
Jackson, who was 11 years old when Michael died in 2009, grew up hidden from the public eye on her dad’s Neverland Ranch. She admitted she was “shocked” when she was introduced to the “cruel” realities of the world.
“The first 12 years of my life I was homeschooled,” the star shared. “Which means that the only interactions I’d ever had were with family members or other adults.”
“[I] didn’t have social skills,” she admitted. “I had to force myself to learn so fast … For the past six years, I’ve been learning to communicate. And I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”
Jackson landed a contract with IMG Models this month, and made her acting debut on last week’s episode of the Fox series Star. She also appeared on the cover of and gave a buzzed-about interview for the Feb. 9 issue of Rolling Stone.
“All anyone wants to talk about is my father, and it makes me sad,” the teenager told Harper’s Bazaar.
Jackson had opened up about Michael and her troubled teenage years in the Rolling Stone feature. She said she attempted suicide “multiple times” following her dad’s death, and was also sexually assaulted at age 14.
