The Music, the Drama, the All-Too-Famous Family: All Things Jackson

Mommy Dearest

The matriarch of the family, Katherine, whose birth name was Kattie, contracted polio when she was only two years old. As a result, she developed a life-long limp. The Scruse family moved from Alabama to Indiana when she was four years old. Her father’s name was Prince Albert, which came full circle when Michael chose to name his son Michael Jackson Jr., aka Prince Michael.

Joe and Katherine Jackson at a party in 1986

Photo by Bei / Shutterstock

Perhaps because of her childhood illness, Katherine eventually came to be obsessed with cleanliness. She would rub rubbing alcohol on her children. Mama Jackson also gave them hot potatoes to put in their pockets in the winter to keep them warm. (But hey, to each her own, right?)