Michael Jackson was in the public spotlight since he was a small child. In that time, he transformed from a cute little African-American kid with a 70s afro into a thin, light-skinned man in a black wig with a comically tapered nose. His plastic surgery is so obvious that it’s the stuff of urban legend. People have long speculated that he bleached his skin for cosmetic purposes, and prescription lightening cream was even found among his effects at auction. Jackson said he suffered from the auto-immune disease vitiligo, which lightens the skin in patches. That same cream is used to treat his condition and it’s possible that once Jackson opted to lighten his skin there was no going back and trying to cover up the parts that lost pigment.
Now that we know the end of Jackson’s story (or perhaps 3/4 of it given the battle that’s about to ensue over his estate) it tugs at the heart strings to see what a cute little boy he was and how he eventually ended up – thin, pale, and finally broken by a decades-old addiction. The news of his demise and his abuse of prescription drug medication puts his eccentricity in an entirely different light. This was a man who was heavily doped out of his mind and who lost his fortune and eventually his life to drugs.
In Touch gave me this idea with a photo timeline in this week’s issue featuring Jackson as a child up until these last few months of his life. Although I’ve seen many photos of him throughout the years and knew that he changed so much it’s fascinating to see the pictures lined up in order. I’ve recreated it here with different photos. The biggest difference in Jackson’s appearance was made by his multiple nose jobs, which eventually left him with a thin pencil of a nose that looked like it was pinched. Jackson’s last plastic surgeon is said to have been “a normal guy” who wasn’t particularly strange or fame-wh*rish as far as plastic surgeons go. If he kept performing surgeries on MJ he was an enabler, though, just like many of the other people who surrounded him in his last days. It’s no wonder, because Jackson fired and distanced himself from everyone who ever told him “no.”
Photo credit: Most photos credit WENN.com. The last three photos are credit Fame Pictures
WOW!!!!!!
When you look at the other Jackson brothers – Jermaine, for example – you can see what Michael might have looked like if he’d let nature take its course. He’d be a good-looking black man entering middle age.
There’s been a lot of talk on this board about Madonna being afraid of the aging process. That seems to have been a factor in Jackson’s constant plastic surgeries as well. He certainly didn’t have any wrinkles on his remade face.
Michale Jackson should have completely stopped at 1981. By 1990, MJ looks plainly transsexual looking, with all that make-up making his plastic surgery changes even more odder. Such a shame, he was such a cute guy before all that plastic surgery.
MJ should never have changed his color regardless of the vitiligo. The cream would have been enough. I wish someone had shown him the consequences of skin peels. I guess that is why he wanted purely white children. That way, he did not have to pass on his genes.
I agree with Enonymous. Around that time he was really looking hot and should have stopped. Most of all the Jackson siblings have had plastic surgery. The dad went overboard with all that plastic surgery, he looks like the monster on the outside that he is on the inside.
Um… that timeline looks off to me. That first photo dated as “1981” is not 1981… and the photo dated as “1984” is not “1984”…
So sad as he probably should have been treated for BDD rather than having undergone multiple cosmetic procedures. He looked so freshfaced and happy in the 1979 photo.
It all got weird when he changed from idolizing Diana Ross to Elizabeth Taylor.
@Gena those are the dates from the photo agency. If you think they’re wrong, please explain why and provide links.
He never should have started but he looked really hot in 1979 and should have stopped! wah!
He obviously had a lot of body hate which I believe was brought on by his father…
I’ve always wondered if Michael somehow convinced/paid off some of his family to get surgery to resemble him (how he looked in the 80s anyways). Janet, LaToya and even his dad and mother all have the slimmed-down nose and high cheekbones that can only be achieved by surgery.
didn’t he change his colour because of the racism issues??…
The 1981 photo is way off. That wasn’t his face until “Bad” was released in 1988. He was still Black and had a nose in 1981. “Thriller” wasn’t released until 1982 and, as we all remember, he was still distinctly identifiable as a Black man at that time. 🙂
Up til the late-80s that was one fine looking man. I forget how attractive he really was during that time – I had all the posters and watched the videos as a youngster but I was all about the dance moves – never really appreciated his looks.
I feel so sorry for whatever he felt so much hatred for about himself that he had to make such changes to his physical appearance. No-one should have to feel so much pain about themselves.
“Thriller” was his blessing and his curse. He went to the sky, higher than anyone and then the irreversible fall to Hell began, including in the physical department.
When he came back with ‘Bad’ it was already too late.
So sad. He was adorable in the 70s as a kid! And even in that picture from 79 he’s pretty good looking! Poor Michael. I agree with CandyKay – his brothers DO look fine and he would have looked fine as well! I also think the timeline dates might be off….he still looked like a man in the early 90s – in this picture he already looks like a woman. Maybe it depends on the photo?
Yah the dates on many of the photos (if not all) are wrong.
The one marked 1984 age 26 with the blue shirt is from the way you make me feel video — that’s in 1987.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEU9Q8NlOiY&feature=fvst
The one marked 1981 age 23 that’s black and white is from the same era I think.
The other one marked 1981 age 23 with the red military jacket I think is from around 84 – that looks like something from after thriller b/c he didn’t really start wearing the military style until then.
The one marked 1990 I think is from later on in the 90s.
Plus, definitely at least one of the two 1974 pics are wrong — he looks way older in one of them than the other. I think the black and white one looks like it’s from around the Wiz time, which I think is later than 74, but I’m not sure.
Wow, I didn’t even see the pics on the bottom. Many of them are wrong.
Mur is bang-on.
Thanks Mur and Filthy Cute. I will fix what I can based on what you’re telling me. I was going by the photo agency though and these are the dates they’re giving. I will let them know that they’re wrong. Sorry about that!
edit – Ok I will fix that after I watch the press conference. JB is covering it though.
I love that picture when he was 20. Looked so fresh and so clean!
MJ did his transformation after being made fun of by his father. What parent in their right mind would tell a young child “you’re ugly and “your nose is too big”. Yet MJ the most talented of all the Jacksons made his father filthy rich. What a jerk that Joe Jackson is!
I hope Joe is satisfied cause all these surgeries led to Michael’s drug abuse.
it’s so sad that such a good looking man had so much self loathing 🙁
He’s gorgeous in the 1979 photo. I remember reading something about his father making “fun” of Michael’s nose, so that’s why it was the first thing he changed when he started having surgery. (Belittling children in that way isn’t “fun,” it’s damaging. I still hate my legs, from childhood “teasing.”)
I think he looked his best in that black and white picture where he was 20yrs old. Would he have been as big and famous if he hadn’t been known for all the plastic surgery and skin treatments? Over the years I’ve heard him be refenced a lot in movies and tv shows but mostly bc of his appearance.
Oh he’d totally still be as famous. And he’d probably be better off considering how damaging all that was to him.
He was an absolutely amazing entertainer.
tragic, it is so tragic. This is a man that could have had anything in the world and yet he couldn’t get his head on straight as an adult. As sad as it is there is absolutely no excuse for it, especially considering the fact that he had children.
I agree. A few of those early 80’s dates seem wrong.
I think he looked great in the video for Rock with you. I feel pretty sad for him that he didn’t seem to ever be happy with how he looked. And the whole racial component is incredibly sad. I can’t pretend to know if there is any validity to the “he didn’t want to be black” thing (although Quincy Jones, if memory serves, seems to back up that claim) but it is definitely sad.
MJ was totally adorable troughout his African Americam days. I think that the fact that he was robbed of his childhood really prevented him from actually maturing into the genuinely warm hearted and respectable young man that he should have become.
To me he will always be an icon and I really feel sorry for him considering that the persons speaking out now could been more supportive during the most trying times of his existence.
I believe the color photo labeled 1974 is actually from 1972, a tour he was doing with the Jackson 5 when he was 14. The black and white 1974 one is accurate, it is from when he was making The Wiz and he was 16.
He was ADORABLE in those younger pictures.
He definitely should have quit in 1979. He looks really fine in that photo. That’s the way I’d like to remember him.
I remember when the Bad album was relased and thinking WTF? when I saw his photo. He was about five shades lighter than he was in Thriller and it was all downhill from there.
wow. mj has the most prettiest smile I’ve ever seen.
OMG! The last two pictures are scaring me to death. How much damage can i do to my face? Guess MJ and his doctors had the answer to that question! Horrible, horrible, horrible. He was such a good-looking young boy until 1984. What happened? Was everybody so blind to not see he was mentally ill? His mother? Siblings? Friends? Well, i’m not even considering his father cause we all know how Joe Jackson is, but whatever! Someone should slap some sense on MJ’ face and bring him back to reality. And the reality was: You are one of the most beautiful black mens on planet and the most talented too. Your nose is not ugly at all, your skin is brown like a delicious piece of chocolat and your smile…, oh yeah, just rock my world! Wish i was there in 1984 to tell him all that. So bad he’s gone now!
it just hurts to look at the later photos when he has utterly ruined his face.
sad. really sad – and disturbing.
Ursula, vitiligo changes your skin tone for you so I doubt he had much choice there. He is said to have had depigmentation therapy which takes all the color away. No having to wear full body makeup. Peels don’t take your color off by the way at least none that I’ve ever heard.
Moore, dad blamit! Wake the flip up! He didn’t have a skin condition. He had a condition of ‘I want to be Liz Taylor’. Some people are dumb buying into this skin condition. He didn’t have a skin condition and if he did it was from f’ing with skin bleaches early on. When are some of you gonna pull your heads out of your asses and see that MJ valued being white, was gay and a pedophile. Jeez! If it was someone you hated, you’d be all over it!
One of my favorite psych professors speculated that Michael suffered from body dysmorphic disorder.
http://www.minddisorders.com/A-Br/Body-dysmorphic-disorder.html
He’s a text book definition.
Michael should have stopped in 1981.
I agree with Blueskies.MJ was a wealthy entertainer who could pretend to be busy enjoying the childhood his father denied him.In the meantime the high powered lawyers protected him from the more than 1000 lawsuits.Not just any grown man can surround himself with so many children and get away with a Peter Pan spin on the obvious fixation on young boys.The main characteristic exhibited by the pedophile is that he/she is unable to ‘make and maintain meaningful relationships with those their own age’. Add to the mix the self-mutilation and the drugs and you have a deadly combination.Then you have those many years living in denial that he even needed any help for his emotional issues. I have a brother who is also a staunch J.Witness and although his entire family is effected by his obsessive compulsive disorder there is not a soul on earth that can convince him that seeking mental health help and medication for his illness could happen without violating his ‘set in stone’ religious beliefs.MJ was surrounded by enablers who knew not to cross any lines with their employer even at the ultimate cost of his well being.Very few could say no to Michael and still stay in his circle of associates.Are we never wearied of all the excuses advanced for not seeking help when you know you need it?So many artists from the entertainment industry confront their demons, get help and somehow manage to avoid dying while sitting on the john and chocking on their own vomit.It’s not an inability on my part to feel compassion.I am angry over the sheer waste of a talented human being who was never comfortable in his own skin.So much for the religious upbringing to help him keep his head on straight.Abuse committed within religious families has a long history and is reinforced by DENIAL.
wow. amazing the changes over 30 years. RIP michael.
I wonder whether some of his later plastic surgeries were in part motivated by a desire for continued access to painkillers.
MJ looked the very best during the Thriller and Bad era. Already his face was very artificial, but still at the same time very beautiful, in an otherworldly way that a pop legend like him could carry.
After that, it all just went downhill. Body dismorphic disorder or summat.
Personally I don’t give a damn if you want to look like something out of “Night of the Living Dead” but for God’s sake have the common sense to stop when it threatens your health!
“I’ve always wondered if Michael somehow convinced/paid off some of his family to get surgery to resemble him (how he looked in the 80s anyways). Janet, LaToya and even his dad and mother all have the slimmed-down nose and high cheekbones that can only be achieved by surgery. ”
Michelle, I have always thought the same thing. All the Jacksons are so delusional and creepy. They all strike me as pathological liars.
DivaFan-
although a few if the things you stated MAY be true, you are quite misinformed about pedophiles.
Elevated passive-agressivness is the most common characteristic, followed by impared self-concept.
You said “The main characteristic is the inability to make/maintain relationships with individuals of the same age”.
While this is sometimes true, it is often a symptom of severe introversion. It is notoriously difficult to seperate the cause and effect; the introversion (and thus social withdrawl) is the cause which leads to an effect of one who gravitates toward children (who are less threatening) or if the introversion is a result of the isolation of the preference.
Although itay be confusing, pedophiles & child sex offenders are very different. Pedophiles are often distressed over their sexual preference. Motivation for the child sex offender can vary widley, and situational offenders often offend during a time of great stress.
The research is still very limited, and even those who are often well respected (the Mayo Clinic, FBI) have recounted the diagnostic criteria in the last decade.
Above all- it is my firm belief that it is one, if not the most severe & difficult to treat mental disorders.
Dr. Fred Berlin (founder of the Johns Hopkins Sexual Disorders Clinic) believes that it could be successfully treated if the medical community gave it more attention, and I strongly agree.
I understand as a medical professional the importance of Diabetes research for children, and the like, but I feel this is a much more severe threat. I feel we are failing the helpless victims who fall prey to this illness by over simplifying and making generalizations.
I do not have children, but if I did- I would be much less concerned with the fat content at McDonalds or a banned book in the Library, and more worried about the GROWING number of victims.
Studies suggest by the time of entry to treatment, an average pedophile committed am average of 282 offenses against 150 victims.
If nothing else, Michael Jackson made a taboo subject open for discussion- and even jokes.
Maybe this disease will finally get the attention it deserves.
He should have stopped when he was 20. He looked like such a freak starting 10 years later. I would have loved to see him age naturally. What a shame.
After reading about his illnesses and drug addiction it’s apparent that Michael was self destructing and saw no point in living. His family should have gone to court and had him deemed incapable of taking care of himself then they could have forced him into intensive treatments. Mental and otherwise.
The people around him were leaches and let him self destruct. I hope that bothers them. Do they have a conscious?
This goes to show, money can’t buy happiness..
Everyone is gonna have an opinion about MJ, but for the record, I have a cousin that has vitiligo and your skin DOES lose its pigmentation. And it starts on the hands, at the knuckles, which is why I believe he started wearing the tape around his fingers. Then the glove. Then the rest of him.
Whatever you want to say about his appearance, which I do believe was affected by his childhood and his father, there is no way to “bleach” your skin THAT white. That is a lack of pigment. Sorry. Some of you (like BlueSkies) are wrong.
Interesting post, Rachel.
I remember MJ said his father would say things to the kids like “My God, your nose is big.” When I was little it was a joke in the family that I “inherited the German (large) nose.” People say things like that as a joke, but don’t realize that sometimes it can really hurt a little kid who trusts adults without question. Then again, this is Joe Jackson, so who knows…
Such a shame really. The pressure he must have been under. I believe we have to take some of the blame for this because we gave him the Title “King of Pop” and said he was the best in the world, thats a lot of live up to. I can easily see where he might have wanted to rehire early but you just can’t do that when your public expects more. He probably got lost in all that fame, it was far to much to handle and with the added trauma of his upbringing
RIP Michael- you don’t have to live up to anyones expectations anymore- rock in GOD’s House now.
Oh , and if you really want to know how diverfied in music he really was listen to “give in to me” off Dangerous- awsome song, I never knew Michael could ROCK like that!!!
In my heart of hearts I do NOT believe that MJ was a pedophile. I do think he was very odd and both; mentally and emotionally unstable in fact deeply but not a child molester. I do believe he lived in denial, lied about the parentage of his kids, about his numerous plastic surgeries, but for reasons I can’t explain I truly believe when he said he would never hurt a child that way.
DivaFan:
“The main characteristic exhibited by the pedophile is that he/she is unable to ‘make and maintain meaningful relationships with those their own age’”
You sure about that? Because I have Asperger’s Syndrome, and that is one of the defining characteristics of my condition.
I am not a pedophile. Rather, I’m a married mother of three – all Aspergian, as well, by the way. My own level of social impairment is quite severe, even though I am on the “higher-functioning” end of Asperger Syndrome.
Try not to perpetuate ignorance, especially when it involves tossing about accusations of pedophilia. If you must be ignorant, at least have the courtesy to be quiet about it.
And just to play devil’s advocate, for a moment…
The impression of being “a perpetual child” is another defining trait of Asperger’s – adults with AS may continue to delight in childish pursuits, show strong attachments to collections of “toys,” have trouble understanding societal norms, and possess a kind of naivete that often leaves them poorly-equipped to interact and/or defend themselves, with others. Low sex drive and poor gender identity, while not universal, are also often seen. Crushing self-esteem/image issues ARE almost always present, and Asperger’s can also exist comorbidly with a whole host of mood disorders, addictive traits, and anxiety disorders.
And, of course…the most current studies show that about a third of all people with Asperger’s Syndrome, or another Autism Spectrum Disorder will show one or more savant-level skills. Musical savants are as common as mathematical savants.
Interestingly enough, although physical “awkwardness” is very common with Asperger’s, those with AS whose intense focus is in more athletic areas sometimes show extreme physical gifts. One could imagine that the ability to “feel” music, for example, when coupled with remarkable focus, could, say…turn out one of the most stunningly gifted dancers the world has seen.
My point, is not to assert that Michael Jackson had Asperger’s Syndrome, although he certainly may have. Rather, it is to make clear how easily another explanation can be provided for his “pedophiliac” behavior and “freakish” personality, if one but chooses to utilize an open mind and just a smidgen of research.
http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/ad.html
Michael Jackson had vitiligo. It has been publicly confirmed by his dermatoligist on Larry King Live. Good thing since his own word wasn’t good enough for you while he was alive.
Michael Jackson had vitiligo. It has been publicly confirmed by his dermatoligist on Larry King Live. Good thing since his own word wasn’t good enough for you while he was alive.
Not trying to offend MJ’s memory but I’m not so sure he had that disease. That dermatologist seems seedy and will say whatever he thinks MJ’s supporters want to hear. So, LaToya suffers from it too? She had all of her skin lightened. Have you seen her lately? Makes you wonder.
Hi there,those who don’t believe he had Vitiligo go on google and type in his name and vitiligo. Lots of pics exist and vids on You Tube where you can clearly see the blotches on his skin. Lots of the media have these pics, they don’t show them as it sells the story more to make out he is mad than tell the truth. Honest go google it folks.
To the author of this article:
Please, at least have the decency get the picture timelines right. The 1981 picture onwards is off.
For those of you who do not believe MJ had vitiligo, please Google it. Dr. Arnie Klein is a reputable surgeon in his field and he knew MJ for almost 25 years, he also had a lot of famous people for patients, so I doubt he would blatantly lied about a patients medical history.
As for La Toya, look up some of the Jackson pics. when they were young. She didn’t have vitiligo or anything done, she is naturally fair skinned. It’s not all strange, even their father Joe had bluish eyes.
His last photos are really weird.
I believe his word on the matter: he only had two rhinoplasties and later work to help his breathing.
What does occur is a loss of pigment and weight changes. And of course, the natural process of aging.
Frankly I find his natural change of going through adolescence just as radical as his later appearance and that was a natural process.
I honestly think the loss of pigment is what makes him so remarked upon.
But as usual people will always believe what they want, no matter what evidence is out there.
@BlueSkies, MJ did have vitiligo, and I believe LaToya has it also. It’s been confirmed that MJ had it in his autopsy, he still had dark patches of skin. He tried to even it out with heavy makeup.
Not sure about LaToya, but I’m sure she has it too.
And agreeing with everyone else, yes, the pictures are so wrong.
The black and white 1981 is definitely from the ‘Bad’ era which is 86-89.
The second 1981 is from 1984 from the ‘Thriller’ era.
The 1984 picture is from The Way You Make Me Feel short film from 1987, and the 1990 one is the cover for Earth Song which was released in 1995.
The rest I believe are right.
Create video DVD disc with any video files
I don’t know who compiled this list of photos, but almost all are incorrect.
The first 1981 photo is from the “Bad” album inner sleve (released in late 1987).
The second 1981 photo is actually from an earlier date than the first (darker skin, no chin cleft implant, less brow curve)
The 1984 photo is from “The way you make me feel” video shoot (
approx 1988)
The 1988 photo is actually from the 1990 AMA’s
And the 1990 photo is from the HIStory era (approx 1995).
I’m not just trying to nitpick, but MJ’s facial progression has been well documented elsewhere, and it’s just spectacularly lazy to have so many glaring errors
I’d have vitiligo too if I bleached myself as much as MJ did.
ok, so ive read what the people who made this site said about michael, and let me be the one to correct you, and that the pictures that you people provided are all wrong for what he looked like at a certain year, you have almost completely BSd all that :0 sorry to tell ya that in that black and white picture of mj saying it was in 1981 was actually tooken in about 1986/87, oh, and the other one that says it was in 1981 where he is in a red military jacket, first of all he started that military thing in the mid 80’s and that pic was takin in 1984 🙂 wait, theres more, 1984, blue jeans jacket with what looks to be a white karatie belt, actually the set of “The Way You Make Me Feel” which was filmed in 1988. one last one, 1990, where there is a red background, is actually in 1992. get your facts right before you start publishing things that arent true about my home boi 🙂 i’d really appricate it dudes and dudets. Michaels my main man and his face didn’t change as much as you guys say it did, oh, and if you don’t believe me on the pictures, i can guarntee that if you go to google and look them up on the years ive corrected for you, you will see that im right and you critics are dead off! Sucks when the mj fan knows all and people that think they do don’t.sorry, but it pisses me off when people like you who make these web sites don’t even know what your critsizing. don’t be too mad at me, just wanted to show someone that i care, and you need to change your so called “facts” you have posted.Thx! 🙂