Why Michael Jackson Chose Elizabeth Taylor for Paris Jackson’s Godmother

Paris Jackson claimed her dad, Michael Jackson, chose Elizabeth Taylor to be her godmother because the woman knew what it was like “growing up in the spotlight.”

“There’s definitely a part of him that knew that we would have a very similar experience,” Paris, 26, said in the BBC documentary series Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar, per E! News. “I was homeschooled and because of that, I don’t know what it was like to be around other kids my age.”

She continued, “And I think it was just the same for her.”

Michael, who shared daughter Paris and son Prince, 27, with ex-wife Debbie Rowe, died at the age of 50 in 2009. (Michael also was dad to son Bigi, 22, whom he welcomed via surrogate.) Less than two years later, Taylor died at the age of 79.

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In the wake of Taylor’s death, Paris became an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF), which the actress founded in 1991. Paris has also kept the memory of her godmother alive by recalling special moments between the twosome.

“Obviously, I was a little girl at the time, so I can’t share any conversations or specific recollections I had with my godmother,” she told People in 2021. “But in my mind’s eye, I can recall my dad speaking with Elizabeth on a few occasions at our home in Encino.”

Paris recalled Taylor being “very pretty” and rocking “sparkling necklaces and rings.” Paris admitted that she didn’t know who Taylor was when she was growing up.

“Elizabeth was an exception. I did not know who she was or what she did, and it would be years later that I found out,” she told the outlet. “At the time, I just remember how I always wanted to bring her little gifts when we would visit her, like plush toys or bracelets I had found. Most of the time, I just sat on the floor of her bedroom with her cat, Fang, while she and my father caught up.”

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As for her bond with her dad, Paris has praised Michael for getting her involved in music. (Paris has one studio album, 2020’s Wilted, as well as two EP’s, 2020’s The Soundflowers and 2022’s The Lost EP.)

“He would have been 65 years old today,” she said during an August 2023 performance at Las Colonias Park Amphitheater in Colorado, per a video shared via her Instagram page. “And he put 50 years of blood, sweat and tears and love and passion into doing what he did, so that I can stand up here on stage in front of you and scream into a microphone. So, I owe everything to him.”

Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar episode 1 is out now. Episodes 2 and 3 will air on BBC October 4 and October 11, respectively.