Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she is the youngest member of the Jackson family, which has produced several musicians. After initially performing on stage with her family at the age of seven at the MGM Casino, Jackson began her career as an actress with the television series The Jacksons— a variety show staring herself and seven of her eight older siblings—which debuted in 1976, and went on to star in other television shows including Good Times, A New Kind of Family, Diff'rent Strokes, and Fame. After launching her recording career in 1982, Jackson found recordbreaking success, producing five consecutive number one studio albums, beginning with the release of Control (1986) and followed by Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989), janet. (1993), The Velvet Rope (1997), and All for You (2001). Jackson's tenth studio album, Discipline (2008) became her sixth number one album, tying her in second place alongside Madonna among female artists with the most number one albums behind Barbra Streisand's eight chart-toppers.   Wikipedia