Debbie Rowe

Deborah Jeanne Rowe (born December 6, 1958) is a dermatologist's nurse, ex-wife of pop singer Michael Jackson, and the mother of two of his children. She currently lives in California.^[1]

[edit] Relationship with Michael Jackson

Rowe met Jackson when he was diagnosed with vitiligo in the mid-1980s, acting as his dermatologist's nurse.^[2]

It was announced she was pregnant in 1996, and the two were later married on November 14, 1996, in Sydney, Australia.^[3] They had two children together, son Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. (born February 13, 1997) and daughter Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson (born April 3, 1998).^[4]

The couple divorced on October 8, 1999, with Rowe giving full custody rights of the children to Jackson. Rowe received an $8-million settlement, and a house in Beverly Hills, California.^[5] On the stand, in the People v. Jackson case in 2005, she explained that she had been allowed limited visits to her children, for eight hours every 45 days.^[6]

In 2001, Rowe went to a private judge to have her parental rights for the two children terminated.^[5] In 2004, she went to court to have the decision reversed.^[7]

In 2005, Rowe sold her Beverly Hills house for $1.3 million, and bought a ranch in Palmdale, California.^[8]

In 2006, she sued Michael Jackson and wanted one immediate payment of $195,000 and one payment of $50,000 to pursue a child custody case against Jackson.^[7] As a result, Jackson was ordered to pay her $60,000 in legal fees.^[9]

Following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, several news media reported about TMZ's claims that Rowe was not the biological mother of the children, but instead a surrogate mother.^[10][11] This was later denied by Rowe's lawyer, Marta Almli.^[12][13] Several news media published pieces of a supposedly exclusive interview, which appeared in the British tabloid newspaper News of the World in June 2009.^[14][15] One of her answers were supposedly "Just like I stick the sperm up my horse, this is what they did to me. I was his thoroughbred."^[16] Rowe's attorney told Radar Online exclusively, that the interview did not occur, and that it was a complete fabrication. The interview has since been removed from News of the World's website.^[17][18]

It was reported by TMZ and US Weekly,^[19][20] who both claimed to have received the information through multiple insiders, that Jackson's dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein of Los Angeles, is the biological father of the two children.^[19] Klein's attorney, Richard Charnley, issued a statement "Because of patient confidentiality, Dr. Klein will make no statement on any reports or allegations."^[13]

[edit] References

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