Janet Jackson is in Grand Prairie, Texas on April 02, 2011. Janet Damita Jo Jackson is born on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana. She first performed on stage with her family at the age of seven, and started her career as an actress with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976. At age sixteen in 1982, she signed a recording contract with A&M and released her self-titled debut.