Although Michael Jackson lived a sometimes bittersweet and controversial life, one thing that ironically remained constant was the ongoing transformation in his physical appearance. Despite obvious changes to his nose, jaw line and eyes, the pop icon denied he had extensive plastic surgery and blamed changing skin tone on vitiligo. Jackson, pictured left in 1969, started his career as the lead singer for the Jackson 5. In 2001, Jackson’s face evolved into a striking contrast from its former self. Here is a look at the evolution of Jackson’s face over the decades.
At left, Michael Jackson poses for a studio portrait in March 1971. His doe eyes, cherubic face and sweet voice made him the object of many an adolescent crush. Three decades later in November 2003, an almost completely unrecognizable Jackson is shown in a mug shot after he was booked on multiple counts of alleged child molestation. After his death, the question lingers: what was it all about? “He didn’t want to be Michael Joseph Jackson. He just wanted to be something else. And he went about the business of doing that,” says Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli.
. By the time this photo was taken in 1973, Jackson had already released three solo albums and had his first No. 1 hit, “Ben.” It’s at this time that puberty began to naturally transform Jackson’s face, melting away the baby fat and revealing a more masculine jaw line.
Jackson in a photo from 1975. Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli suspects that the inevitable changes of puberty were deeply traumatic for the child star. “When he started to change physically as all guys do, when they go through adolescence and puberty, this was really difficult for him,” he told ABC News’ Cynthia McFadden in 2003.
By the tender age of 18, Jackson’s fame had well eclipsed that of his brothers. Yet, despite the adulation, the star was becoming increasingly insecure about his looks. In particular, Jackson disliked his acne-prone skin and his nose. It didn’t help that his brothers reportedly called him “big nose,” according to Taraborrelli.
In 1979, the same year Michael Jackson released his fifth solo album “Off the Wall,” it is believed he also took another big step: his first foray into plastic surgery. Jackson reportedly underwent his first rhinoplasty at age 21, after breaking his nose during a dance rehearsal. It would be the first step in a dramatic facial transformation. The same year, in a prophetic interview with Sylvia Chase of “20/20,” he claimed he was unable to lead a normal life. “It’s hard to in my position. I try to sometime. And, but people won’t deal with me in that way because they see me differently. They won’t talk to me like they would a next door neighbor,” he said.
Jackson poses in 1981, during the hiatus between “Off the Wall” and his mega-hit “Thriller.” By this point, he has ditched his 1970s Afro in favor of what would become his signature curly hair, and his nose is noticeably different from just a few years earlier. “Obviously he’s had some nasal surgery,” plastic surgeon Pamela Lipkin told ABC News in 2003. “The bridge is much thinner, width of the nostrils is greatly reduced. … That’s a great result. That nose is still believable.”
By 1983, Jackson was at the zenith of his career with “Thriller” well on its way to becoming the best-selling album of all time. Some argue that Michael also looked his best at this time. “‘Thriller’ is perfect, his absolute peak. He looks beautiful,” says Margo Jefferson, critic and author of “On Michael Jackson.”
Jackson poses in 1985, the same year he would write with Lionel Ritchie and record the hit song “We are the World,” along with fellow superstars Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Bruce Springsteen. The year before, Jackson had suffered second-degree burns on his scalp in an infamous accident while filming a Pepsi commercial.
Jackson poses in 1987, shortly after the release of his album, “Bad.” In the five years between “Thriller” and “Bad,” Jackson’s face changed almost as dramatically as his fame skyrocketed. After the unprecedented success of “Thriller,” it seems that Jackson’s metamorphosis became far more than just an artistic statement. “He wanted to be the King of Pop. He wanted to be Captain Eo… I think he was obsessed with staying timeless, is what I think… It’s as if he wanted to look like some, you know, being who has gone into some eternal realm of fame… beyond life and death,” claims author Margo Jefferson.
Jackson attends the 1989 Soul Train Awards in Los Angeles, unveiling an even thinner nose, heavily-lined eyes, and a suddenly prominent cleft chin. In a 2003 interview with ABC News, plastic surgeon Pamela Lipkin insists that Jackson’s transformations could not have been natural. “That’s not a natural cleft. There’s a way of creating a cleft in a chin. But the reason why the operation hasn’t become popular is it never looks real,” she said.
In 1991, Jackson released “Dangerous.” The album’s first single was the No. 1 hit, “Black or White”; some interpreted the lyrics as a sly reference to Jackson’s ever-lightening skin tone.
In a memorable 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson admitted that his skin color had transformed, but insisted the lightening was a result of a disease called vitiligo. Plastic surgeon Pamela Lipkin was skeptical of these claims, telling ABC News in 2003, “It’s the most unusual case of vitiligo I’ve ever seen. I think he’s bleached his skin possibly to blend in what might have been vitiligo.”
At a 1995 charity event, a 36-year-old Jackson is almost completely unrecognizable from the person he was just a decade earlier. His appearance is noticeably wide-eyed and square-jawed, a look that’s accentuated by a shorter hairstyle. Of Jackson’s transformation, plastic surgeon Pamela Lipkin has said, “It’s obvious that he’s trying to look Caucasian. His skin is whiter, his nose is getting thinner every six months. His lips are getting thinner.”
In 1997, with his career on the wane, Jackson debuted yet another look: longer, straighter hair and fuller lips. Lipkin believes Jackson may have been addicted to plastic surgery. “It means that no much matter how much surgery you have, you’re still not happy with the way you look. He kept focusing on his nose. It became, his nose became the obsession.”
Jackson waves to fans upon arrival in Seoul, South Korea, in 1999. Dr. Steven Laughlin was Jackson’s surgeon until the late 1990s. In a 1999 interview with ABC News, Laughlin admitted that although Jackson was “very happy” with his face, “I think he’s done more than I recommended in terms of the changes.”
By November 2001, Jackson’s ever-higher eyebrows create a permanently startled look and suggest surgical intervention of some kind. “He probably had some sort of forehead lift or brow lift,” Lipkin told ABC News in 2003. She also believes Jackson was a “Nasal cripple … whose nose has been done so many times that there is no nose really to breathe through. Michael Jackson has what we call an end-stage nose, a crucified nose, one that’s beyond the point of no return.”
Jackson is pictured after his 2003 arrest for alleged child molestation. The charges were almost as shocking as his ever-evolving appearance. The previous year, Jackson told ABC News’ Martin Bashir, “I’ve had no plastic surgery on my face. Just my nose. It helped me breathe better so I can hit higher notes.”
In 2005, Jackson stood trial for 14 different charges, including child molestation, conspiracy and providing alcohol to minors. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was found not guilty on all counts. After the trial, Jackson fled to the island country of Bahrain, far from the public eye.
In the later years of his life, Jackson was rarely seen in public without a surgical mask covering his face. This photo from Jesse Jackson’s 66th birthday party in 2007 is a rare exception. His gaunt appearance highlights his prominent cheekbones, chin and lips.
Two days before the death that would shock the world, Jackson rehearses for a doomed series of comeback concerts. According to some, Jackson’s facial transformation was just another unforgettable performance. “He wanted his life to reflect P.T. Barnum. He said, ‘I want my life and career to be the greatest show on Earth,’” says biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli. Others believe it may have had deeper roots in Jackson’s painful childhood. “I think he longed for some kind of peace of mind. He longed for what he could never possibly have back, which was some vision of a childhood … The little Michael Jackson, you know, who grew up struggling and suffering and … thinking ‘I am worthless.’ I think he wanted to flee that Michael Jackson completely,” claims author Margo Jefferson.
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