Iconic performer Janet Jackson is now a proud mother to an eight-year-old. The artist wishes her only child, Eissa, a happy birthday via a sweet video on Instagram.
“Happy birthday baby, I love you! 😘😘😘,” the 58-year-old captioned the video.
“Hi, sweetheart; I just want to say that I’m so proud of you and the young man you’re becoming. You are so creative, you are so kind, you are so loving, and you are really smart,” Jackson says in a short video. “You’re so talented, [and] you’re very brilliant baby, and I’m so proud of you and proud to be your mama. I love you so much; happy eighth birthday. I love you, baby.”
Jackson gave birth to her baby boy on Jan. 3, 2017, and has him with her now ex-husband, Wissam Al Mana. The former couple split three months after giving birth, ending five years of marriage.
Jackson spoke about her motherhood journey with the Guardian in September 2024, reflecting on how it’s been for her.
“The most important thing I’ve done, the biggest thing I’ve done, is become a mother, and it’s had a beautiful impact on my life,” she says. “I wanted to have three children, but thought, ‘I should stop there, that’s probably all I can handle.’ Because you have to give all of yourself, you have to spread the love, and I wouldn’t want any of them to feel left out if I had three. You have to work, but you don’t come first anymore. Your life completely changes. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
We haven’t seen much of Eissa as the multi-talented singer has kept him out of the limelight for most of his life. However, as an infant, he debuted on social media at 14 weeks old. Jackson has shared fun facts about her little during interviews over the years. During a February 2020 appearance on The Tonight Show, the actress shared that her son is following in her love for music already.
“He loves classical music. First day of school, he took the violin to school. Third day of school, he says, ‘Mama, I want to take a cello to school,’ ” she explained. “I said, ‘Baby, you don’t have a cello.’ He says, ‘I’ll take one but turn my violin into a cello, please Mama,’ ” she said during the show.
She continued, “My assistant Terry — we were rushing for his class and she took a straw and taped it to the bottom of the violin. He loved it,” she explained. “He was posing. He took it to school.”
Happy birthday to Eissa!