Movies Gallery 50 Janet Jackson Photos For Her 50th Birthday See the iconic performer through the years By Madeline Boardman Madeline Boardman Madeline Boardman is a former digital features director at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2017. EW's editorial guidelines Published on May 16, 2016 02:40PM EDT Trending Videos Close this video player 01 of 51 Janet Jackson Through the Years Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images; Dave M. Benett/amfAR13/Getty Images; Harry Langdon/Getty Images Janet Jackson celebrates her 50th birthday Monday. Born in Gary, Indiana on May 16, 1966, the former child star rose to fame as a part of the Jackson family, embarking on her own solo career as an actress and a singer in her teens. Decades later, the beloved performer has chart-topping albums, sold-out tours, and talked-about on-screen credits to her name. See 50 photos of Jackson through the years on her 50th birthday, ahead. 02 of 51 Janet Jackson With Randy Jackson in the Early 1970s Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 03 of 51 Janet Jackson With Michael Jackson in Los Angeles on December 18, 1972 Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images 04 of 51 Janet Jackson as Penny Gordon Woods With Ja'net Dubois on Good Times in 1974 CBS via Getty Images 05 of 51 Janet Jackson With Michael Jackson at the American Music Awards on February 18, 1975 ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images 06 of 51 Janet Jackson With Randy Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Michael Jackson, Tito Jackson, Marlon Jackson, LaToya Jackson, and Rebbie Jackson in 1977 CBS/Getty Images 07 of 51 Janet Jackson on August 17, 1978 Gregg Cobarr/WireImage 08 of 51 Janet Jackson as Charlene DuPrey on Diff'rent Strokes on October 29, 1981 Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank 09 of 51 Janet Jackson in Los Angeles on August 2, 1982 Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 10 of 51 Janet Jackson With Joe Jackson and LaToya Jackson at the R&B Awards on February 4, 1983 Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 11 of 51 Janet Jackson as Cleo Hewitt on Fame in 1984 Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images 12 of 51 Janet Jackson as Cleo Hewitt on Fame on July 24, 1984 AP 13 of 51 Janet Jackson on the Cover of Her Dream Street Album in 1984 Harry Langdon/Getty Images 14 of 51 Janet Jackson in Los Angeles on August 1985 Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 15 of 51 Janet Jackson With LaToya Jackson in Los Angeles in August 1985 Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 16 of 51 Janet Jackson at the 12th Annual American Music Awards on January 28, 1985 Ron Galella/WireImage 17 of 51 Janet Jackson in Los Angeles in 1986 Harry Langdon/Getty Images 18 of 51 Janet Jackson at the American Music Awards on January 17, 1987 Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 19 of 51 Janet Jackson on Solid Gold in 1987 Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 20 of 51 Janet Jackson in the Mid-1980s Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images 21 of 51 Janet Jackson With Mr. T in the Mid-1980s Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images 22 of 51 Janet Jackson in the Mid-1980s Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images 23 of 51 Janet Jackson in the Late 1980s Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images 24 of 51 Janet Jackson in the Late 1980s Tim Roney/Getty Images 25 of 51 Janet Jackson at the 1988 American Music Awards Chris Walter/WireImage 26 of 51 Janet Jackson Celebrating the Platinum Status of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, "Miss You Much," and "Rhythm Nation" on December 8, 1989 Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage 27 of 51 Janet Jackson at the Billboard Music Awards on November 26, 1990 28 of 51 Janet Jackson as Justice in Poetic Justice in 1993 Anthony Barboza/Getty Images 29 of 51 Janet Jackson With Michael Jackson at the Grammys on February 24, 1993 Ron Galella/WireImage 30 of 51 Janet Jackson Performing at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 18, 1993 Ebet Roberts/Redferns 31 of 51 Janet Jackson at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 1994 Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic 32 of 51 Janet Jackson at Virgin Megastore in New York City on October 7, 1997 Kevin Mazur/WireImage 33 of 51 Janet Jackson Performing at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 10, 1998 Kevin Mazur/WireImage 34 of 51 Janet Jackson as Denise Gaines With Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps in 2000 Universal/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 35 of 51 Janet Jackson on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 26, 2001 Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank 36 of 51 Janet Jackson at the Billboard Music Awards on December 4, 2001 M. Caulfield/WireImage 37 of 51 Janet Jackson at the 2nd Annual BET Awards on June 25, 2002 L. Cohen/WireImage 38 of 51 Janet Jackson With Justin Timberlake at Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004 Frank Micelotta/Getty Images 39 of 51 Janet Jackson at the 18th Annual Soul Train Music Awards on March 20, 2004 Carlo Allegri/Getty Images 40 of 51 Janet Jackson on Saturday Night Live on April 10, 2004 Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank 41 of 51 Janet Jackson With Jermaine Dupri at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards on February 13, 2005 Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic 42 of 51 Janet Jackson at the Billboard Music Awards on December 5, 2006 John Shearer/WireImage 43 of 51 Janet Jackson at the 39th NAACP Image Awards on February 14, 2008 Jason Merritt/FilmMagic 44 of 51 Janet Jackson at the American Music Awards on November 22, 2009 Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images 45 of 51 Janet Jackson at a New York City Screening of Why Did I Get Married Too? on March 22, 2010 Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images 46 of 51 Janet Jackson Preforming at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 1, 2011 Kevin Winter/Getty Images 47 of 51 Janet Jackson on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 9, 2012 Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank 48 of 51 Janet Jackson at the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2013 Dave M. Benett/amfAR13/Getty Images 49 of 51 Janet Jackson at the BET Awards on June 28, 2015 Mark Davis/BET/Getty Images 50 of 51 Janet Jackson During Her Unbreakable World Tour in Miami on September 20, 2015 Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images 51 of 51 Janet Jackson in Dubai on March 26, 2016 Francois Nel/Getty Images