Paris Jackson Talks to Ellen, Says She Wants to Be Just Like Her Dad

Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris is- despite her father’s efforts to keep her out of the public eye- embarking on a career in show business.

Out of all the celebrities in recent memory, it’s hard to think of one who struggled with the pressures of fame more than the late king of pop. It’s difficult to imagine whether, had he lived past the age of 50, Jackson would have wanted a similar future for his three children Paris, Prince Michael and Blanket. But the now 13-year-old says it was her father’s career and talents that have inspired her to follow in his rather large footsteps. The teen went on Ellen DeGeneres’ popular talk show Ellen to discuss her ambitions, and talked a bit about her dad’s influence on her budding career from when she was very young, Paris explains:

“I love acting… When I was really little, my Dad was in the movie Moonwalker, and I knew he could sing really well, but I didn’t know he could act. I saw that and I said, ‘Wow, I want to be just like him.'”

The pop star’s daughter also recalls her father’s habit of putting masks on his kids before the family ventured into public spaces, and says that while she thought it was silly at the time, she now understands the lengths her father went to to protect the kids:

“I’m like, ‘This is stupid why am I wearing a mask?’ But I kind of realized the older I got like he only tried to protect us and he’d explain that to us too. I do have like a regular childhood. I mean, I’m treated the same. When I came to [school] they didn’t know who I was. I was like, ‘Yes, I have a chance to be normal.'”

Paris Jackson will be appearing in Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys, her first feature film, out in 2013.