Spring racing season is officially here and as the nation counts down to the 2018 Melbourne Cup, behind the scenes the event’s organisers have been working on securing international A-list names to attend the race that stops the nation.
And now it’s been revealed Michael Jackson‘s 19-year-old daughter Paris Jackson will be a VIP guest at Flemington Racecourse next Tuesday, November 7th.
This marks the model/actress’ first-ever trip to Australia and it holds a special place in her heart.
In 1996, the Beat It hitmaker married Paris’ mother Debbie Rowe in Sydney.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to visit Australia,” Paris told The Daily Telegraph of her upcoming visit.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places that I’ve seen pictures of, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic to tune in and connect to one of the most high-frequency and gorgeous regions on the planet.”
Paris admits she’s a rookie when it comes to the races but is looking forward to learning all about it.
“I wasn’t familiar with the Melbourne Cup Carnival before the opportunity came up to attend this year, but once it was brought to my attention I asked my Aussie friends about it and heard so many incredible things,” she explained to the publication.
“They say it’s ‘the race that stops a nation’, and I’m eager to experience this tradition for myself.”
WATCH: A young Macaulay Culkin on holidays with Michael Jackson. Post continues…
Paris and Michael had an unbreakable bond.
The star, who is the middle child between older brother Prince, 20, and Blanket, 15, reveals she’s teaming up with a local designer to create a a show-stopping dress for her appearance.
“I’m working with an Australian designer to come up with an outfit that will fit with the traditional fashions of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, while still incorporating my own personal style,” she mused.
2017 has undoubtedly been Paris’ breakout year.
The rising star was dubbed Hollywood’s newest It Girl by Vanity Fair and landed a modelling contract with IMG.
She’s appeared on a slew of high-end fashion magazine covers and also made her acting debut in a musical-drama series called Star.
Just like her talented father, who tragically died in 2009, Paris also adores music and loves to sing and play instruments.
“But I haven’t yet felt the need to make a career out of it. We’ll see,” she told Vanity Fair in May.
In the February 2017 issue of Rolling Stone, Paris claimed her father’s death was the result of a conspiracy – not an accident as has been reported.
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Using satirical air quotes around the title “doctor”, Pairs said she blames Dr Conrad Murray, the King of Pop’s personal physician, for his dependency on the anesthetic drug propofol that led to his death.
But Pairs also believes that there was a darker conspiracy at play and so, apparently, did Michael himself.
“He [Michael] would drop hints about people being out to get him,” she said. “And at some point he was like, ‘They’re gonna kill me one day.'”
Paris and her brothers paid tribute to their late father at a concert in 2011.
