La Toya Jackson Net Worth

What is La Toya Jackson's Net Worth?

La Toya Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, author, actress, and television personality who has a net worth of $1 million. La Toya Jackson rose to fame as a member of the Jackson family, one of the most successful entertainment dynasties in history. She began her career in the late 1970s, initially appearing alongside her siblings on "The Jacksons" variety show before launching a solo career. In 1980, she released her self-titled debut album, followed by "My Special Love" and "Heart Don't Lie," which produced several charting singles and music videos that helped establish her as a pop and R&B artist distinct from her famous brothers and sisters.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, La Toya's career was marked by both creative ambition and personal turmoil. She explored new musical styles, including dance-pop and contemporary R&B, while appearing in modeling and television projects. However, her career was disrupted during a period of personal and financial control by her former manager and husband, Jack Gordon, whom she later accused of abuse and manipulation. After leaving Gordon and rebuilding her independence in the late 1990s, La Toya reemerged in entertainment as both an artist and television personality.

In the 2000s and 2010s, Jackson expanded her brand beyond music. She appeared on reality shows including "Celebrity Apprentice" and "Armed & Famous," and starred in her own series, "Life with La Toya," on the Oprah Winfrey Network. She also co-founded the production company Ja-Tail Enterprises with longtime business partner Jeffré Phillips, overseeing various film, television, and music projects.

While she never achieved the commercial success of her siblings, Michael or Janet, La Toya Jackson built a distinct and enduring entertainment career spanning more than four decades, balancing moments of controversy and reinvention with steady efforts to maintain her independence and entrepreneurial identity.

Early Life

La Toya Yvonne Jackson was born on May 29, 1956, in Gary, Indiana, the fifth of Joe and Katherine Jackson's ten children. After Katherine became a Jehovah's Witness in 1965, the family adopted the faith, and La Toya grew up in a tightly structured household where entertainment was both encouraged and managed by her father. At sixteen, she performed a tap-dancing routine during the Jackson family's Las Vegas shows and other engagements, displaying early stage confidence.

After graduating from Cal-Prep in 1974, La Toya briefly enrolled in college, intending to study business law, but her father insisted she join the family's show business ventures instead. She appeared in every episode of the CBS variety series "The Jacksons" (1976–77), performing musical numbers with her siblings. Around that time, she formed a short-lived musical trio with sisters Rebbie and Janet before deciding to pursue a solo career.

La Toya Jackson (Photo by Michael Bezjian/WireImage)

Career

La Toya Jackson released her self-titled debut album in 1980, which reached #26 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and produced the singles "If You Feel the Funk" and "Night Time Lover," the latter co-written and produced by her brother Michael. She followed with "My Special Love" (1981), "Heart Don't Lie" (1984), "Imagination" (1986), and "La Toya" (1988). She also participated in the landmark 1985 charity single "We Are the World," which won four Grammy Awards.

Her 1990 album "Bad Girl" and its single "You and Me" earned her success in Europe, particularly after her performance at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy. Jackson continued performing internationally, signing a lucrative contract to headline the Moulin Rouge in Paris, though she left the production early and later filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying contractual penalties.

During the 1990s, she diversified her work, releasing the fitness video "Step-Up Workout" and appearing in the video special "Playboy Celebrity Centerfold: La Toya Jackson." She also explored other genres with the country album "From Nashville to You" (1994) and the Motown covers album "Stop in the Name of Love" (1995).

In the 2000s, La Toya reinvented herself again through dance music and television. Her singles "Just Wanna Dance" and "Free the World" reached #13 and #24 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club chart, respectively. She appeared on several reality shows, including "Armed & Famous" (2007), "Celebrity Big Brother" (2009), and "The Celebrity Apprentice" (2011), where she raised money for AIDS Project Los Angeles. That same year, she released her EP "Starting Over," served as a guest judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race" and "America's Next Top Model," and later starred in her OWN reality series "Life with La Toya."

In the following decade, she took on theatrical and comedic roles, performing in the off-Broadway musical "Newsical," portraying Cleopatra in "The Last Sharknado: It's About Time" (2018), and competing on "Worst Cooks in America," where she won $25,000 for charity. She also appeared as a contestant on "The Masked Singer" in 2019.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Personal Life

In 1987, La Toya's father hired promoter Jack Gordon to co-manage her career. He soon took full control, urging her toward a more provocative public image that led to her being disfellowshipped from the Jehovah's Witnesses. On September 5, 1989, La Toya married Gordon in Nevada, later alleging that the marriage was forced and abusive. She has described years of physical violence and coercive control, including Gordon seizing her finances, isolating her from her family, and forcing her into degrading publicity stunts.

In 1993, after enduring severe abuse and fearing for her safety, La Toya escaped with help from her brother Randy. She filed for divorce, and in 1998 a court granted her a restraining order and ordered Gordon to pay damages and legal fees, though he never fulfilled the judgment. Her autobiography "Starting Over" recounts the trauma and her eventual recovery.

After rebuilding her life and reconnecting with her family, La Toya cautiously returned to public life. She later became engaged to her business partner, producer Jeffré Phillips, though they ultimately called off the engagement in 2015.

Robin Marchant / Getty Images

Awards and Achievements

Although best known for her television and recording career, La Toya Jackson has earned recognition for her broader creative work. She won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1986 for her role in producing and arranging Jimmy Cliff's "Cliff Hanger" and received a Grammy nomination for co-writing Cliff's song "Reggae Nights." Her track "Baby Sister" won the Outstanding Song Award at the 1985 World Popular Song Festival, and she received a U.S. Congressional Tribute for supporting the "Beat It" anti-drug campaign and the Stay in School initiative.

In 1991, she was honored with a footprint ceremony on Rotterdam's Star Boulevard Walk of Fame, and later, West Hollywood's Millions of Milkshakes introduced a signature drink named in her honor.

Las Vegas Condo Foreclosure

In 2006, La Toya Jackson faced foreclosure on a Las Vegas condominium she had owned for a decade. Public records from Clark County show that she purchased the 1,856-square-foot unit on the 27th floor of Regency Towers, located inside the Las Vegas Country Club, for approximately $260,000 in 1996. By August 2006, the property had gone into default with an unpaid balance of about $750,000.

According to filings, several liens had been placed against the residence over the years, including delinquent homeowner association fees, and Jackson received a notice of default earlier that year for roughly $7,500 in unpaid dues. In the days before the property was scheduled for public auction on August 31, witnesses saw Jackson moving her belongings out of the building.

The financial troubles surrounding the condo briefly drew comparisons to those of her brother Michael, whose Neverland Ranch narrowly avoided foreclosure two years later after being rescued by Colony Capital's Tom Barrack. The Las Vegas default marked one of the more difficult financial moments in La Toya Jackson's post-music career years.

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