Paris Jackson: Dad Michael Jackson "Wanted Us to Have a Childhood"

USMagazine, Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 4:00pm (PDT)

The past few years have been trying for the Jackson family, but throughout it all, Michael Jackson's middle child, Paris Jackson, has managed to stay grounded -- and put her unusual upbringing into perspective.

The late King of Pop's only daughter (with ex-wife Deborah Rowe) opens up to Oprah Winfrey in an interview on Oprah's Next Chapter (airing Sunday at 9 p.m.) about life with her dad -- including his decision to keep her and her two siblings veiled during public appearances.

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"I was really confused. I didn't get why I was wearing a mask," Jackson reveals. "I understand it now. My dad wanted us to be covered [because] he wanted us to have a childhood." That way she, Prince, and Blanket could go places other kids could, like Chuck E. Cheese. "Chuck E. Cheese was one of our most favorite places to go," she explains.

As for processing her father's death? The teen tells Winfrey, "It never gets any easier."

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In December, Jackson scored her first role in a feature film, fantasy flick Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys -- and said it was her father who inspired her to pursue her passion for movies.

"I love acting," she told Ellen DeGeneres that month during her first-ever solo interview. "When I was really little, my dad was in the movie Moonwalker. 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.'"

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Paris Jackson: Dad Michael Jackson "Wanted Us to Have a Childhood"