Jaafar's father, Jermaine, was one of the original members of the Jackson 5, along with his brothers, Jackie, Tito, Marlon, and Michael.

Jermaine was the group's second lead vocalist (Michael was first) until he left to pursue solo stardom in 1975. He was replaced by his youngest brother, Randy, and the group rebranded to The Jacksons.

Jaafar's mother, Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza, was born in Colombia. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in fashion design and marketing, per her LinkedIn, and more recently launched Alejandra Jackson Designs.

Before Jermaine and Alejandra began dating, she was in a relationship with Jermaine's brother, Randy. Although they never married, Alejandra and Randy had two children together: a daughter, Genevieve, who was born in 1989, and a son, Randy Jr., born in 1992.

"Randy didn't treat me like I was the one," Alejandra told the New York Post's Stacy Brown. "I just thought that Jermaine was different, that he was more family-oriented."

Jermaine and Alejandra married on March 18, 1995, per People. They welcomed Jaafar on July 25, 1996, followed by his brother, Jermajesty, in 2000.

Jermaine filed for divorce from Alejandra in 2004. It was finalized in 2008 with Alejandra winning physical custody of Jaafar and Jermajesty, TMZ reported at the time.

"Michael" producer Graham King and casting director Kimberly Hardin conducted a worldwide search before offering the role to Jaafar, per NME.

One major snag? Jaafar had no formal dance training or acting credits before "Michael," save for one episode of "The Jacksons: Next Generation," a 2015 reality show that followed the lives of his cousins, Taj, Taryll, and TJ (then known as the R&B-pop trio 3T).

Jaafar has said he rehearsed for three years — two of which were part of the audition process — and worked with Michael's former choreographers, Rich and Tone Talauega, to learn his uncle's signature dance moves.

"We had to take that syllabus and then infuse it into Jaafar," Rich said on the KTLA 5 Morning News. "But let me tell you, man, he's a Jackson, you know, he has this talent deep down inside his DNA. It just took us some time, but we pulled it out of him, and the work that he put into it was exceptional."

Jaafar already shared his uncle's musical ambitions; he began playing the piano at age 12 and released his debut single, "Got Me Singing," in 2019. His website cites Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, and "his own family's rich musical heritage" as key influences.

Bucking the recent biopic trend of actors singing live on set — like Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan and Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen — Jaafar did not rely on his own voice to carry the musical scenes in "Michael."

Instead, the hit songs featured in the movie are "gloriously remastered and superbly lip-synched," according to Deadline's chief film critic Pete Hammond.

When it came to dancing and choreography, Jaafar said his goal was not to impersonate his uncle, but rather to embody his performance style.

"That was a challenge," Jaafar told Entertainment Tonight. "Hitting every moment, every beat, but also having the energy and the showmanship behind the moves, too."

Jaafar named "Billie Jean" — specifically Michael's 1983 performance of the song on the TV special "Motown 25" — as the hardest sequence to nail while filming.

When Jaafar landed the lead role in "Michael," he received a vote of confidence from a core member of his family: Michael's mother, Katherine Jackson.

"Jaafar embodies my son," Katherine said in a press release. "It's so wonderful to see him carry on the Jackson legacy of entertainers and performers."

The movie's executive producers include Michael's eldest son, Prince Jackson, and three of his brothers: Jermaine, Jackie, and Marlon.

All four men attended the Los Angeles premiere of "Michael" at the Dolby Theatre, alongside Michael's middle sister, LaToya Jackson — a strong show of support from the Jackson family.

"It was a process that I really had to earn, and it really proved to the filmmakers and myself and my family that I can get to that point where I can pull it off," Jaafar told Today. "I honestly wouldn't be able to pull this off if I didn't have the support."

Michael's other three siblings — his eldest sister, Rebbie Jackson, his youngest sister, Janet Jackson, and his youngest brother, Randy — were not in attendance and will not be portrayed in the biopic. (Michael's father, Joe Jackson, played by Colman Domingo, died in 2018. Michael's brother Tito, played by Rhyan Hill, died in 2024.)

"I wish everybody was in the movie," LaToya told Variety on the red carpet. On Janet's absence specifically, LaToya added, "She was asked, and she kindly declined, so you have to respect her wishes."

Meanwhile, Michael's daughter, Paris Jackson, has criticized the biopic as "sugar-coated" and clarified that she had "zero percent involvement" in the production.

Paris said she was asked to read one of the first drafts of the "Michael" script and gave notes about details that she felt were "dishonest," but she was told that her notes wouldn't be addressed.

"I just butted out and left it alone because it's not my project," Paris wrote on Instagram. "They're going to make whatever they're going to make. A big reason why I haven't said anything up until this point is because I know a lot of you guys are gonna be happy with it."

"A big section of the film panders to a very specific section of my dad's fandom that still lives in the fantasy," she added.

Neither Paris nor her younger brother, Bigi Jackson, joined Prince at the film's star-studded Los Angeles premiere — although Bigi did make a rare appearance to attend the "Michael" premiere in Berlin earlier in the month.

Paris is now involved in a complicated legal battle with the Jackson estate over the movie's financials. The estate has fired back that Paris has "a complete lack of understanding about how the motion picture industry works and the role of producers in it."

Arkapaw, who won for "Sinners," was only the fourth woman to ever be nominated for the award and the first to win.

In a heartwarming moment, she asked every woman in the audience to stand up as she thanked them for paving the way.

Madigan received her first (and until this year, only) nomination in 1986 for best supporting actress in the film "Twice in a Lifetime." Forty years later, she finally won for playing the villainous Aunt Gladys in "Weapons."

Buckley, who won best actress for playing Agnes Shakespeare in "Hamnet," became the first Irish person to win best actress — she thanked the country for paying for her family's flights to the ceremony.

The teams from "The Singers" and "Two People Exchanging Saliva" took turns at the podium to accept their respective Oscars for best live-action short film.

This has happened six other times: in 2013 for best sound editing; in 1995 for best live-action short film; in 1987 for best feature documentary; in 1969 for best actress; in 1950 for best documentary (short subject); and in 1932 for best actor.

Baker won for writing, directing, editing, and producing "Anora," which took home another Oscar for its leading lady, Mikey Madison.

In one night, in 1954, Disney took home the Oscars for best documentary feature for "The Living Desert," best documentary short subject for "The Alaskan Eskimo," best short subject (cartoon) for "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom," and best short subject (two-reel) for "Bear Country."

That means the two are tied, but Baker had a clean sweep of "Anora" wins. The only award it lost was for best supporting actor.

Williams has won five times, for his work on "Fiddler on the Roof," "Jaws," "Star Wars," "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial," and "Schindler's List."

He was nominated for the 54th time in 2024 for "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."

He's been nominated at least once a decade since his first nomination for 1968's "Valley of the Dolls."

His 2023 nomination made the then-90-year-old the oldest nominee ever — he broke his own record one year later.

He was nominated for 58 during his lifetime, from 1932 to 1964. He received a final posthumous nomination (and win) at the 1968 ceremony — best short subject (cartoon) — for "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day."

Gascón was nominated for best actress for her performance in "Emilia Pérez," making her the first trans actor to be nominated for an acting Academy Award. She lost to Mikey Madison.

In 2022, Kotsur took home the best supporting actor award for his role in "CODA" as supportive, yet stubborn, father Frank Rossi.

In "CODA," his wife was played by Marlee Matlin, who was the first deaf actor ever to win an Oscar. She won the best actress statue for "Children of a Lesser God."

She was 21 at the time of her win.

Brody was close to 30 when he won in 2003. In 2025, he won his second Academy Award for his role in "The Brutalist."

Brody has now also joined an elite club of 10 other actors who have won best actor more than once — he's now peers with Spencer Tracy, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Cooper, Tom Hanks, Fredric March, Anthony Hopkins, and three-time winners Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn.

Chalamet received his first Oscar nomination in 2018 for his role in "Call Me By Your Name" when he was 23. Seven years later, he was nominated once again for playing Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown" at age 29.

He was nominated for his third Academy Award this year, for "Marty Supreme," just a few weeks after he turned 30.

The last time an actor had two best actor nominations to his name before turning 30 was in 1957, when James Dean (posthumously) received two nominations in 1956 and 1957. He died in September 1955 at the age of 24.

DeBose also became the first Afro-Latina woman to win.

In her acceptance speech, she called herself an "openly queer woman of color, an Afro-Latina who found her strength in life through art. And that's what I believe we're here to celebrate. Anybody who's ever questioned your identity ever or find yourself living in the gray spaces? I promise you this: There is indeed a place for us."

Brando portrayed Vito Corleone as an old man with adult children and grandkids, while De Niro played him as a young man who had just emigrated from Italy.

When Joaquin Phoenix won for "Joker," it marked the second time this happened, as Heath Ledger posthumously won for his performance as the Joker in 2008's "The Dark Knight."

Moreno won for playing Anita in the 1961 film "West Side Story" at the 1962 Oscars. Sixty years later, DeBose took home the Oscar for the same role in Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake.

The last time this happened was in 2009, with "Slumdog Millionaire." Here are the other 10 movies this has happened to.

There are two best picture nominees this year that would've joined this list if they had won: "F1" and "Train Dreams."

"Parasite" was also the first foreign-language film to win best picture. Two international films were also nominated this year ("Sentimental Value" and "The Secret Agent"), but they lost to "One Battle After Another."

Streep has won best actress twice, for "Sophie's Choice" and "The Iron Lady." She won best supporting actress for "Kramer vs. Kramer."

Most recently, Italy won for "The Great Beauty," or "La grande bellezza" in 2014, directed by Paolo Sorrentino. He was nominated again in 2022 for "The Hand of God," but lost to Japan's entry, "Drive My Car."

"I'm Still Here," based on the real story of Eunice and Rubens Paiva, was also nominated for best picture and best actress for its star, Fernanda Torres.

"Sentimental Value," which was also nominated for best picture, won best international feature at the 2026 Academy Awards. The film was directed by Joachim Trier, who was previously nominated in this category in 2022 but lost to Japan's "Drive My Car."

This is the first time Norway has taken home this award. "This is a historic moment for Norwegian cinema," Norwegian Film Institute CEO Kjersti Mo told Variety.

Overall, he's been nominated 10 times for "Raging Bull," "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Goodfellas," "Gangs of New York," "The Aviator," "The Departed," "Hugo," "The Wolf of Wall Street," "The Irishman," and "Killers of the Flower Moon."

He's only won once, for "The Departed."

Spielberg's "West Side Story" earned a best director nod. In total, the movie secured eight nominations, winning one. He was nominated again in 2023 for "The Fabelmans," and in 2026 for producing "Hamnet."

His previous best director nominations were for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1978), "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), "Schindler's List" (1993), "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), "Munich" (2005), and "Lincoln" (2012). He won for "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan."

Before "West Side Story," he and Scorsese shared the record for a director nominated in five decades. After "Killers of the Flower Moon," the two are tied once again.

Hopkins' win was one of the most shocking moments of the night — almost everyone had considered Chadwick Boseman in his final performance a shoo-in.

Hopkins took the record from Plummer, who was 82 when he won for "Beginners" in 2012.

He was also nominated in 2010 for "The Last Station."

Plummer died in February 2021 at the age of 91.

Ivory won for the "Call Me By Your Name" screenplay, based on the novel of the same name by André Aciman.

Henry is now 54 and acts sporadically.

O'Neal co-starred in "Paper Moon" with her father, Ryan O'Neal.

She continues to act.

Other notable winners in this category included Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Bobby Driscoll, and Margaret O'Brien.

Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, who married in 2010, were both nominated: Cruz for best actress in "Parallel Mothers," and Bardem for best actor for "Being the Ricardos."

A second couple, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, both secured best supporting acting nominations for their roles in "The Power of the Dog."

Cruz and Bardem lost to Jessica Chastain and Will Smith, while Dunst and Plemons lost to Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur.

That record hasn't been broken in over 20 years.

It ended up winning four: best original screenplay, best actor, best cinematography, and best score.

Three movies are tied for second place with 14 Oscar nods: "All About Eve" (1950), "Titanic" (1997), and "La La Land" (2016).

As previously stated, "Titanic" went on to win 11 awards. "All About Eve" and "La La Land" each took home six statues.

That's even longer than the notoriously long "The Brualist," "The Irishman," or "Killers of the Flower Moon."

"'The Broadway Melody' is interesting as an example of an early Hollywood musical, but otherwise, it's essentially bereft of appeal for modern audiences," wrote Rotten Tomatoes.

This year's winner, "One Battle After Another," has a 94% critics score and a 85% audience score.

Prior to Bigelow, just three women had been nominated for directing: Lina Wertmüller for 1975's "Seven Beauties," Jane Campion for 1993's "The Piano," and Sofia Coppola for 2003's "Lost in Translation."

This year, Chloé Zhao was the lone woman nominated for best director. She directed "Hamnet."

She won for "Nomadland." She was nominated once again this year for "Hamnet."

While Yeun lost the award to Anthony Hopkins, his nomination for "Minari" was still a record-breaking moment.

It was mainly rated X simply because it wasn't suitable for kids — the "X" rating was almost brand new in 1969 and didn't have the same connotations as it does today. However, MTV does point out the film has "a fair amount of nudity and some brief scenes of sexual activity."

When it was later re-rated, it earned an R rating.

In total, 10 sequels have been nominated for best picture — "Dune: Part Two," "Avatar: The Way of Water," "Top Gun: Maverick," "Toy Story 3," "Mad Max: Fury Road," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "The Godfather Part III," and "The Bells of St. Mary's," plus the two winners.

You may be wondering, what about "The Silence of the Lambs"? The Anthony Hopkins/Jodie Foster joint could be considered a sequel to "Manhunter," but it's really more of a reboot.

She's not the only actor to win an Oscar for portraying an icon, but she was the first to win an Oscar for portraying an Oscar winner.

Renée Zellweger became the second when she won for playing Judy Garland in "Judy" in 2020.

Hepburn won in 1933, 1967, 1968, and 1981 for "Morning Glory," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "The Lion in Winter," and "On Golden Pond," respectively.

Though, famously, she never attended an awards show to collect her statues in person, per The Hollywood Reporter.

McDaniel won the best supporting actress award for "Gone with the Wind," in which she played Mammy, a role that has since been mired in controversy, per the Jim Crow Museum.

Poitier had previously been nominated for his role in 1958's "The Defiant Ones."

He died in January 2022 at 94.

Davis, an EGOT winner, has been nominated four times: twice for best supporting actress for "Doubt" and "Fences" (which she won), and twice for best actress for "The Help" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

"For me, it's a reflection of the lack of opportunities and access to opportunities people of color have had in this business. If me, going back to the Oscars four times in 2021, makes me the most nominated Black actress in history, that's a testament to the sheer lack of material there has been out there for artists of color," said Davis in a February 2021 interview with Variety.

Octavia Spencer is right behind her with three nominations ("The Help," "Hidden Figures," and "The Shape of Water"). Whoopi Goldberg, with two, is the only other Black actress with more than one competitive Oscar nomination ("Ghost" and "The Color Purple").

He has been nominated 10 times between 1988 and 2022, earning nods for best supporting actor ("Cry Freedom," "Glory"), best actor ("Malcolm X," "The Hurricane," "Training Day," "Flight," "Fences," "Roman J. Israel, Esq." and "The Tragedy of Macbeth"), and best picture ("Fences").

He has won twice: He won best supporting actor for "Glory" in 1990 and best actor for "Training Day" in 2002.

Warren was nominated in the best original song category for "Dear Me" from the documentary "Diane Warren: Relentless" this year.

In 2026, she lost out on a statue following her 17th nomination.

She won an honorary Oscar in 2022, but she still hasn't taken home a competitive statue, making it the longest losing streak in Academy history.

Tazewell won for his stunning costumes in "Wicked."

Carter won for her work on both "Black Panther" films. She was nominated again in 2026 for "Sinners," but lost.

Joaquin Phoenix thanked Ledger in his 2020 SAG Awards acceptance speech, calling Ledger his "favorite actor."

They shared the award with Sergio Lopez-Rivera, as well.