Transformation

During the 30-plus years of her showbiz career, Janet Jackson has proved herself a master of transformation. From her early days as a fresh-faced kid on Good Times and Diff'rent Strokes to her long, sleek Rhythm Nation 1814 look to her red curls for The Velvet Rope, Janet has inspired countless makeup and hair trends. But that doesn't mean she's had self-confidence. "I had a very difficult time in my twenties," she recently told journalists. "It was hard for me to look in the mirror and find something that I liked about myself." As she approaches 42-years-old and releases her tenth album, Discipline, Jackson is finally seeing what everyone else always has. "I never really liked my smile before," she said. "[But now] I feel a warmth there that I never saw before."

—Betony Toht

1977: "My mother used to dress me for school in a skirt, and I would run back in the house to put on pants," she has said of the years she played Penny on Good Times.