Stars and their eyes… Paris Jackson

May 14, 2018 NZ Optics

Ever wondered why Paris Jackson, daughter of Michael Jackson, has eyes that are so strikingly blue? According to an interview in Teen Vogue with Jo Baker, a Jackson makeup artist, the colour is due to a "rare eye condition".

Although Baker doesn't name the condition in the interview, she said it wasn’t impacting Jackson's eyesight, fuelling media speculation that Paris has Waardenburg syndrome (WS), a rare genetic condition affecting one in 40,000 people. WS can cause hearing loss and changes in pigmentation of the hair, skin and eyes.

It is associated with the underdevelopment of tissue fibres in the eye that make up the iris, causing the striking blue colour. Jackson has neither confirmed nor denied the WS claims, though she has repeatedly defended her status as Michael Jackson’s biological daughter.