Turning Paris Jackson from celebrity spawn to a bonafide star has been a year-long project for one of Hollywood’s biggest talent managers.
“Arnold Stiefel of Stiefel Entertainment got a hold of her. After meeting with her, he decided she is the next big thing in acting,” a source told Page Six. “He’s managed Rod Stewart and Bette Midler in the old days of the Wagners. Everybody.”
“After being told ‘You’re very talented, you’re very beautiful. I will make you famous,’ Arnold is one of the only people that has the knowledge and the power to do it,” the source added.
We’re told Stiefel has instructed his whole team (which consists of “about 20 people,” according to our source) to work on the 18-year-old’s rise to fame. “The entire office is devoted to her,” the insider said.
And the team’s efforts are working: Jackson has graced the covers of Rolling Stone and Harper’s Bazaar magazines, she’s landed a contract with IMG Models and nabbed a role on Lee Daniel’s Fox drama “Star.” Earlier this week, she was spotted shopping with Kendall Jenner at a Los Angeles flea market — a pairing so odd it sent the internet into a tizzy, with some sites writing the pair looked like “best buds.”
“Everything is arranged,” the source explained. “Arnold is so smart. He’ll put her with Kendall Jenner. He’ll put her where she’s age appropriate and with the hot girl. It’s simply placement. There’s no one hotter, put her with them.”
When the photo ops are over, Jackson’s team hopes to turn the attention to her talents.
“Right now they’re plotting on getting her out there,” the source said. “Awards shows, red carpets. Everywhere. She’s on all the magazines. Once they get people comfortable with her — not just being Paris, Michael’s daughter — have people forget who she really is. Then let her acting shine through.”
However, Jackson’s management and PR team deny seeking pre-arranged publicity. Stiefel tells us that his other clients are well taken care of.
But some are worried that the pressures of fame might be too much for the starlet, who earlier this year revealed she attempted suicide many times.
“Years ago she was in a psych ward,” the insider said. “Don’t ever forget things like that. A huge amount of fame comes, on top of you were born famous, then your father died tragically. Horrible. It’s not a good combo.”
But while Jackson’s career begins to take shape, her family is spinning out of control. Her 86-year-old grandmother, Katherine Jackson, recently accused her nephew of elder abuse. A court showdown amongst the family is approaching.
“Their goal is to distance her from the Jacksons, not to help them,” the insider noted.
