Together at last! FIRST picture of Paris Jackson reunited with her mother Debbie Rowe on her 15th birthday
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But since Michael's death in 2009, mother and daughter are trying to make up for lost time by slowly forging a close relationship.
And the first picture of the pair together has surfaced, showing Debbie with her arm around Paris as they celebrated the teenager's 15th birthday at Ahi Sushi in Studio City, California on April 3, reports Entertainment Tonight.
Mother-daughter reunion: The first picture of Paris Jackson reuniting with her mother Debbie Rowe on her 15th birthday at Ahi Sushi in Studio City, California on April 3
Paris appeared serene and content as she leaned in close to her mother, a dermatologist's nurse, who looked thrilled to be included in her daughter's birthday celebration.
Paris - the youngest of Michael and Debbie's two children - showed off her edgy style by wearing her short dark hair swept across her forehead and highlighting her eyes with thick black liner.
The resemblance between the pair is clear, especially in the colour and shape of their eyes and their noses.
Family: Michael (holding Prince) and Debbie (holding Paris) were married for three years
Wedding day: Debbie and Michael were married between 1996 and 1999 and had two children, Prince and Paris
Debbie has reportedly developed an 'intense bond' with her daughter and the pair have been spending lots of time together in recent months.
The Billie Jean singer's ex-wife supported the teenager, who performed in a dance contest at her school in Los Angeles last weekend, turning up with a bouquet of flowers.
In a recent interview for the Mail On Sunday's Event Magazine, Paris revealed that she had also been shopping with her mother, an activity that her grandmother Katherine Jackson was approving of.
Mourning: (L-R) Janet Jackson, Paris-Michael Katherine, LaToya Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Prince in 2009
Paris said: 'When I'm with my mom, we don't really have security with us. Which is really nice.'
Paris' uncle Jermaine Jackson recently said he approved of the pair's burgeoning relationship.
He told TMZ: 'I think that's wonderful. The kids need their mum. I think it's great. That's their mother. That's wonderful. That's a good thing.'
Family man: Jermaine Jackson says he is pleased that his niece is developing a bond with her birth mother
Debbie and Michael met when he was a patient at the specialist skin clinic she worked at when he was being treated for his chronic vitiligo.
The pair were married between 1996 and 1999, and Debbie gave full custody of her two children with Michael, Prince and Paris, during their divorce proceedings in 1999.
She later took things one step further in 2001, and relinquished all parental rights to the children, who were just toddlers at the time.
However, after the singer's death in June 2009, Debbie, 54, reached an agreement with Michael's mother - who became the children's' legal guardian - for supervised visitation rights.
Family unit: Michael Jackson poses with his two children by Debbie Rowe when they were younger
The Daily Mirror previously reported that Paris had found it 'easy' to bond with the skin nurse, and had been interested to know more about the dynamic of her relationship with her late father.
A friend said : 'Paris is very inquisitive and found Debbie easy to bond with.'
Meanwhile, it appears Debbie and Michael's son Prince is not yet ready to develop a relationship with his mother.
The 16-year-old budding TV presenter allegedly isn't interested in getting to know his birth mother, but she hopes that they will develop a natural connection much like she did with Paris.
Paying tribute: Prince, Blanket and Paris Jackson appeared onstage at the Michael Forever concert to remember their father at the Millennium Stadium in the UK in 2011
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2315934/FIRST-picture-Paris-Jackson-reunited-mother-Debbie-Rowe-15th-birthday.html#ixzz2Rke5cFng
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