As a member of one of America's richest and most famous families, it would be easy to assume life has been easy for La Toya Jackson. 

Yet as she marks her 70th birthday on Friday, La Toya will no doubt be reflecting on her turbulent past and how she overcame such adversity to get here.

The fifth child of the Jackson family last month dismissed concerns about her health, insisting she was 'feeling strong and feeling happy' ahead of her milestone birthday, despite her very slender frame. 

Indeed she looked in great spirits when she attended the premiere for Michael - a biopic based on her younger brother's life. 

Yet that was no doubt in part due to her joy at being surrounded by family after periods of estrangement. 

It was during her marriage to Jack Gordon, which was later marred by claims of physical and mental abuse, that La Toya began to distance herself from her family. 

Jack had been hired as a co-manager by her father Joe in 1987 but soon took over full control and began to market La Toya in a more racy manner, at odds with her strong conservative values. 

By 1989, the same year she wed Jack, she posed topless in Playboy magazine, stating: 'I posed nude to show my parents they couldn’t dictate to me any more – that I control my life.'

Yet things came to a head in 1991 when La Toya - whose relationship with her family was already hanging on by a thread - released her tell-all memoir in which she accused her father of having sexually abused her and her sister Rebbie as children.

The Jacksons instantly turned on La Toya, with Rebbie claiming at the time of publication that she wasn't raped. 

When interviewed later for a planned book of her own, she said: 'Joseph did inappropriately touch me.'

Yet La Toya insisted she had witnessed her sister being abused, telling AP News: 'I'd tremble down at the other end of the sofa [when Rebbie was being assaulted]. I wouldn't want to look.' 

The estrangement was exacerbated two years later when La Toya went after her brother Michael. 

After Evan Chandler publicly accused the pop star of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son, Jordan in 1993, La Toya said in a press conference: 'This has been going on since 1981, and it's not just one child.' 

She went on to state that she could no longer 'be a silent collaborator of his crimes against small innocent children,' adding  'If I remain silent, then that means that I feel the guilt and humiliation that these children are feeling and I think it's very wrong.

'I love Michael very dearly, but I feel even more sorry for these children because they don't have a life anymore.'

La Toya's comments sparked outrage from her family, with her mother Katherine stating: 'La Toya is lying and I'll tell her to her face she's lying. And she knows it,' adding that her daughter was 'trying to make money off of [Michael's] downfall.'

She later claimed that La Toya’s book was 'the worst thing that ever happened to me in my life besides the death of my mother'. 

Brother Tito also dismissed La Toya's claims, saying Michael 'would never, ever hurt a kid. This is ludicrous.'

Meanwhile, Jermaine claimed that it was all a ploy for La Toya to make money from interviews. 

Janet echoed his sentiments, saying: 'it’s just a way of getting attention, the attention she didn’t get from the public. 

'She’s never really had the success that the rest of the family really has had and now she’s being acknowledged by the public because of this.'

However, La Toya later retracted her statements, claiming it was her husband who had forced her to release her memoir and speak out against her brother. 

During their divorce trial in 1996, La Toya claimed she had been a victim of mental and physical abuse throughout their marriage, alleging Jack had threatened to kill her if she didn't speak out against her family. 

She was later issued with a permanent restraining order against her ex-husband, who passed away in 2005 following a battle with cancer.

Following her divorce, La Toya reunited with her family, and in 2003, she announced that she had also made up with her father Joe. 

Around the same time she also made her return to music with an album aptly titled Startin' Over - her first release since 1995. 

When Joe died in 2018 from pancreatic cancer, it's alleged La Toya and his other children were by his side, with La Toya paying tribute by penning:  ‘I will always love you! I will never forget our moments together and how you told me how much you cared.’ 

La Toya also set about mending her relationship with Michael. 

While promoting her second memoir in 2011, she shared: 'I never believed for a minute my brother was guilty of anything like that. 

'When I spoke to Michael about it years later, he told me he knew it wasn't me saying those things... He always knew it wasn't true.'

La Toya has also been a vocal champion of the controversial Michael biopic that was released last month and stars Michael's nephew Jaafar as the King Of Pop. 

The film has been accused of 'sanitising' its story of the cultural icon, who famously faced allegations of abusing underage boys.

While Michael's daughter Paris and his sister Janet also distanced themselves from the biopic.

Yet La Toya ensured she was present with her brothers at the film's premiere, telling press: 'I've seen the movie and fabulous job, absolutely fantastic. He [Jaafar] just embodied my brother and I'm so proud.

'You relive everything all over again. Of course some scenes are sentimental and you cry. However, it's nice to remember those thoughts. 

'As time goes on you kind of forget a lot. Then you see it all over again on screen and it's like, "Oh I remember that."

'There's so much more that has to be or needs to be told. I hope they tell it.'

La Toya also used the premiere to hit back at any health concerns, insisting she is 'good'. 

Rumours have been circulating since she shared a video of her alarmingly thin frame on social media in December.

After the clip racked up millions of views online, La Toya issued a vague statement in response to all the speculation surrounding her health. 

'I hear you, I see you, I send you love and I wish to say! Enjoy your weekend with all positivity!' she wrote. 

La Toya had also raised eyebrows when she posted two cryptic videos in the span of three days featuring her visiting a doctor's office to treat an undisclosed ailment.

'I'm here at the doctor again, so I'm hoping that everything goes well with me, all results are good and I hope you guys have a great day, bye,' she said in one video.

She returned to the doctor's a few days later and said, 'Guess where I am on this Monday morning? You guessed, that place again. I'm constantly getting check-ups. Oh well. Have a great week, guys.'

Yet La Toya hasn't let any whispers get in the way of having a good time, and this week she was able to enjoy family time, taking to Instagram to reveal she had spent Memorial Day with her mother Katherine and brother Jermaine. 

While it remains to be seen what she'll do to mark her 70th birthday, it's clear that she'll have the support of her family on her big day.