Karla Knafel is Michael Jordan’s ex, actress, singer, model, and hair designer. She allegedly had a secret relationship with him in 1989 and accused him of being the father of her child. However, DNA reports indicated that the legendary basketball player is not her child’s father.
While she may have reached stardom due to her relationship and legal battle with basketball legend, Michael Jordan, Karla’s had a cameo appearance in the 1991 action-thriller Bikini Island.
Below are 7 compelling facts surrounding her life, family, and relationship with Michael Jordan.
- Full name: Karla Knafel-Jackson
- Date of birth: 1963
- Age: 62 years old
- Place of birth: Syracuse, Indiana
- Parents: Terry (Father)
- Siblings: 8
- Nationality: America
- Ethnicity: White American
- Religion: Christianity
- Sexuality: Female
- Marital Status: Married
- Spouse: Ray Jackson
- Children: 3 (Arielle Knafel, Tayven Jackson, and Trayce Jackson-Davis)
10 Stimulating Facts About Karla Knafel
1. Michael Jordan’s Ex is One of 8 Children Born to Her Parents
Karla Knafel is one of eight children born in 1963 in Syracuse, Indiana to her parents. The 62-year-old grew up in a very religious family, and her father is a minister in the local Faith Assembly. She has seven siblings, of which six are sisters and one is a brother.
She attended Wawasee Highschool in Syracuse, Indiana, and graduated in 1981.
2. She moved in with a Guidance Counselor shortly before High school graduation
Michael Jordan’s ex left her parent’s house and moved in with a guidance counselor shortly before rounding up high school. Her reason for moving in with the counselor was to get away from her family’s strict religious life. This is despite her religiosity when she was a child.
3. Karla Knafel Became a Stylist and a Model After High School
Immediately after Knafel’s high school graduation in 1981, she started working as a stylist at the age of 18. This was made possible by the beauty license she earned through a work-study program while she was still in high school. Therefore, it is safe to say she was interested in it while she was quite young.
Earning her beauty license and working as a stylist ignited her interest in modeling. By the time she was 20, Michael Jordan’s ex took part in a local beauty pageant in 1983 and was named “Queen of the Lakes.”
After that, she didn’t participate in any other beauty pageant but went on to focus on other things.
4. She Relocated to Indianapolis to Pursue Music
Knafel moved to Indianapolis from Syracuse in pursuit of music. She was born with the gift of singing, which she started when she was in junior high, and she didn’t want it to waste away.
Since she had a natural talent, one of her life’s goals is to record her own song. Although it is not clear whether she had actually recorded her own songs, it was said that she performed on and off with a band.
Moving forward, she had a cameo appearance in the 1991 movie Bikini Island. That remains the only movie that she was ever associated with.
4. Knafel Started an Affair with Michael Jordan 3 Months After His Wedding
The 62-year-old started a relationship with Michael Jordan in December 1989, three months after he married Juanita Vanoy. In addition, the relationship lasted from 1989 to 1991.
It was during this period that Knafel got pregnant and claimed Jordan is responsible. When the time for delivery came, the retired basketball star is said to have paid for hospital bills and even sent flowers.
See Also: Tuanchai Mackenzie: Where Is the Ex-wife of Flip Wilson Today? Other Facts To Know About Her
6. Who is the Child she claimed Was Jordan’s?
Even though the name identity and name of the child are not so much talked about, there is one of her children that was born within the period of her relationship with Jordan. That child in question is her daughter Arielle Knafel, born on 30th July 1991, and played volleyball from high school to college.
She was the child at the center of Knafel and Jordan’s drama. She was conceived at the time when her mother was involved with the former NBA player. DNA indicated she is not the daughter of Michael Jordan, but sources claimed a friend confirmed the girl’s father to be retired baseball player C.L Penigar.
7. She had a Cameo appearance in Bikini Island
Knafel’s role in the 1991 movie Bikini Island was a minor one. The movie was released in 1991, the same year she gave birth to her daughter whom she claimed was Michael Jordan’s until a DNA test proved otherwise.
The movie remained her first and last. She is yet to make any movie appearance.
8. The Singer was Paid $250,000 to Keep her Mouth shut
Michael Jordan’s ex was initially paid a sum of $250,000 to keep their affair secret, and the former basketball player acknowledged paying the sum. The $250,000 seems to be part of the $5 million Jordan agreed to pay her for the above reasons, but he denied ever agreeing to pay her such an amount.
It seems Knafel wanted more out of his pockets, and as a result of this, Jordan sued her for trying to extort him of millions.
The case ended in Jordan’s favor since the child at the center of the legal tussle wasn’t his based on DNA results. So the said deal between Knafel and Jordan was ruled invalid by a Cook County Circuit Court judge, Stuart E. Palmer.
9. She Sued her Plastic Surgeon for allegedly touching her Inappropriately
Knafel sued her plastic surgeon, doctor Pio Venezuela for touching her inappropriately and using language that made her feel uncomfortable. The doctor agreed to pay the sum of $10,000 to kill the case. Commenting, the doctor accused her of making outrageous claims.
The drama with the plastic surgeon started with him a year after she had a breast enhancement in 1993. Reports indicated the visit was for the purpose of removing three moles from the right cheek, and the doctor also examined her breasts in the presence of her younger sister.
In a similar fashion, she filed another lawsuit accusing a nightclub parking attendant of touching her breast in an inappropriate manner four years later. The alleged incident took place in 1997 at the Century Club in Los Angeles. She claimed to have been drugged before she was taken outside, and two parking attendants came up to her, one grouped her breasts while the other rubbed his groin with her hand.
She said she injured her vocal cords when the two dropped her and wanted to pick her up again. They took off eventually. Furthermore, the case was dismissed, but it is not known whether she was paid.
10. Knafel Has a Thing for Athletes
The former NBA legend is not the first athlete she had been romantically involved with. She has been accused of having a thing for athletes. The one-time model and singer reportedly had a child (Trayce Jackson-Davis) with former Portland Trail Blazer player Dale Davis. She is currently married to former NFL player Ray Jackson and shares a son Tayven Jackson
Ray Jackson’s wife and Michael Jordan’s ex, a lounge singer, Karla Knafel claimed to have had a child for Michael Jordan, but it turned out false. She is one of the numerous women in America who have dragged celebrities to court over children that end up being nothing but assumptions. A question that remains vital is whether she had slept with Jordan and another man during the same period, or she only wanted attention, or perhaps needed money.
Whatever the case, celebrities are not aliens to asking for paternity tests. Some of them include Trey Songz and Chris Brown.
