Michael Jackson and friends

By Denise Martin and Emily Christianson, Los Angeles Times Staff

From Hollywood royalty to exotic animals, Michael Jackson always had an eclectic group of friends.

Michael Jackson dated Brooke Shields in the early 1980s. He once told Oprah: "We try not to be everywhere, go everywhere, it's mostly at home. She'll come over, I'll go to her house, because I don't like going out in public."