Quincy Jones was a titan of the music world, working with artists such as Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin and winning 28 Grammy Awards. His accomplishments were an inspiration to many, including his seven children.
Jones’ family announced the music mogul died Sunday at age 91. “He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created,” they shared in a statement. “Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
Jones had six daughters—Jolie, Rachel, Martina, Kidada, Rashida, and Kenya—as well as one son, Quincy III. The most famous among his kids is Rashida Jones, the 48-year-old actor and comedian known for the TV sitcoms Parks and Recreation and The Office. She is one of Quincy’s two children with late actor Peggy Lipton, his third wife.
Although Quincy and Lipton divorced in 1990, when Rashida was a teenager, she maintained a close connection to her father. Rashida even co-directed the Grammy-winning 2018 documentary Quincy about his career and health struggles, including a diabetic coma he experienced in 2015. Here’s how Quincy and Rashida Jones’ relationship evolved through the years and why she never wanted to follow her father’s footsteps.
Meeting Quincy’s celebrity connections prepared Rashida for her own fame
Rashida, born in February 1976, has said growing up with two celebrity parents gave her a “very, very healthy perspective on fame” and the challenges that come with it.
She told NPR in February 2011 she spent “hours and hours” as a child with her father inside the Westlake Studio in Los Angeles, watching him arrange music and interacting with stars. Sometimes, Quincy’s work relationships spilled into her personal life.
Most notably, Rashida developed a lasting friendship with pop singer Michael Jackson. “He was definitely a little bit of an alien, for sure, and when I was young, it felt as if he was my age, not 18 years older, but with just a little bit more pep,” she told Playboy in 2011. Jones even has a scar from when the “Thriller” singer’s pet chimpanzee, Bubbles, bit her on the arm.
A young Rashida appeared in the music video for crooner Frank Sinatra’s 1984 song “L.A. Is My Lady” and revealed to late night host Jimmy Kimmel that Nancy Sinatra was her Brownie troop leader in the Girl Scouts. She was also at the recording session for the 1985 charity song “We Are the World,” produced by her father and featuring Jackson, Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper, and a host of other artists.
Rashida defended her father in a beef with Tupac
However, not all of Rashida’s celebrity interactions started off friendly. When she was 17 years old, she wrote an open letter to hip-hop music magazine The Source in response to disparaging comments Tupac Shakur made about Quincy and his relationships with white women.
“Where the hell would you be if Black people like him hadn’t paved the way for you to even have the opportunity to express yourself?” she wrote, addressing Shakur. “I don’t see you fighting for you race. In my opinion, you’re destroying it and s––ting all over your people.”
Tupac later apologized for his remarks and began a relationship with Rashida’s older sister, Kidada. “It resolved itself really nicely, because when I met him, he immediately apologized to me, immediately apologized to my dad,” Rashida told The New Yorker in July 2024. “We sat down and had a really good conversation about it, and then he was family.”
She co-directed a documentary about the music titan
Rashida found a unique way to reflect on her father’s life and their relationship in 2018’s Quincy, an intimate documentary featuring archival footage about his life and career. Released on Netflix, the project marked Rashida’s film directorial debut. She, co-director Alan Hicks, and producer Paula DuPré Pesman each received 2019 Grammy Awards as the project won Best Music Film.
Watch Quincy on Netflix
As the documentary explores his three marriages and children, Rashida publicly opened up about her family’s dynamic. She lived with her mother following her parents’ separation, but she credited Quincy and Lipton’s amicable relationship as co-parents for keeping the family intact through some of their toughest moments.
“My mom is so empathetic towards my dad, but it also was incredibly raw for her to go through what she went through and admit that the relationship didn’t work out. But because they still know and love each other, I think that really helped,” Rashida told Entertainment Weekly after filming the documentary. Her mother died one year later.
Rashida also developed an admiration of her father’s courage through his health struggles, including two brain aneurysms during the 1970s and his 2015 coma. Overall, the documentary’s production process reinforced their bond. “It’s intense to spend a lot of time with a parent, and I am so protective of him, and I love him so much. And then also, he can drive me crazy, like any kid with any parent,” she said.
She knows Quincy remains the music talent in the family
While Rashida is known primarily for her movie and TV work, including writing for Netflix’s Black Mirror and Hulu’s The Other Black Girl, she has tried her hand at music. Trained in piano, Rashida sings and writes songs for fun. She even provided background vocals on Maroon 5’s first two albums, Songs About Jane (2002) and It Won’t Be Soon Before Long (2007).
However, Rashida recently told the SmartLess podcast she never seriously considered a music career because of her respect for Quincy’s legacy. “My dad’s a musical genius. That’s like, the last thing I want to do, is try my hand at that,” she said in August 2024. “But I love it. Like, I have a deep ache for music, and I just don’t ever feel like I’m good enough to do it. Like I’ll never be good enough to do it, so I just don’t.”
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
