Rashida Jones | |
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.jpg) Jones at the 2017Peabody Awards | |
| Born | Rashida Leah Jones (1976-02-25)February 25, 1976 (age 49) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (AB) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Partner | Ezra Koenig (2015–present) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives |
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Rashida Leah Jones (/rəˈʃiːdə/rə-SHEE-də;[1] born February 25, 1976)[2][3] is an American actress and filmmaker. She is best known for her roles as Louisa Fenn on theFox drama seriesBoston Public (2000–2002),Karen Filippelli on theNBC comedy seriesThe Office (2006–2009; 2011),Ann Perkins on the NBC comedy seriesParks and Recreation (2009–2015), and as theeponymous lead role in theTBS comedy seriesAngie Tribeca (2016–2019).
Jones also appeared in the filmsI Love You, Man (2009),The Social Network (2010),Our Idiot Brother (2011),The Muppets (2011),Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012), which she co-wrote, andTag (2018). Jones also co-wrote the story ofToy Story 4 (2019).
She worked as a producer on the filmHot Girls Wanted (2015) and the seriesHot Girls Wanted: Turned On (2017), directing the first episode of the latter. Both works explore the sex industry. In 2018, her documentaryQuincy, about her father,Quincy Jones, debuted onNetflix; it won theGrammy Award for Best Music Film in 2019.
Jones was born inLos Angeles, to actressPeggy Lipton and musician/record producerQuincy Jones. She is the younger sister of actress and modelKidada Jones, and half-sister to five siblings from their father's other relationships, includingKenya Jones andQuincy Jones III. Jones' father hadTikar roots from Cameroon, and a Welsh paternal grandfather.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Her mother hadAshkenazi Jewish roots fromAizpute inLatvia[11][12][13][14][15][16] which was part of theRussian Empire at at the time. Her maternal grandfather,Harold Lipton, a corporate lawyer and owner of theBoston Celtics andSan Diego Clippers, changed his surname from Lipschitz to Lipton in the 1930s.[17][18]
Jones and her sister were raised inReform Judaism by their mother; Jones attendedHebrew school, though she left at the age of ten and did not have abat mitzvah.[19][20][21] Jones' first name derives from the Arabic word for "righteous".[22] Jones grew up in Los Angeles'sBel Air neighborhood. She has said of her parents'mixed-race marriage: "it was the 1970s and still not that acceptable for them to be together".[23] In his autobiography, her father recalled how he would often find the six-year-old Jones under the covers after bedtime, reading five books at a time with a flashlight.[24] She has said that she grew up a "straight-up nerd" and "had a computer withfloppy disks and adial-up modem before it was cool".[23] Jones displayed musical ability from an early age and can play classical piano.[25] Her mother toldEntertainment Tonight in 1990 that Jones was "also a fabulous singer and songwriter".[26]
Jones attendedThe Buckley School inSherman Oaks, California, where she made theNational Honor Society and was voted "Most Likely To Succeed" by her classmates. Jones was involved with theater at Buckley, with tutelage from acting teacher Tim Hillman.[23] Jones's parents divorced when she was 14 years old; her sister subsequently remained with their father, while Rashida moved with their mother toBrentwood. In 1994, Jones garnered attention with anopen letter[27] responding to scathing remarks made by rapperTupac Shakur about her parents'interracial marriage inThe Source. Shakur, who later apologized for these remarks, went on to be friends with Rashida and her family. Rashida's sister, Kidada, was dating Tupac at the time of his death.
Rashida attendedHarvard University,[23] where she lived inCurrier House andEliot House. She belonged to theHasty Pudding Theatricals, theHarvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club, the Harvard Opportunes, the Black Students Association, and theSignet Society.[28] She was initially interested in becoming a lawyer but changed her mind after becoming disillusioned by theO. J. Simpson murder trial.[24][29] She became involved in the performing arts and served as musical director[citation needed] for the Opportunes, ana cappella group,[30] co-composed the score for the 149th annualHasty Pudding Theatricals performance, and acted in several plays.[31] In her second year at college, Jones performed inFor Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf, which she said was "healing" because she had been seen by many black students as not being "black enough".[32] She studiedreligion andphilosophy[33] and graduated in 1997.[34]
Jones appeared in the 1997 miniseries adaptation ofMario Puzo's novel,The Last Don. She next appeared inMyth America,East of A andIf These Walls Could Talk 2. In 2000, she guest-starred as Karen Scarfolli onFreaks and Geeks before landing the role ofLouisa Fenn onBoston Public. Between 2000 and 2002, she appeared in 26 episodes, earning anNAACP Image Award nomination in her final year.[35] Although she had a minor supporting role in the series, film opportunities quickly surfaced. She had a small role inFull Frontal, directed bySteven Soderbergh, and starred inNow You Know, written and directed byKevin Smith regularJeff Anderson. She also starred in the short filmRoadside Assistance withAdam Brody.
After Jones leftBoston Public, she appeared inDeath of a Dynasty, directed byDamon Dash, and two episodes ofChappelle's Show onComedy Central. In 2004, she was cast inStrip Search, anHBO film directed bySidney Lumet, but her scenes were cut from the final broadcast version. Later that year, she played Dr. Rachel Keyes inLittle Black Book and starred as Edie Miller in the British drama seriesNY-LON. In 2005, Jones played Karen in theStella pilot onComedy Central and special government agent Carla Merced in theTNT police dramaWanted.
Jones was considering leaving the acting profession and pursuing a graduate degree inpublic policy before she was offered the part onThe Office. She joined the ensemble cast in September 2006, playing the role ofKaren Filippelli. She appeared regularly during the third season, returning as a guest star for three episodes in seasons four, five, and six.[36]
Jones also played Karen in the February 2007Saturday Night Live episode hosted byRainn Wilson, appearing briefly in the opening monologue'sOffice parody.[37] Jones filmed cameo roles inThe Ten andRole Models, both directed byDavid Wain, with the latter appearing on theBlu-ray release.[38] She co-starred inUnhitched, the short-lived 2008 comedy series produced by theFarrelly brothers. She also appeared as the love interest in theFoo Fighters' music video "Long Road to Ruin".
In January 2009, Jones voiced several characters in an episode of theAdult Swim showRobot Chicken.[39] She played Hannah inBrief Interviews with Hideous Men, an independent film byJohn Krasinski that screened during the2009 Sundance Film Festival. She co-starred as Zooey Rice inI Love You, Man, aDreamWorks comedy withPaul Rudd andJason Segel.
Jones accepted a role inParks and Recreation, amockumentary-style sitcom onNBC. The show was created byGreg Daniels andMichael Schur, with whom she previously worked onThe Office. She played nurseAnn Perkins from the show's debut until midway through the sixth season, and reprised the role for the final episode of the series.[40]
Jones had a small role in the 2010Kevin Smith filmCop Out. She also appeared inThe Social Network (2010), alongsideJesse Eisenberg andAndrew Garfield, which is set at Harvard. She played Marylin Delpy, a second-year legal associate assisting with the defense ofFacebook founderMark Zuckerberg.
Jones starred oppositeChris Messina inMonogamy (2010), a drama directed byDana Adam Shapiro. The film premiered at theTribeca Film Festival in April 2010 and was released theatrically in March 2011.[41][42]
Jones's other 2011 films wereFriends with Benefits, starringJustin Timberlake andMila Kunis;The Big Year, withSteve Martin,Owen Wilson, andJack Black;The Muppets, withJason Segel,Amy Adams, andChris Cooper; andOur Idiot Brother, withPaul Rudd,Elizabeth Banks, andEmily Mortimer.[43] In the latter she played a lesbian lawyer named Cindy, the caring girlfriend of abisexual character played byZooey Deschanel.[44] Jones also has a cameo in theBeastie Boys' short filmFight For Your Right Revisited, which premiered at the 2011Sundance Film Festival.[45] Additionally, Jones appeared on an episode ofWilfred as Lisa, ahospice volunteer. The episode aired on July 21, 2011, onFX.
In 2012, she starred oppositeAndy Samberg in the filmCeleste and Jesse Forever, which she co-wrote.
Along withDanny DeVito, she was avoice guest star inThe Simpsons episode "The Changing of the Guardian" (season 24, episode 11).
In 2014, Jones was cast in the lead role of Angie Tribeca on theTBS comedy seriesAngie Tribeca, which premiered in 2016.[46] The show was created by Steve and Nancy Carell and was cancelled in 2019.[47]
In 2015, Jones produced the documentary filmHot Girls Wanted, which examines the role of teenage girls in pornographic films.[48]Netflix acquired the film after the film's premiere atSundance Film Festival; it premiered on May 29, 2015.[49] A spin-off series,Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On, debuted in 2017; Jones was a producer and directed the first episode. Jones is due to be involved in an adaptation ofSell/Buy/Date, a play about the sex industry. Through her involvement inHot Girls Wanted, Jones gathered a negative reputation among sex workers, as they see the film and series as unfairly depicting the industry and as violating performers' consent.[50]Turned On was criticized after some people who appeared in it said that they did not give permission or withdrew permission, and that the series included their images or personal details without consent.[51][52]
Jones voiced the role of Marcy Kappel, a security forces agent of internal affairs, inBlue Sky Studios animation filmSpies in Disguise (2019). In 2020, she starred and served as an executive producer on theNetflix sitcom#blackAF oppositeKenya Barris, who created the series.[53][54] Jones also voiced the recurring role of Mia on Fox'sDuncanville.[55] She starred in the 2020 comedy-dramaOn the Rocks oppositeBill Murray directed bySofia Coppola.[56]X
Jones has been published inTeen Vogue magazine, where she worked as a contributing editor.[57] She wrote chapter 36 of her father's biography,Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones (2001).
Jones createdFrenemy of the State, a comic book series about a socialite who is recruited by theCIA. The comics are published byOni Press and co-written with husband-and-wife writing teamNunzio DeFilippis andChristina Weir.[58] In October 2009, before the first issue had been released, Jones sold the screen rights toUniversal Pictures andImagine Entertainment.Brian Grazer and Eric Gitter produced the film, and Jones co-wrote the screenplay with writing partnerWill McCormack.[59]
Jones sold her first screenplay, a comedy titledCeleste and Jesse Forever, in March 2009. She co-wrote the script with McCormack and was attached to star in the film.[60] It was released in 2012.
In 2016, Jones co-wrote the teleplay of "Nosedive", an episode of the televisionanthology seriesBlack Mirror withMichael Schur from a story byCharlie Brooker.[61]
Jones contributed a "thank-you note" toMichelle Obama inThe New York Times in 2016[62] which was excerpted in the 2017 bookCourage Is Contagious.[63]
Jones and McCormack worked on the script ofToy Story 4 forPixar Animation Studios. Jones left the writing assignment early due to feeling that Pixar is "a culture where women and people of color do not have an equal creative voice".[64] The film was released in June 2019, with the pair being among those receiving a "story by" credit.[65][66][67]
Jones co-wrote the pilot episode of theHulu mystery thriller seriesThe Other Black Girl, a television adaptation of the2021 novel byZakiya Dalila Harris. She is also an executive producer on the series.[68] The series premiered on September 13, 2023.[69]
On December 12, 2024, it was announced that Jones is writing a script for an animatedTom and Jerry feature film along withWill McCormack and Michael Govier.
As a singer, Jones has provided backing vocals for the bandMaroon 5. She appears on the tracks "Tangled", "Secret", and "Not Coming Home" from their debut record,Songs About Jane, and on "Kiwi" from the follow-up albumIt Won't Be Soon Before Long. Jones was a guest vocalist on theTupac Shakur tribute album,The Rose That Grew from Concrete, released in 2000. The track, "Starry Night", also featured her father's vocals,Mac Mall's rapping, and her half-brotherQD3's production. Jones also contributed vocals on the song "Dick Starbuck: Porno Detective" onThe High & Mighty's 1999 debutHome Field Advantage.[70][71][72]
Jones contributed vocals to songs onThe Baxter,The Ten andReno 911!: Miami soundtracks. She sang in some episodes ofBoston Public and for charitable events such as the What A Pair Benefit in 2002 to raise money for breast cancer research.[73] In May 2015, Jones released a song titledWanted to Be Loved alongside Daniel Ahearn, the song was used in the documentaryHot Girls Wanted, which Jones produced.[74]
In 2002, Jones appeared in the video to "More Than a Woman" byAaliyah alongside her sisterKidada Jones and then-boyfriendMark Ronson.[75] Jones has also appeared in music videos forThe Boy Least Likely To song "Be Gentle With Me", and theFoo Fighters' single "Long Road to Ruin". In the latter she was credited as Racinda Jules and played the role of Susan Belfontaine.[76] In 2013, Jones directed the music video forSara Bareilles' song "Brave". It marked her debut as a director.
In 2016, she featured in the music video "Flip and Rewind" by Boss Selection, with the video directed by Jones and McCormack.[77]
Jones has appeared in several online comedy series projects. She starred inFunny or Die'sSpeak Out series withNatalie Portman[78] and guest-starred in two episodes in the first webseasonWeb Therapy withLisa Kudrow. Due to other commitments, Jones was unable to reprise her role for the second, third and fourth seasons, provided voiceover work for an off-screen appearance in the show's first TV season (containing her appearance from the first web season), and was able to make time to reprise her role on-screen for an exclusive appearance in the second-season finale of the show. She also playedDavid Wain in disguise for an episode ofMy Damn Channel'sWainy Days. In 2008, Jones appeared with several other celebrities inProp 8 – The Musical, an all-star video satirising California'santi-gay marriage initiative, written byMarc Shaiman. From 2013 to 2015, she provided the voice of Hotwire on theHulu comedy seriesThe Awesomes.
Jones appeared as part of the ensemble in a series of musical television commercials for the clothing retailer The Gap, in the nineties.
In 2011,Dove selected Jones as its spokeswoman for itsDove Nourishing Oil Care Collection. In 2015, she began starring in a series of commercials forVerizon FiOS.[79] In 2017, Jones became a spokeswoman for theAlmay brand ofcosmetics.[80] In 2018, Jones became the first female ambassador forMaison Kitsune.[81] In 2019, she modeled for and endorsed the glasses brand,Zenni Optical.[82] She has also served as the narrating voice forSouthwest Airlines andExpedia as well as appearing in Expedia television commercials.
During the February 2022Super Bowl LVI, she appeared alongsideTommy Lee Jones,Leslie Jones, andNick Jonas in aToyota commercial for theTundra pickup truck titled "Keeping Up with the Joneses", scored to "It's Not Unusual" byTom Jones.[83] In July 2022, Jones was featured in theCiti TV spot, "Massage Chair".[84]
In November 2020, Jones started theBill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions podcast with co-hostBill Gates. In December 2020, the podcast ended after its fifth episode.
In September 2018, Jones's production company, Le Train Train, signed a first-look television deal withMRC.[85]
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Although raised Jewish, Jones began practicingHinduism in her early teens with her mother, after the two visited anashram in India.[24] As an adult, she practices Judaism.[86] She told a reporter:
In this day and age, you can choose how you practice and what is your relationship with God. I feel pretty strongly about my connection, definitely through the Jewish traditions and the things that I learned dating the guy that I dated. My boyfriends tend to beJewish and also be practicing ... I don't see it as a necessity, but there's something about it that I connect with for whatever reason.[19]
On her multi-racial identity, she has remarked, "I have gone through periods where I only feel black or Jewish. Now I have a good balance."[23] and "The thing is, I do identify with being black, and if people don't identify me that way, that's their issue. I'm happy to challenge people's understanding of what it looks like to be biracial..."[87]
Jones became engaged to music producerMark Ronson in February 2003. He proposed on her 27th birthday, using a custom-made crossword puzzle spelling out "Will you marry me?" They ended their relationship approximately one year later.[88][89]
In early 2017 it was reported that Jones was in a relationship with musicianEzra Koenig, and in August 2018 they had a son.[90] In a 2024 interview published inThe Guardian, Koenig referred to Jones as his wife.[91] Regarding Koenig, Jones stated in a 2024 interview inThe New Yorker:
"Oh, we’re not married. We just kind of call each other that. But we are what we are, in the eyes of God! My parents only got married when my dad had his first brain aneurysm and my sister was six months old, because of rights stuff. I’m sure we’ll get married at some point, but we basically are."[92]
Jones has worked to promote Peace First (formerly Peace Games), a nonprofit that teaches children to resolve conflict without violence. She has been a board member since 2004 and holds several annual benefits to raise money for the organization.[93] Jones has participated inStand Up to Cancer events,EDUN andONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History, and The Art of Elysium's volunteer program, which runs artistic workshops for hospitalized children.[94][95][96][97] In 2007, she was honorary chair of the annualHousing Works benefit, which fights AIDS and homelessness in New York City.[98] She has helped fundraise forSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the EB Medical Research Foundation, and New York's Lower Eastside Girls Club.[99][100][101][102]
In 2016, Jones visited a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon. She wrote about the confronting experience forVanity Fair.[103] She also made avirtual reality movie to document her experiences, which appeared on rescue.org.[104]
Jones has campaigned forDemocratic Party presidential candidates. Jones campaigned forDemocratic candidateJohn Kerry during the2004 election, speaking at student rallies and a public gallery inOhio.[105][106]
She supportedBarack Obama during the2008 and2012 presidential campaigns. In 2008, along withKristen Bell, she visited college campuses inMissouri to discuss the candidates and to encourage voter registration for the Democratic Party.[107][108] In 2012, she campaigned in Iowa along withParks and Recreation co-starAdam Scott.[109]
Rashida Jones: "I'm proud to be black. I'm proud to be Jewish."
Rashida Jones: "I am a product of slaves. I am also a product of Jewish immigrants and Holocaust survivors."
