Kidada Jones

Kidada Jones
Born
Kidada Ann Jones

(1974-03-22) March 22, 1974 (age 50)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationFashion Institute for Design and Merchandising (attended)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • fashion designer
Years active1994–present
Spouse
Jeffrey Nash
​
​
(m. 2003; div. 2006)​
PartnerLL Cool J (1992–1994)
Parents
Relatives

Kidada Ann Jones (/kɪˈdɑːdə/ kih-DAH-də;[1] born March 22, 1974) is an American actress, model, wardrobe stylist and fashion designer. She works as a designer for The Walt Disney Company, and has a line there known as Kidada for Disney Couture. Jones is a daughter of record producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton.

Early life and education

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The elder daughter of the marriage between composer/arranger Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton,[2][3] Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. She is Jewish on her mother's side, and African-American on her father's side.[4][5][6][7] Lipton's parents were Harold Lipton, a corporate lawyer, and Rita Benson, an artist.[8][5]

Jones was raised in Bel-Air with her younger sister Rashida, who is an actress and screenwriter. After her parents divorced when she was eleven, Jones lived with her father and her sister lived with their mother.[9] Jones attended the Los Angeles Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising and left at age 19 to work with the designer Tommy Hilfiger.[10]

Career

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Kidada Jones began working as a celebrity stylist for her father's publication Vibe magazine. She gained attention when she styled pop star Michael Jackson for the cover of Vibe in 1995.[11] She was recruited by designer Tommy Hilfiger, who launched a successful ad campaign centered on Jones and a group of her friends (including Aaliyah, Tamia, Kate Hudson, Nicole Richie, and Oliver Hudson). She worked as his muse for eight years.[10] Jones' fashion work included designing a clothing line for Snoop Dogg for three years.[10] Jones also appeared during this period as a model in such fashion magazines as Elle, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar.

Since 2005, Jones has been working with The Walt Disney Company, designing for Kidada for Disney Couture. W magazine described this as "a line of clothing and jewelry for adults sold at boutiques" and said that Jones acts "as a conduit to hip tastemakers the brand might otherwise miss".[10] According to Jim Calhoun, Disney's executive vice president of consumer products, North America, "Kidada is not just one of those people that points out what's cool. She has a real hand in making things cool."[10] She also consults on Disney projects.

In 2017, Jones published School of Awake, a book meant to empower young girls.[12] Jones also appeared on Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul Sunday.[13]

Personal life

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Jones dated rapper and actor LL Cool J from 1992 to 1994.[14] In his autobiography, I Make My Own Rules, LL Cool J stated that he ended their relationship because they "didn't believe the same things".[15] "She praised a guru and statues, and I praise God," he said.[15]

Jones dated rapper and actor Tupac Shakur in 1996.[16] They lived together for four months until his death.[17] She was in their Las Vegas hotel room when he was shot on September 7, 1996,[16] and she was at the hospital with Shakur when he died from his injuries six days later.[18]

In 1999, Jones dated actor Leonardo DiCaprio.[19] She was married to actor Jeffrey Nash from 2003 until 2006.[10]

Jones had a close friendship with singer and actress Aaliyah whom she met while modeling for Tommy Hilfiger.[20][21] They remained friends until Aaliyah's death in August 2001.

References

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  1. ^ Rashida and Kidada Jones on Throwing the Ultimate Sisters Soiree, Banana Republic, December 12, 2018, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved August 27, 2019 – via Youtube
  2. ^ Lipton, Peggy (2005). Breathing Out. St. Martin's Press. pp. 15, 18. ISBN 978-0312324131.
  3. ^ "Rashida Jones". Who Do You Think You Are?. Season 3. Episode 10. May 4, 2012. NBC.
  4. ^ Demist, Robert (March 19, 1972). "'Bored? Creatively I'm Bored, But... '". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Hutchings, David (April 4, 1988). "Can You Dig It? the Mod Squad's Peggy Lipton, One Marriage and 15 Years Later, Returns to Acting". PEOPLE. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  6. ^ "Jews Making News: Rashida Jones, Isla Fisher". Atlanta Jewish Times. July 1, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  7. ^ Wilkins, Barbara (March 17, 1975). "Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton: Death Nearly Did Them Part". PEOPLE. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Solitary Muser (2012). "Rashida Jones, Who do you think you are?".
  9. ^ Jones, Quincy (2002). Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones. Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0-7679-0510-7.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Heyman, Marshall Heyman (August 2008). "Not Kidding Around; Designer Kidada Jones has found fulfillment in an unlikely role: making Disney cool for grown-ups". W Magazine. Archived from the original on July 22, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  11. ^ Ngangura, Tari (March 6, 2018). "Kidada Jones Is One of the Most Underrated People Behind 'Black Cool'". Vice. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "SCHOOL OF AWAKE". New World Library. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  13. ^ "Kidada Jones' School of Awake". Super Soul Sunday. Harpo Productions. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Goldman, Andrew (September 21, 2012). "The Pop Diplomacy of Quincy Jones". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  15. ^ a b LL Cool J (1997). I Make My Own Rules. New York, NY : St. Martin's Press. pp. 153–154. ISBN 978-0-312-17110-0.
  16. ^ a b Anson, Robert Sam (March 1997). "To Die Like A Gangsta". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  17. ^ Jones, Quincy (2001). Q : the autobiography of Quincy Jones. Internet Archive. New York : Doubleday. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-385-48896-9.
  18. ^ "Kurupt, Kevin Powell Relive Hearing Tupac Might Die". Death Row Chronicles. BET Network. February 22, 2018. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  19. ^ LaCroix, Emy (May 19, 2023). "Quincy Jones' 7 Children: Everything to Know". People. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  20. ^ Iandoli, Kathy (2021). Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah. Simon and Schuster. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-9821-5684-8.
  21. ^ "Aaliyah met her best friend Kidada Jones while they were modelling for Tommy Hilfiger". Capital XTRA. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
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