Rashida Jones

Infobox actor
name = Rashida Jones


caption = Rashida Jones as Karen Filippelli
birthname = Rashida Leah Jones
birthdate = birth date and age|1976|02|25
birthplace = Los Angeles, California, United States
occupation = Actress, model, musician
yearsactive = 1997—present
parents = Peggy Lipton
Quincy Jones

Rashida Leah Jones (born February 25, 1976) is an American actress, model, and musician, best-known for her portrayal of Louisa Fenn on "Boston Public", Karen Filippelli on "The Office" and Kate Frankola on "Unhitched".

Biography

Early life

Jones was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest daughter of media mogul Quincy Jones and his former wife, actress Peggy Lipton. Her father is an African-American and her mother is Jewish, descended from immigrants from Ireland and Russia. Jones attended Hebrew school and made the National Honor Society.cite web|url = http://www.ajlmagazine.com/content/012007/rashidajones.html|title = The Daughter of Q|accessdate = 2007-11-01|last = Miller|first = Gerri|year = 2007|work = American Jewish Life Magazine|publisher = Genco Media LLC]

In his autobiography, Jones' father recalled how he would often find his five-year-old daughter under the covers after bedtime with a flashlight reading five books at a time.cite web |url=http://www.bobrivers.com/ontheshow/brsnews.asp?dismode=article&artid=6762 |title=The Bob Rivers Show: Interview with Actress Rashida Jones |accessdate=2007-11-28 |format= |work= ] Around the same age, Jones was already playing classical concerts and winning awards. Her mother told "Entertainment Tonight" that Jones is "also a fabulous singer and songwriter, so she has inherited it (from Quincy), there's no question about it. Her dad's teaching her how to orchestrate and arrange too." [ [http://www.rashidaonline.com/bio2.php Rashida Jones Online - Biography (Extended) ] ]

When Jones was 14 years old, her parents divorced, and she subsequently lived with her mother before beginning college at Harvard University. She garnered attention with an open letter in response to scathing remarks made by Tupac Shakur about her parents' interracial marriage. She later befriended Shakur, who was engaged to her sister Kidada Jones before he was killed. While attending Harvard, Jones initially was interested in becoming a lawyer, but lost interest as a result of the O.J. Simpson murder case. Instead, she became involved in theater. She studied religion and philosophy at Harvard and graduated in 1997.

Though raised Jewish, Jones began practicing Hinduism in her early teens after her mother took her to an Ashram in India. [ [http://www.rashidaonline.com/uw.php Rashida Jones Online - Us Weekly 2001 ] ] Today, however, she practices Judaism and 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 be Jewish and also be practicing."

Career

Jones began the serious pursuit of an acting career in 1997, appearing in "The Last Don". She has since appeared in "Myth America", "East of A", "If These Walls Could Talk 2", and "Little Black Book". She eventually landed the role of Louisa Fenn on "Boston Public," which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination. Though she only had a minor supporting role in the series, other opportunities quickly surfaced. She sought out roles in independent films as well as in theatre. She guest starred as Karen Scarfoli on "Freaks and Geeks" and played the part of the downstairs neighbor, Karen, on the "Stella" pilot on Comedy Central. She also played special government agent Carmen Merced on the TNT show "Wanted." She then played the female lead, Edie, on the seven episode drama "NY-LON".cite web |url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/107/index.jsp |title=BBC America: About "NY-LON" |accessdate=2007-11-28 |format= |work= ]

In September 2006, Jones played the role of Karen Filippelli in "The Office" when it began its third season. By the beginning of the fourth season of the show she was no longer a member of the main cast, although she reprised the role in one episode in season four and is scheduled to appear in the fifth season. In 2008, Jones was cast in the short-lived, Farrelly brothers-produced comedy series, "Unhitched".cite news | last =Andreeva | first =Nellie | coauthors = | title =Castings: Bierko plays by Fox 'Rules' | work = | pages = | language = | publisher ="The Hollywood Reporter" | date =2007-02-08 | url =http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i1bca43ffb402e1d71a92c84e3078e0e6 | accessdate =2007-11-28 ]

Other work

As a singer, Jones was a member and music director for Harvard's oldest co-ed a cappella group, The Harvard Opportunes. They performed an arrangement composed by Quincy Jones himself on the 1997 CD, "Candy For The Children".cite web |url=http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~opportun/index2.html |title=The Harvard Opportunes |accessdate=2007-11-28 |format= |work= ] She sang backup on the tracks "Tangled" "Secret" and "Not Coming Home" from Maroon 5's hit record, "Songs About Jane". She also sang on the track "Kiwi" on their album "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". She can be heard singing Madonna's "Dress You Up" in the Gap commercial "Everybody in Vests" directed by Pedro Romhanyi, as well as The O'Jays' "Love Train" in Peter Lindbergh's "Give Stripes" and "Crazy Stripes" commercials again for Gap.cite web |url=http://www.tnt.tv/title/?oid=611846-7136 |title=Rashida Jones' Biography on TNT |accessdate=2007-11-28 |format= |work= ] Also as a singer, Jones appeared as guest on Tupac Shakur's tribute album "The Rose That Grew From Concrete", on the track "Starry Night," which is accompanied by her father' vocals, Mac Mall's rapping, and her half-brother QD3's production. She also sang in some episodes of "Boston Public" and for charitable events such as the What A Pair Benefit to raise money for breast cancer research.cite web |url=http://www.whatapair.org/pages/cast2002.html |title=What a Pair! Cast 2002 |accessdate=2007-11-28 |format= |work= ]

Jones' written work has appeared in "Teen Vogue".She also wrote chapter 36 of her father's biography "". She has also co-composed the score for Hasty Pudding Theatricals while at Harvard in 1997.cite web |url=http://harvardmagazine.com/1997/07/jhj.confetti.html |title=John Harvard's Journal Commencement 1997 |accessdate=2007-11-28]

Jones has modeled for major clothing labels including Triple 5 Soul and The Gap. She has also appeared in editorials for magazines such as "In Style" and "O Magazine".In 2002, Jones was chosen as one of "People Magazine"'s "50 Most Beautiful People," which she also received in 2007, as well as one of "Harper's Bazaar"'s "Best Dressed Women In America."Citation | title =Rashida Jones | journal =People Magazine|pages =140|date =2007-05-13| url =http://www.ladamania.com/dd//office/rashida2.jpg]

In the Foo Fighters' music video for "Long Road to Ruin," Jones plays the role of Susan Belfontaine.cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1518071&vid=185625 |title=Video for "Long Road to Ruin" on MTV |accessdate=2007-11-28 |format= |work= ]

Philanthropic efforts

Jones has worked to promote International Peace Games, which 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.cite web |url=http://www.peacegames.org/About_staff_board.shtml |title=Peace Games: About Us |accessdate=2007-09-27 |format= |work= ]

Personal life

Jones has dated actors Tobey Maguire and John Krasinski. She was also engaged to DJ Mark Ronson. [cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rashida-jones/bio/193824|title=Rashida Jones: Biography|publisher=tvguide.com|accessdate=2008-10-02] [cite news|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20062560,00.html|title=5 Things You Should Know About The Office's Rashida Jones|last=Wulff|first=Jennifer |date=2007-01-29|publisher="People"|accessdate=2008-10-02]

Awards

Jones was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and also contributed to the Grammy Award-winning audio version of "Q: The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones".

Filmography

References

External links

*
*

Persondata
NAME= Jones, Rashida
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Jones, Rashida Leah
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress, model, musician
DATE OF BIRTH= 1February 25, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH= Los Angeles, California, United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=