Rashida Jones Biography

Rashida Leah Jones (born February 25, 1976) is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter, and occasional singer. On TV series, she played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office. She has had numerous film roles, including in I Love You, Man, Our Idiot Brother, The Social Network, and The Muppets. She co-wrote the screenplay for Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012), in which she starred. In 2009 Jones began appearing on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation as Ann Perkins.

Early life

Jones was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Quincy Jones, a musician who became a media mogul and producer, and Peggy Lipton, an actress noted for her role on the TV series The Mod Squad. Rashida has an older sister, Kidada Jones. They also have five half-siblings by their father's other relationships. Her father is African American, with ancestry including Welsh. Her mother is Ashkenazi Jewish (a descendant of immigrants from Russia and Latvia). Rashida and her sister were raised in Reform Judaism by their mother; she attended Hebrew school, though she left at the age of ten and did not have a Bat Mitzvah. As an adult, Jones practices Judaism.

She grew up in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California. Jones has said of her parents' mixed-race marriage: "It was the 1970s and still not that acceptable for them to be together."

In his autobiography, Quincy Jones recalled how he would often find his six-year-old daughter Rashida under the covers after bedtime with a flashlight, reading five books at a time. She says that she grew up a "straight-up nerd ... I had a computer with floppy disks and a dial-up modem before it was cool." Jones displayed musical ability from a young age and can play classical piano. 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."

Jones attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California, where she made the National Honor Society and was voted "Most Likely To Succeed" by her classmates. She was a schoolmate of Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. Jones' parents divorced when she was 14 years old; her sister subsequently remained with their father, while Rashida moved with their mother to Brentwood.

In 1994, Jones garnered attention with an open letter responding to scathing remarks made by Tupac Shakur, a rapper, about her parents' interracial marriage. She later befriended Shakur, who was engaged to her sister Kidada before he was killed. After high school, Jones left California to attend Harvard University.

At Harvard, Jones was a resident of Eliot House and belonged to the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club, Harvard-Radcliffe Opportunes, Black Students Association, and the Signet Society. She was initially interested in becoming a lawyer but changed her mind after becoming disillusioned by the O. J. Simpson murder trial. She became involved in the performing arts and served as musical director for the "Opportunes" a cappella group, co-composed the score for the 149th annual Hasty Pudding Theatricals performance, and acted in several plays. In her second year at college, Jones performed in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, which she said was "healing" because she had been seen by many blacks as not being "black enough". She studied religion and philosophy and graduated in 1997.

Career

Jones made her professional acting debut in The Last Don, a 1997 mini-series based on the novel by Mario Puzo. She next appeared in Myth America, East of A, and If These Walls Could Talk 2. In 2000, she guest starred as Karen Scarfolli in an episode of Freaks and Geeks before landing the role of Louisa Fenn on Boston Public. Between 2000 and 2002, she appeared in 26 episodes, earning an NAACP Image Award nomination in her final year. Although she had a minor supporting role in the series, film opportunities quickly surfaced. She had a small role in Full Frontal, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and starred in Now You Know, written and directed by Kevin Smith regular Jeff Anderson. She also starred in the short film Roadside Assistance with Adam Brody.

After Jones left Boston Public, she appeared in Death of a Dynasty, directed by Damon Dash, and two episodes of Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central. In 2004, she was cast in Strip Search, an HBO film directed by Sidney Lumet, but her scenes were cut from the final broadcast version. Later that year, she played Dr. Rachel Keyes in Little Black Book and starred as Edie Miller in British drama series NY-LON. In 2005, Jones played Karen in the Stella pilot on Comedy Central and special government agent Carla Merced in the TNT police drama Wanted.

Jones was considering leaving the acting profession and pursuing a graduate degree in public policy before she was offered the part on The Office. She joined the ensemble cast in September 2006, playing the role of Karen Filippelli. She appeared regularly during the third season, returning as a guest star for two episodes in season four and another in season five.

Jones also played Karen in the February 2007 Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Rainn Wilson, appearing briefly in the opening monologue's Office parody. Jones filmed cameo roles in The Ten and Role Models, both directed by David Wain, with the latter appearing on the Blu-ray release. She co-starred in Unhitched, the short-lived 2008 comedy series produced by the Farrelly brothers. She also appeared as the love interest in the Foo Fighters' music video "Long Road To Ruin".

In January 2009, Jones voiced several characters in an episode of the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken. She played Hannah in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, an independent film by John Krasinski that screened during the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. She co-starred as Zooey Rice in I Love You, Man, a Dreamworks comedy with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.

Jones accepted a role in Parks and Recreation, a mockumentary-style sitcom on NBC. The show was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, with whom she previously worked on The Office. She has played nurse Ann Perkins since its primetime debut in April 2009.

Jones had a small role in the Kevin Smith film Cop Out. She appeared in The Social Network (2010), alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake, which is set at Harvard. She played Marylin Delpy, a second-year legal associate assisting with the defense of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

She starred opposite Chris Messina in Monogamy (2010), a drama directed by Dana Adam Shapiro. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2010 and was released theatrically in March 2011.

Jones' other 2011 films were Friends with Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis; The Big Year, with Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and JoBeth Williams; The Muppets, with Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and Chris Cooper; and Our Idiot Brother, with Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Emily Mortimer. In the latter she played a lesbian lawyer named Cindy, the caring girlfriend of a flaky bisexual played by Zooey Deschanel. Jones also has a cameo in the Beastie Boys' short film Fight For Your Right Revisited, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, Jones appeared on an episode of Wilfred as Lisa, a hospice volunteer. The episode aired on July 21, 2011 on FX.

In 2012, she starred opposite Andy Samberg in the film Celeste and Jesse Forever, which she co-wrote.

Along with Danny DeVito, she was a voice guest star on "The Changing of the Guardian" episode of The Simpsons season 24, episode 11).

Other work

Writing

Jones created Frenemy of the State, a comic book series about a socialite who is recruited by the CIA. The comics are published by Oni Press and co-written with husband-and-wife writing team Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir. In October 2009, before the first issue had been released, Jones sold the screen rights to Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. Brian Grazer and Eric Gitter will produce the film and Jones will co-write the screenplay with writing partner Will McCormack. Jones sold her first screenplay, a comedy titled Celeste and Jesse Forever, in March 2009. She co-wrote the script with McCormack and was attached to star in the film. It was released in 2012.

Jones' has published in Teen Vogue magazine, where she worked as a contributing editor. She wrote chapter 36 of her father's biography, Q: The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones (2001).

Music and related videos

As a singer, Jones has provided backing vocals for the band Maroon 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 album It Won't Be Soon Before Long. Jones was a guest vocalist on the Tupac 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-brother QD3's production. Jones contributed vocals to songs on The Baxter, The Ten and Reno 911!: Miami soundtracks. She sang in some episodes of Boston Public and for charitable events such as the What A Pair Benefit in 2002 to raise money for breast cancer research.

Jones has appeared in music videos for Aaliyah, The Boy Least Likely To song "Be Gentle With Me," and the Foo Fighters' single "Long Road to Ruin". In the latter she was credited as Racinda Jules and played the role of Susan Belfontaine.

In 2013, Jones directed the music video for Sara Bareilles' song Brave. It marked her debut as a director.

Online comedy series

Jones has appeared in several online comedy series projects. She starred in Funny or Die's Speak Out series with Natalie Portman and guest starred in two episodes in the first webseason Web Therapy with Lisa Kudrow. Due to other commitments, Jones was unable to reprise her role for the second, third and fourth seasons, however, provided voiceover work for an off-screen appearance in the show's first TV season (containing her appearance from the first webseason) 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 played David Wain in disguise for an episode of My Damn Channel's Wainy Days. In 2008, Jones appeared with several other celebrities in Prop 8 " The Musical, an all-star video satirising California's anti-gay marriage initiative, written by Marc Shaiman.

Modeling and advertising

In 2011, Dove selected Jones as its spokeswoman for its Dove Nourishing Oil Care Collection.

Personal life

Jones had a 3½ year relationship with actor Tobey Maguire, ending in 2000. She became engaged to the Grammy Award-winning music producer Mark Ronson in February 2003. He proposed on her 27th birthday, using a custom-made crossword puzzle spelling out "Will you marry me?" Their relationship ended approximately one year later. In 2009 she was dating Jon Favreau, who had become the Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama.

Though raised Jewish, Jones began practicing Hinduism in her early teens with her mother after the two visited an ashram in India. As an adult, she practices Judaism. 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 be Jewish 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."

On her multi-racial identity, she remarked, "I have gone through periods where I only feel black or Jewish. Now I have a good balance".

Philanthropic efforts

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. Jones has participated in Stand Up to Cancer events, EDUN and ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History, and The Art of Elysium's volunteer program, which runs artistic workshops for hospitalized children. In 2007, she was honorary chair of the annual Housing Works benefit, which fights AIDS and homelessness in New York City. She has helped fundraise for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the EB Medical Research Foundation, and New York's Lower Eastside Girls Club.

Political work

Jones has campaigned in the last three cycles for Democratic Party presidential candidates, including for Barack Obama during the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. In 2008, along with Kristen Bell, she visited college campuses in Missouri to discuss the candidates and to encourage voter registration for the Democratic Party. In 2012, she campaigned in Iowa along with co-star Adam Scott. She previously campaigned for Democratic candidate John Kerry during the 2004 election, speaking at student rallies and a public gallery in Ohio.

Awards and honors

(Awards related directly to her roles in films are noted in the section below on Filmography.)

• In 2002, Jones was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
• In 2011, she was a runner-up as that year's Influential Multiracial Public Figure.
• She contributed to the audio version of Q: The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones, which won a Grammy Award.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Myth America
2000	East of A	Emily
2001	Roadside Assistance	Lucy
2002	Full Frontal
2002	Now You Know	Kerri
2003	Death of a Dynasty	Layna Hudson
2004	Little Black Book	Dr. Rachel Keyes
2007	The Ten	Hostess Rebecca FornierM
2009	Brief Interviews with Hideous Men	Hannah
2009	I Love You, Man	Zooey
2010	Cop Out	Debbie
2010	The Social Network	Marylin Delpy
2010	Monogamy	Nat
2011	The Big Year	Ellie
2011	Friends with Benefits	Maddison	uncredited
2011	Our Idiot Brother	Cindy Harris
2011	The Muppets	Veronica Martin
2012	Celeste and Jesse Forever	Celeste	also co-screenwriter 2nd Film with Andy Samberg Whistler Film Festival Trailblazer Award for Acting and Screenwriting Nominated " Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay
2013	Cuban Fury	Actress

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	The Last Don	Johanna	Miniseries
2000	If These Walls Could Talk 2	Feminist	Television movie, segment: "1972"
2000	Freaks and Geeks	Karen Scarfolli	Episode: "Kim Kelly Is My Friend"
2000"2002	Boston Public	Louisa Fenn	26 episodes
2003"2004	Chappelle's Show	Pam/Woman in 'Love Contract'
2004	Strip Search		Television movie, scenes deleted
2004	NY-LON	Edie Miller	7 episodes
2005	Stella	Karen	Episode "Pilot"
2005	Wanted	Detective Carla Merced	13 episodes
2005	Our Thirties	Liz	Television movie
2006"2011	The Office	Karen Filippelli	24 episodes
2008	Unhitched	Kate	6 episodes
2009"2014	Parks and Recreation	Ann Perkins	Series regular
2011	Wilfred	Lisa	Episode: "Respect"
2011	Web Therapy	Hayley Feldman-Tate	2 episodes
2012	Who Do You Think You Are?	Herself
2012	The Cleveland Show	Daisy
2013	The Simpsons	Portia
2013	The Awesomes	Hotwire	Voice only