Rashida Jones

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Rashida Jones
Birth name Rashida Leah Jones
Born February 25, 1976 (age 30)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Notable roles Edie Miller
on the British television series NY-LON
Louisa Fenn on Boston Public
Karen Filippelli on The Office.

Rashida Leah Jones (born February 25, 1976, in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress, writer, model, and musician, best known for her portrayals of Edie Miller on the British television series NY-LON, Louisa Fenn on Boston Public., and Karen Filippelli on The Office.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Rashida Jones is the youngest daughter of actress Peggy Lipton from her marriage to music legend Quincy Jones. Her name "Rashida" comes from Arabic, meaning "wise".

Raised in Bel Air, California, she was educated at the Buckley School where she achieved academic distinction. In his autobiography, her father recalled how he would often find 5-year old Rashida under the covers after bedtime with a flashlight reading five books. Around the same age Rashida was already playing classical concerts and winning awards. Her mother told Entertainment Tonight, "She's 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." [1]

From Q:The Autobiography of Quincy Jones: ,[2]

"I started taking piano lessons when I was five, and I would play two part Bach inventions before I knew how to read music. I'd hear my teacher play it and I'd play it myself from memory. I have a photographic memory like my dad, but in some ways it's a disability. Because I have a strong ear and pick up all things musical quickly, I never learned to sight read well. My father has always taught me, though, that a strong ear is not enough; you've got to get a command of the theory. I'm still working on that."

When she was 10 years old, her parents divorced and Rashida lived with her mother until she left to attend Harvard University. There she became involved in theatre. She garnered praise and respect with a witty, vehement open letter in response to scathing remarks made by Tupac Shakur about her parents' "mixed marriage". She later befriended Shakur, who became engaged to her sister. She studied religion and philosophy at Harvard and graduated in 1997. She is the younger sister of Kidada Jones.

[edit] Career

[edit] Acting

While it initially started off as a hobby, in 1998 Rashida began her acting career in earnest, appearing in The Last Don. Rashida appeared in Myth America, East of A, and If These Walls Could Talk II.

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 veered away from career choices that would stereotype her as another pretty face, and sought out well-developed characters, often in independent films as well as on the stage.

She has starred in several motion pictures, including Little Black Book, Death of a Dynasty, and Now You Know.

A versatile entertainer, she played every role from school bully (Freaks & Geeks) to defeatist fiancée (Now You Know).

Was part of the Stella (TV series) pilot on Comedy Central

She also played special government agent Carmen Merced on the TNT show Wanted. [3]

Rashida Jones as Karen Filippelli on The Office.
Enlarge
Rashida Jones as Karen Filippelli on The Office.

She joined the cast of The Office in September 2006 when it began its third season.

[edit] Singer

member and music director for Harvard a cappella group, The Harvard Opportunes. They performed an arrangement composed by Quincy Jones himself in 1997 cd, Candy For The Children [4]

Rashida sang backup on Maroon 5's hit record, Songs About Jane. On track "Tangled" and "Secret" [3]

Can be heard doing the female backup to The Gap (clothing retailer) commercial [3] , "Dress You Up" [1] and is seen in the commercials, "Mellow Yello" [2] and "Crazy Stripes" [3]

She also appears as a singing guest on Tupac Shakur's tribute album The Rose That Grew From Concrete, on the track Starry Night, which was accompanied by Rashida's father Quincy Jones' vocals, Mac Mall's rapping, and her half-brother QD3's production.

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 [5]

[edit] Writer/Composer

Rashida is also a writer, and her work has appeared in Teen Vogue. She also wrote chapter 36 on her father's biography "Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones"

Co-composed the score for Hasty Pudding Theatricals while at Harvard University (1997) [6]

[edit] Model

Rashida has modelled for major clothing labels, among them are Triple 5 Soul and The Gap. She has also appeared in editorials for magazines such as In Style and O Magazine. [3]

[edit] Awards

In 2002 Rashida was chosen as one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People,"[3] as well as one of Harper's Bazaar's "Best Dressed Women In America." [4]

She was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. [3]

She also contributed to the Grammy Award winning audio version of Q: The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones.

[edit] Trivia

(compiled mostly from Rashida Jones Online )

featured in The Boy Least Likely To video, "Be Gentle With Me" music video

The name 'Rashida' is Arabic for righteous.

She can wiggle one ear at a time.

Though Jewish by birth, she started practicing Hinduism in her early teens after her mother took her to an ashram in India

Has a photographic memory

Member of Harvard Opportunes, a capella group

Rashida's ancestry is Cherokee, West African and Welsh [on her dad's side] and Irish/Russian Jew [on her mom's].

She is unusually knowledgeable about snakes.

She "enjoys bungee-jumping, parasailing, skydiving, and other various life-threatening situations. She also likes to solve the economic catastrophes of the world in her spare time." - Freshman playbill bio [7]

She had been romantically linked to Seth Meyers and John Krasinski.

[edit] Philanthropic efforts

Rashida Jones has worked to promote Peace Games, which teaches children to resolve conflict without violence. Peace Games Organization She has been a board member since 2004 and holds lots of yearly benefits to raise money for the organization [8]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] TV Guest Appearances

  • Stella (2005) - "Karen" in episode: "Pilot" (episode # 1.1)
  • Chappelle's Show (2004) - "Woman in 'Love Contract'" (episode # 2.4)
  • Chappelle's Show (2003) - "Pam" (episode # 1.5)
  • Freaks and Geeks (2000) - "Karen Scarfolli" in episode: "Kim Kelly Is My Friend" (episode # 1.4)

[edit] External links

[edit] Reference

  1. ^ http://listing-index.ebay.com/actors/Rashida_Jones.html
  2. ^ Jones, Quincy: "Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones", page 320. Doubleday,
  3. ^ a b c d e f http://www.tnt.tv/title/?oid=611846-7136
  4. ^ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~opportun/index2.html
  5. ^ http://www.whatapair.org/pages/cast2002.html
  6. ^ http://www.harvardmag.com/ja97/jhj.confetti.html
  7. ^ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hrgsp/old/productions/hms93/hms93bios.htm
  8. ^ http://www.peacegames.org/About_staff_board.shtml
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