Margaret Ann Lipton (August 30, 1946 – May 11, 2019) was an American model, actress, and singer. She made appearances in many of the most popular television shows of the 1960s before she landed her defining role as flower child Julie Barnes in the crime drama The Mod Squad (1968–1973), for which she was nominated for four Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama in 1970.
After The Mod Squad, Lipton married musician Quincy Jones and began a 15-year hiatus from acting, during which she raised her two children, Kidada and Rashida Jones. She returned to acting in 1988, performing in many TV roles, including Norma Jennings in David Lynch's surrealist mystery-horror drama Twin Peaks.
Early life Margaret Ann Lipton was born into an upper middle-class Jewish family in New York City on August 30, 1946, the daughter of artist Rita Benson (born Rita Hetty Rosenberg) and corporate lawyer Harold Lipton. Her paternal grandparents (surnamed Lipschitz) were Jewish immigrants from Russia, and her mother was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Jewish parents from Latvia.stated on Who Do You Think You Are?. May 4, 2012. Lipton was raised in Lawrence, Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, with her brothers: Robert, who became an actor, and Kenneth. She attended Lawrence High School before transferring to the Professional Children's School."Lawrence native Peggy Lipton, 72; Former Five Towner was in the Mod Squad", Nassau Herald, May 12, 2019. Accessed June 20, 2024. "Known for her role in the 1970s television show Mod Squad and as the mother of actresses Rashida and Kidada Jones, Lawrence native Peggy Lipton died on May 11 of colon cancer, according to her daughters.... The former wife of musician, composer and producer Quincy Jones, Lipton was born in New York City on Aug. 30, 1946 to an upper-middle-class Jewish family and attended Lawrence High School up to 1962 when she moved on to attend the Professional Children’s School, a nonprofit college prep for mostly working or aspiring actors or dancers in grades six to 12." Sexually abused by an uncle, Lipton was a nervous and withdrawn child with a stutter so severe that she was sometimes unable to say her own name. In 1964, the family moved to Los Angeles, where Lipton became what she called a "Topanga Canyon hippie" who explored meditation and yoga.
Career Modeling and acting Lipton's father arranged her first modeling jobs in New York, while her mother encouraged her to take acting lessons. At 15, Lipton became a Ford Agency model and enjoyed a successful early career. After she and her family moved to Los Angeles in 1964, Lipton signed a contract with Universal Pictures. She made her television debut at age 19 in the NBC sitcom The John Forsythe Show (1965). Between 1965 and 1968, she appeared in episodes of Bewitched, The Virginian, The Invaders, The Road West, The F.B.I., The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Mr. Novak.
Lipton starred in The Mod Squad as one of a trio of Los Angeles undercover "hippie cops". Appearing waiflike and vulnerable, as David Hutchings wrote, her performance as "canary with a broken wing" Julie Barnes earned her four Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations during her tenure. In 1971, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Actress in a Drama. Thin with long, straight, ash blonde hair, clad in mini-skirts, bell bottoms, and love beads, Lipton's Julie Barnes became a fashion icon and the hip "it girl" of her time.
After The Mod Squad, Lipton did no full-time acting for 15 years (with the exception of appearing in the made-for-TV movie The Return of the Mod Squad in 1979). In March 1988, she returned to television as the star of an ABC movie, Addicted to His Love. She eventually regained major attention for her performance as Norma Jennings in David Lynch's TV series Twin Peaks (1990–1991), and subsequently appeared in many TV shows, including recurring roles in Crash and Popular. In 2017 she reprised her character of Norma Jennings in the Twin Peaks revival. Also in 2017, she appeared in an episode of Angie Tribeca as the mother of the title character played by her daughter Rashida Jones.
Singing As a singer, three of Lipton's singles landed on the Billboard charts: "Stoney End" (No. 121 Bubbling Under Hot 100, 1968, later a Top Ten hit for Barbra Streisand in 1970) and "Lu" (1970), both written by Laura Nyro. Her "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" (1970) was written by Donovan. "Stoney End" is included in her 1968 album Peggy Lipton (Ode Records), which was released on CD on July 29, 2014, by RealGone Music, along with other singles and previously unreleased material (nineteen tracks in all).
Lipton and her husband Quincy Jones, along with Alan and Marilyn Bergman, co-wrote the 1984 Frank Sinatra hit, "L.A. Is My Lady".
Personal life At the age of 18, she began using drugs in an attempt to alleviate her depression. Lipton was briefly linked with Paul McCartney before he met his wife Linda. They met first on 24 August 1964, when Lipton was 17 and McCartney was 22. After Lipton married musician and producer Quincy Jones in 1974, she took a hiatus from acting to concentrate on her family. The couple had two daughters, Kidada (born 1974) and Rashida (born 1976), who both became actresses. Lipton and Jones separated in 1986, and divorced in 1990.
Death After being diagnosed in 2004, Lipton died of colon cancer in Los Angeles on May 11, 2019, at the age of 72.
Discography 1968 Peggy Lipton (Ode Records) 2013 Peggy Lipton: The Complete Ode Recordings (Vivid Sound)
Singles 1968 "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" b/w "Honey Won't Let Me" (45 rpm) (Record World AC #40) 1968 "Stoney End" b/w "San Francisco Glide" (45 rpm) (Billboard No. 121) 1969 "Red Clay County Line" b/w "Just A Little Lovin' (Early In The Morning)" (45 rpm) 1970 "Lu" / "Let Me Pass By" (45 rpm) (#45 Canada, February 1970) 1970 "Let Me Pass By" b/w "Hands Off the Man (Flim Flam Man)" (45 rpm)
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1968 Blue Laurie Kramer 1988 War Party TV correspondent Purple People Eater Mom 1989 Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects Kathleen Crowe 1990 Fatal Charm Jane Sims Video 1991 True Identity Rita 1992 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Norma Jennings 1997 The Postman Ellen March 2000 The Intern Roxanne Rochet Skipped Parts Laurabel Pierce 2001 Jackpot Janice 2010 When in Rome Priscilla 2017 A Dog's Purpose Adult HannahFinal film role
Television Year Title Role Notes 1965 Bewitched Secretary "Your Witch Is Showing" Mr. Novak Selma "And Then I Wrote..." The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Mary Winters "Night Fever" The John Forsythe Show Joanna "Super Girl" 1966 The Virginian Dulcie Colby "The Wolves Up Front, the Jackals Behind" 1967 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Oralee Prentiss "Willie and the Yank: The Deserter", "Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders" Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Jill "A Song Called Revenge" The Road West Jenny Grimmer "Elizabeth's Oddyssey" The Invaders Bride "Wall of Crystal" 1968–1973 The Mod Squad Julie Barnes Main role: 123 episodes 1969 The Andy Williams Show Herself 1 episode 1971 The Dick Cavett Show Herself 1 episode 1979 The Return of the Mod Squad Julie Barnes TV film 1990 The Hitchhiker Helen "Working Girl" The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Herself 1 episode 1990–1991 Twin Peaks Norma Jennings Main role: 30 episodes 1992 Secrets Olivia Owens TV miniseries 1993 Angel Falls Hadley Larson Main role 1994 The Spider and the Fly Helen Stroud TV film Deadly Vows Nancy Weston TV film Wings Miss Laurie Jenkins "Miss Jenkins" 1996 Justice for Annie: A Moment of Truth Movie Carol Mills TV film 2000 The 70s Gloria Steinem TV film Popular Kelly Foster Recurring role 2004 Alias Olivia Reed Recurring role 2005 Cuts Marsha "The Turkey Triangle" 2007 Rules of Engagement Fay "A Visit from Fay" 2009 Crash Susie Recurring role 2012 House of Lies Phoebe Van Der Hooven "Prologue and Aftermath" 2014 Psych Scarlett Jones "1967: A Psych Odyssey" 2016–2017 Angie Tribeca Peggy Tribeca 2 episodes 2017 Twin Peaks Norma Jennings 5 episodes Claws Peggy Lipton "Self-Portrait" There's... Johnny! Evelyn Greenfield "Owed to Joy"
See also List of show business families
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