Kidada Jones


Kidada Ann Jones is an American actress, model, and fashion designer. Jones works as a designer for The Walt Disney Company, where she has a line known as Kidada for Disney Couture. Jones is a daughter of composer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton.

Early life and education

The elder daughter of composer/arranger Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton, Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. Jones was raised in Bel-Air with her younger sister Rashida, who is now an actress and screenwriter. Jones attended the Los Angeles Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising and left at age 19 to work with the designer Tommy Hilfiger. She is Jewish on her mother's side, and African-American on her father's side. Lipton's parents were Harold Lipton, a corporate lawyer, and Rita Benson, an artist.

Career

Kidada Jones began working as a celebrity stylist for her father's publication Vibe magazine. She gained attention when she styled Michael Jackson for the cover of Vibe in 1995. She was recruited by designer Tommy Hilfiger, who launched a successful ad campaign centered on Jones and a group of her friends. She worked as his muse for eight years. Jones' fashion work included designing a clothing line for Snoop Dogg for three years. 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." 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." She also consults on Disney projects.
In 2017, Jones published School of Awake, a book meant to empower young girls. Jones appeared on Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul Sunday.

Personal life

Jones dated rapper and actor LL Cool J from 1992 to 1994. In his autobiography, I Make My Own Rules, LL Cool J stated that he ended their relationship because of her spiritual beliefs. "She would go to an ashram, consult a guru, and pray to statues," he said.
Jones was the girlfriend to rapper and actor Tupac Shakur prior to his death. She was waiting for Shakur in their Las Vegas hotel room when he was shot on September 7, 1996 and was at the hospital with Shakur when he ultimately died from his injuries six days later.
She was married to Jeffrey Nash from 2003 until 2006.