Hamilton ’s Jasmine Cephas Jones Mourns Death of Dad Ron
Originally appeared on E! Online
Jasmine Cephas Jones is honoring her dad Ron Cephas Jones in the wake of his death.
"Grief. This one is a battle," she wrote on Instagram Aug. 30. "I keep looking at my phone wanting to call you and wanting to hear your voice. You listened… you REALLY listened to me. You valued my opinion and you never judged me. We all know you were a great actor but my god you were a damn good father."
Jasmine—who was part of the original cast of Broadway's Hamilton, playing both Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds—went on to praise the This Is Us actor for "giving me a safe space to just be me" and "not afraid of my womanhood and all the pain and awkwardness and social anxiety and tough burdens that society can put on us."
"You understood that," she continued. "You led me. Mentored me. Gut laughed with me. Cried with me. Sang with me. Celebrated me. Studied with me. Cared for me… and loved me."
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The 34-year-old added, "There's so much so say, but I don't have many words. I just love you so much. I miss you beyond words. I still feel you here with me and I will carry you in my heart forever."
The heart-wrenching tribute comes nearly two weeks after Ron's rep confirmed that he passed away "due to a long-standing pulmonary issue" at the age of 66.
"Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him," the spokesperson told People on Aug. 20. "He began his career at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and his love for the stage was present throughout his entire career, including his recent Tony nominated and Drama Desk Award winning performance for his role in Clyde's on Broadway."
The statement continued, "Ron's inner-beauty and soul was evident to the huge audience from his multi-Emmy award winning performance on This is Us."
In 2020, Jasmine and her dad made history as the first father-daughter duo to win Emmys in the same year after she won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her role in #FreeRayshawn, while Ron took home his second Emmy for Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of William Hill, the biological father of Sterling K. Brown's Randall Pearson on This Is Us.
In addition to his Emmys, Ron was also the recipient of the 2017 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Drama Series on his work on the NBC series.
"Winning another Emmy is icing on the cake, but to see my daughter progress and move into this place of where she's earned an Emmy is beyond words," he told reporters after their big wins. "To be honest with you, and I cheer up every time I think about it, that's been the highlight of this whole journey, is to have my daughter following our footsteps and become successful, happy and healthy. That's a parent's dream. So, as a parent nothing could be finer, nothing."
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