Rashida Jones Credits Her Famous Parents for Helping Her Avoid the 'Poisonous' Side of Fame
While many of us know her as Ann Perkins from Parks and Recreation, or from the fan-loved Celeste & Jesse Forever, Rashida Jones is what many of us like to call a “nepo baby.” As the daughter of music producer Quincy Jones and actress-model Peggy Lipton, Jones had quite an advantage when coming into the industry, as well as knowing a thing or two about music legends like Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra.
In two new interviews with InStyle and The New Yorker, Jones, who stars in the upcoming series Sunny on AppleTV+, reflected on what it was like to grow up with famous parents, and how their experience shaped her own.
More from SheKnows
“I had parents who were in the public eye, but they were extremely protective of us,” Jones told InStyle. “[Fame] wasn’t that much a part of my reality,” she said, adding that fame is “pretty poisonous for the most part.”
She also pushed back on the idea that it was too practical for her to follow in her parents’ footsteps. “People like the story of a legacy family and it’s fun to write about and it’s fun to think about you know, the ‘mini me’ and the person who looks like their mom or their dad. And then there’s the resentment there too,” she said. “But I think about it as, historically, people go into the family business more than they don’t.”
“My dad said to me when I graduated from college: ‘You’re gonna go wait in line with 70,000 other people for a job? That doesn’t seem really that practical,’ ” Jones remembered. “And he was right, you know.”
Luckily for Jones, the fame aspect of her career took a while to kick in. “I wasn’t really in a place where people recognize me until I was in my 30s, which is a good thing, but it was also like a bit of a surprise,” Jones explained. “By that point, you’re like, This is how I’m living my life. And then, all of a sudden, you’re walking in New York and you’re used to just walking on the streets, and then somebody’s watching you.”
Luckily, seeing how her parents dealt with notoriety helped her tackle her own. “Fame always seemed really weird to me. You’re just skipping over so many steps when you care about somebody’s fame because you’re having a disproportionate response to them based on what you think you know about them,” Jones told The New Yorker.
“Being around so many famous people and seeing how people reacted to them was very good for me, because when I finally did have notoriety and that changed how people thought of me, I was, like, I know how this goes,” she reflected. “I’m not at all seduced by people being super friendly, because I know none of it is real.”
But while she has managed to keep herself grounded, Jones couldn’t help but give credit where credit was due.
“My parents did a great job. People say, ‘Oh, you’re so normal, considering the circumstances of how you grew up.’ And that’s because they prioritized the right things. We weren’t overly spoiled, indulged, coddled. They were super loving,” she said.
“We traveled a ton, and that’s something I want to give my son,” she said (Jones shares 5-year-old son Isaiah with long-time partner Ezra Koenig). “I want him to feel like he’s his own person.”
“My parents were very encouraging about that,” she explained. “My dad wanted me to have my own life and career and not to live in his shadow. He’s got a big, big, big shadow. But he managed to give me the space and the love to be my own person. And that’s why I was able to do it.”
Before you go, click here to see more celebrities from famous families.
Best of SheKnows
38 of the Most Private Celebrity Relationships You May Have Forgotten About
John Mulaney & Olivia Munn, & More Celebrities Who Got Married in 2024
Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
