Beginning her career as a model at the age of 15, Lipton shifted towards acting towards the end of her teens. She would become a household name as one of the three stars of the hit ABC show The Mod Squad which ran from 1968 to 1973. Her portrayal of Julie Barnes earned her a Golden Globe Award and several Emmy nominations. Lipton would step away from the spotlight to marry music producer Quincy Jones with whom he had two daughters - Kidada and Rashida, both of whom have become successes in the entertainment in their own right.
After an almost 15 year absence from acting, Lipton would return to the spotlight in the cult TV hit Twin Peaks as Norma Jennings, the owner of the Double R Diner. Her run on that series featured a reunion with her Mod Squad co-star Clarence Williams III. She would reprise this role in the show's 2017 revival on Showtime. She also appeared in several episodes of Angie Tribeca portraying the mother of the title character played by her daughter Rashida Jones.
I did not know that Lipton had cancer. I actually bought Lipton's 2005 autobiography Breathing Out but never got around to reading it. Alas it was one of hundreds of books I gave away before I moved out of Boston last fall. Needless to say, I regret not having read it.
I might have known that Lipton recorded an eponymous album of songs right after The Mod Squad became a hit. One of the songs she recorded was a cover of Donovan's "Wear Your Love Like Heaven". It seems a fitting way to conclude this tribute. R.I.P.
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