Early life

Born in New York on August 30, 1946, Peggy Lipton was raised in a comfortably upper-middle-class Jewish family. Her parents were Harold Lipton (1911-1999), a corporate lawyer, and Rita Benson (1912-1986), an artist. Her paternal grandparents were Russian Jews, and her mother was born in Dublin, Ireland to Jewish parents who had immigrated from Eastern Europe. Lipton was raised on Long Island with her brothers, Robert, who became an actor, and Kenneth. She attended Lawrence Junior High School and the Professional Children's School.

Sexually abused by an uncle, Lipton was a nervous, withdrawn child. She had a stutter that at times prevented her from saying her own name. In 1964 the family moved to Los Angeles; there Peggy became what she described as a "Topanga Canyon hippie", exploring meditation and yoga, and subsisting on rice cakes and cottage cheese.

Career

Her father arranged her first modeling jobs in New York, while her mother encouraged her to take acting lessons. At 15 she 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 TV debut at age 19 in the NBC sitcom The John Forsythe Show (1965). Between 1965 and 1968, she appeared in episodes of the following series: Bewitched, The Virginian, The Invaders, The Road West, The F.B.I., Walt Disney's Willie and the Yank, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Mr. Novack.

Lipton's star rose on The Mod Squad. Appearing waiflike and vulnerable, as David Hutchings wrote, her performance as 'canary with a broken wing' Julie Barnes earned her four Emmy nominations and four Golden Globe nominations during her tenure. In 1971 she won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Actress in a Drama. Thin with long, straight, ash blond 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.

Singing

As a singer she enjoyed some success, with three of her singles landing on the Billboard charts: "Stoney End" (No. 121 Bubbling Under Hot 100, 1968, later a 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 is listed as one of several co-writers of the Frank Sinatra 1984 hit, "L.A. Is My Lady".

Marriage and family

After Lipton married Quincy Jones, a musician and producer, in 1974, she took a hiatus from acting in order to concentrate on her family (with a notable exception of appearing in the TV movie The Return of the Mod Squad in 1979). They had two daughters, Rashida and Kidada Jones, who became actresses.

Lipton separated from Jones in 1986, and they divorced in 1990.

Return to acting

In 1988 Lipton returned to acting. She gained attention for her performance as Norma Jennings in the popular TV series Twin Peaks (1990-'91). She has since appeared in many TV shows, including recurring roles in Crash and Popular.

Personal life

During the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Lipton had relationships with a series of alcoholic, abusive, and/or married men. During this time, she also used drugs. Lipton covered some of this period in her memoir Breathing Out (2005), co-written by David and Coco Dalton. She revealed that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004 and treated for it. Starting in 2003, Jack Chartier, the then chief of staff of Alan Hevesi, the then New York state comptroller, quietly funneled pension fund money of up to $90,000 to Lipton to help her with rent and hospital bills. He also invested another $44,000 in pension-fund money in a business venture in which one of Lipton's daughters was involved.

Filmography

• Mosby's Marauders (1967) - Oralee Prentiss
• Blue (1968) - Laurie Kramer
• A Boy...a Girl (1969)
• War Party (1988) - TV Correspondent
• I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) - Uncredited
• Purple People Eater (1988) - Mom
• Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989) - Kathleen Crowe
• Fatal Charm (1990) - Jane Sims
• True Identity (1991) - Rita
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) - Norma Jennings
• The Postman (1997) - Ellen March
• The Intern (2000) - Roxanne Rochet
• Skipped Parts (2000) - Laurabel Pierce
• When in Rome (2010) - Beth's mother, Priscilla Martin

Television

• Mr. Novak (1965) - Selma ("And Then I Wrote ...")
• The John Forsythe Show (1965) - Joanna
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1965) - Nurse Winters ("Night Fever")
• The Virginian (1966) - Dulcie Colby
• Mod Squad (1968-1973) - Julie Barnes
• The Return Of Mod Squad (1979) - Julie Barnes
• Addicted to His Love (1988) - Assistant DA
• Twin Peaks (1990-91) - Norma Jennings
• Secrets (1992) - Olivia Owens
• Dangerous: The Short Films (1993) - Mother
• Angel Falls (1993) - Hadley Larson
• Wings (1994) - Miss Laura Jenkins
• The Spider And The Fly (1994) - Helen Stroud
• Deadly Vows (1994) - Nancy Wilson
• Justice For Annie: A Moment Of Truth Movie (1996) - Carol Mills
• The '70s (2000) - Gloria Steinem
• Jackpot (2001) - Janice
• Alias (2004) - Olivia Reed
• Rules of Engagement (2007) - Adam's Mom, Fay
• Crash (2009) - Susie
• House of Lies (2012) - Phoebe Van Der Hooven ("Prologue and Aftermath")
• Psych (2013) - Scarlett Jones ("1967: A Psych Odyssey")

[ Source: Wikipedia ]