Peggy Lipton of ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘The Mod Squad’ Dies at 72

Peggy Lipton, who came to fame on “The Mod Squad” before serving as a lovesick waitress on both iterations of “Twin Peaks,” has died. She was 72. The actress, who was also the mother of fellow thespian Rashida Jones, passed away from cancer.

“She made her journey peacefully with her daughters and nieces by her side,” announced Jones and her sister Kidada in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “We feel so lucky for every moment we spent with her. “We can’t put all of our feelings into words right now, but we will say: Peggy was and will always be our beacon of light, both in this world and beyond. She will always be a part of us.” Lipton was married to music producer Quincy Jones, about whom his daughter Rashida recently made a documentary, from 1974 until 1989.

Born August 30, 1946 in New York, Lipton started her career as a model and was appearing in such television series as “Bewitched” and “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour” as a teenager; she was just 21 when “The Mod Squad,” which depicted America’s growing counterculture movement, made her a star. She received four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe award for her work on the series.

Upon marrying Jones, she largely stepped away from acting until the role of Norma Jennings brought her to Twin Peaks. A fan favorite on David Lynch’s enigmatic — and, when it first debuted in 1990, massively popular — series, Norma is at the center of one of the show’s most moving love stories. Lipton reprised her role on 2017’s “Twin Peaks: The Return,” much to the delight of longtime viewers.

Tributes have begun pouring in:

Oh my God. I’m broken hearted to hear of the passing of my friend Peggy Lipton. We had known each Other for many years and her beautiful girls were the loves of her life. She was an exquisite human being On all levels. god bless you. KIDADA and Rashida she’s your angel.

— Rosanna Arquette (@RoArquette) May 12, 2019

I’m heartbroken. I had the opportunity to work with Peggy for a few days on a film. I absolutely fell in love with her. I’ve honestly always thought of Peggy as…perfect. Honest, funny, nurturing, oh and loved some good, juicy, gossip https://t.co/RfQd0CqJG3

— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) May 12, 2019

So sad to read that Peggy Lipton has died. She was my idea of cool in The Mod Squad, and watching her 50 years later in the revival of Twin Peaks, I saw no reason to revise my opinion. RIP.

— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) May 12, 2019

I know I wanted to be her on The Mod Squad growing up… RIP #PeggyLipton https://t.co/E05jmY5KRN

— Brooke Smith (@Iam_BrookeSmith) May 12, 2019

RIP Peggy Lipton pic.twitter.com/LE74a7Q9VJ

— mäcy (@90smadchen) May 12, 2019