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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Megan White

Peggy Lipton death: Mod Squad and Twin Peaks star dies aged 72

File photo: Peggy Lipton, right, with daughter Rashida and ex-husband Quincy Jones (Picture: AP)

Peggy Lipton, a TV star known for her roles in The Mod Squad and Twin Peaks, has died of cancer aged 72.

The Golden Globe winner, who was also a singer, was hugely popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s for her role as an undercover hippie cop in The Mod Squad.

She was married to music producer Quincy Jones between 1974 and 1989, and was the mother of actress Rasida Jones.

Her daughters confirmed in a statement that Ms Lipton had died on Saturday surrounded by her family.

They said: "Peggy was, and will always be our beacon of light, both in this world and beyond. She will always be a part of us."

Ms Lipton was famous for her roles in The Mod Squad and Twin Peaks (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Ms Lipton began modelling aged 15 before making her TV debut on sitcom The John Forsythe Show four years later.

She also appeared in Bewitched, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and The Virginian.

After a break from acting to raise daughters Rashida and Kidada Jones, she returned to TV to play Norma Jennings, the owner of the Double R Diner, in Twin Peaks.

She reprised her role in the recent revival of the series.

Daughter Rashida, left, confirmed her mother's death on Saturday (EPA)

Of the role, she said: "It was very scary.

"I had a push-pull thing inside me that I wanted to do it. I had become so insulated in my world as a mother, that I didn't know how to pick up the phone and call anybody to put myself out there."

Ms Lipton was praised for her role in The Mod Squad, which was one of the first TV shows to feature an interracial cast and deal with controversial issues.

She married black music producer Quincy Jones in 1974, before the couple divorced in 1989.

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