David Bowie's Son Duncan Jones Has A Tragic Story

The start of the glam rock movement saw David Bowie find the big break he had been searching for. After a few underwhelming releases throughout the late '60s, he struck gold once the '70s came around; and with the help of his iconic looks as Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, a rock legend was born. Before giving birth to his alter egos, however, David and his then-wife, Angie Bowie, welcomed their son Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones in 1971.

As the son of a highly successful music artist, Jones experienced some of the greatest highs he could ever imagine, such as traveling the world. However, he also experienced some of the lowest lows. Though it would go under the radar given his disdain for public attention as a child, it became apparent once Jones had come into his own. After changing his name, Jones achieved various accolades as a full-blown creative like his father, albeit in a different field of work as a prolific movie director. However, Jones' creativity didn't come without a grim backlog of influences from his personal life. Whether it was his unfair run-ins with cancer in those he loved or his strained relationship with his mother, Jones' life was riddled with tragedy after tragedy. To learn more about his journey, here is the tragic story of David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones.

On May 30, 1971, David and Angie Bowie introduced Duncan Jones to the world. With David dedicating his song "Kooks" to his newborn son, he appeared ready to take on fatherhood. However, once David reached newfound heights in his music career thanks to his Ziggy Stardust persona, the perils of fame began to take form in not only David's life but Jones' as well. The mid-'70s saw David develop an addiction to drugs, resulting in a decline in his mental state. What's worse is that Jones was there to witness it all (via Standard). "My son's seen me through some of the most awful depressing times when I was really in absolute abject agony over my emotional state; the heights of my drinking and drug-taking," David said. "He's seen the lot."

Jones also witnessed his father's turbulent relationship with his mother, Angie Bowie. Angie, who'd also indulge in a similar lifestyle as David, admitted to Daily Mail in 2009 that the two weren't compatible as parents. Sadly, their personal issues would regularly unfold in front of their newborn on numerous occasions. "It was a parallel universe. I'd take Zowie to the circus and then I'd come home and David would tell me what a lousy mother I was," she recalled. "We were drunk. Zowie was crying in the corner as we screamed at each other."

By 1980, David and Angie Bowie divorced. This led to a custody battle for their son Duncan Jones, in which Angie ended up taking a £500,000 settlement. Though she had her reasons for granting David full custody, it certainly left a sour spot for Jones as it seemed that Angie didn't want anything to do with him. Over time, his resentment for his mother began to grow. From scolding her for her downgraded way of living after the divorce to deeming his father the better parent, Jones' frustrations toward his mother for leaving him were felt. His disdain for Angie became even more apparent in the following years as he distanced himself from her.

In a 2006 interview with Pallas Athena, Jones fielded questions regarding his mother and her book, "Backstage Passes." After confirming that he last saw her around age 13, he was asked if he felt sad about how his relationship with his mother turned out. "I don't really have a relationship with her," he said. "It's not something I dwell on that much." During a 2017 interview with The Times, Angie shared the same notion when asked whether she keeps in touch with her firstborn son. "My son? No, why should I be? I'm not interested. ... It's over. Nothing. Nothing to do with me." she responded.

As the child of a massive megastar, it's only expected for the public to assume the world of Duncan Jones. In 2012, he told Standard that he struggled with being in the public eye throughout his childhood. "I was massively geeky," he stated. "We traveled a lot and I was painfully shy. And of course, I had the burden of a lot of people's preconceptions about who I was." This burden led to him changing his name from Zowie to Joey — and later back to Duncan — to distance himself from attracting public attention. That pressure would also find itself in his school life. While attending a boarding school in Gordonstoun, Jones notably slept through his A-levels — a form of test that grants qualifications to attend universities.

In 2006, Jones told Pallas Athena how furious he was about the ordeal and how lost he felt. "My Dad wasn't happy!" he explained. "At that point, I had no real interest in academia, I didn't know what I wanted to do with myself, I didn't know where I was going, and A-levels seemed an utterly arbitrary and unimportant thing in my life." His expulsion was followed by a trip to America, where Jones spent a few more years finding his passion through philosophy, then later film school in London. "I needed space to grow up," he said.

In 2009, Duncan Jones made his directorial debut in the film, "Moon." The movie's release was met with critical acclaim for its creative direction and emotionally-driven story. While the film was about an astronaut experiencing an identity crisis after three years of isolation on the moon, Jones expressed parallels between his work of fiction and his personal life. The perils of his long-distance relationship and his loss of identity during college ultimately led to his inspiration for writing the film. During his interview with Psychology Today, Jones further confirmed this notion when he answered questions regarding the topics displayed in the movie. "I think the film kind of asks the question, 'What would it be like if you met yourself?'" he stated. "And over time, I think, I've become pretty okay about myself. But it did take a long time. I'm 38 now so when I was younger I used to have a lot of concerns and I didn't really know my place in the world and it took me a long time to feel comfortable in my own skin."

In an interview with the Daily Mail, his mother, Angie Bowie, saw the strong similarities between the main character and her son. "When I saw the film, I realized how alone Zowie feels," she said. "It's painful and heartbreaking."

In his opinion, Duncan Jones isn't the greatest with relationships. After all, a strained long-distance relationship— among other things — led to the creation of his most notable film project to date. By June 2012, Jones seemed ready to take another leap at love when he announced that he and his girlfriend, Rodene Ronquillo, were engaged. What came after, however, was a roadblock that would've made most couples postpone their wedding ceremony. Instead, Jones saw that roadblock as a sign.

In December 2012, Jones took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce that he and Ronquillo got married in November of that year. Unbeknownst to us, Jones and Ronquillo happened to get married the same day she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Along with a photo of the two with shaved heads was a series of tweets describing the event leading up to their offshoot ceremony. "We were a little overwhelmed by the news: cancer and Election Day, so decided to make it a set, ran down to the courthouse, and got married!" he tweeted (via Hello! Magazine). "So cancer, election, marriage. All in one day! Two days later, Ro was in surgery." Jones then updated his followers on his wife's health and their plans moving forward. "Surgery went really well. Did what we had to do and we're put on a fast track to getting ready for chemo," he wrote.

From 2012 onward, cancer became a constant in Duncan Jones' life. So much so that In 2016, it was announced that his father, David Bowie, had passed away due to liver cancer. The news undoubtedly shocked the masses as fans flooded the internet for answers regarding the sad news. Jones confirmed the news to his followers on X the same day in a heartfelt tweet. "Very sorry and sad to say it's true," he wrote. "I'll be offline for a while. Love to all."

His disappearance from the internet only lasted a week as he'd return to X to share an open letter written by Palliative Care Doctor Dr. Mark Taubert, praising David for the bravery he had throughout the days leading up to his death. Since his father's passing, Jones has periodically paid homage to him in any way he could, whether through his social media platforms or his works of art. On January 10, 2021, Jones penned an emotional tweet on the fifth anniversary of his father's passing, showing that he was still affected. "Today marks 5 years since Dad died. We are all a little sad, coping individually in our own ways," he said. "But it's both remarkable and delightful that Dad is still so clearly loved by so many. Yes, he's missed ... but with so much of 'him' in the work he made, he's clearly still here."

After witnessing David and Angie Bowie's turbulent relationship as a child, Duncan Jones would look to another grown-up in his life as a parental figure. Before David's wife, Iman, and his sister, Alexandria Jones, came into his life, Angie told Daily Mail that his nanny, Marion Skene, essentially became his go-to maternal figure. "David and I were away doing drugs, at first together and then later apart. Marion effectively became Zowie's mother," she said. This made it all the more disheartening in 2017 when it was announced that his caretaker as a child had passed away.

With it only being a year after he'd lost his father to liver cancer, 2017 proved to be a year of grief for the seasoned director as Skene also passed away due to complications with cancer shortly after. Jones took to X a week after her passing to share the sad news with his followers. Paired alongside a photo of a young Jones sitting beside David and Skene, was a tweet praising Skene for being a maternal figure in his life. "All my love Dad and Marion. Lost a most incredible woman to cancer last week," he wrote (via The Scottish Sun). "She raised me. Without her, who knows what kind of mess I'd be."

In 2012, Duncan Jones started to work on "Warcraft," a film adaptation of the well-known online video game, "World of Warcraft." Given its significance for the gaming industry, this proved to be Jones' most ambitious project yet as he had to satisfy the needs of veteran fans and those who had never heard of the franchise. Its release in 2016, however, was met with a slew of harsh reviews and a lackluster box office performance. Though he may not regret directing the movie, Jones doesn't seem to look back fondly on the four years he invested in the film. 

With his wife, Rodene Ronquillo, being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and his father, David Bowie, passing away from liver cancer in 2016, Jones essentially dealt with two major life-altering events while making the film. In addition, Jones admitted to Thrillist in 2016 that the creative process for the film was difficult since he had to adhere to several cuts. "Trust me, if anyone is frustrated about the pacing of the film and how that turned out, it's me," he said. "It's not because I didn't know what was happening, but as I said, death of 1,000 cuts." According to his 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, the experience ultimately left him scarred, with him stating, "'Warcraft' had beaten and bruised me."

Though the release of "Warcraft" wasn't a memorable experience for Duncan Jones, he'd continue to flex his directorial muscles in other films. In 2018, he followed up his lackluster project with a more insightful piece titled "Mute," which starred strong actors like Alexander Skarsgard — from the famous Skarsgard family — and Paul Rudd. Similarly to "Moon," the movie touched on several topics present in Jones' personal life, one being parenthood.

The film follows Leo, a man who lost his ability to speak due to a freak accident he had as a child. His mother's refusal for him to undergo reconstructive surgery ultimately left Leo with the condition. In an interview with The Times, Jones noted that the movie questions the complexities of parenthood, stating, "What do parents try to do in order to protect their kids?" Jones then stated that the film was dedicated to his father, David Bowie, and his maternal figure, Marion Skene. What came out the other side was a touching film by Jones, which he stated was something his father always encouraged him to do as a director. "There was another thing that Dad said about putting yourself a little bit deeper in the water than where you can reach [the bottom with] your toes," he explained. "That's what I did with 'Mute.' I made a film which was a little bit uncomfortable and unexpected, and darker than people might be expecting."

On July 10, 2016, Duncan Jones and Rodene Ronquillo introduced their son, Stenton David Jones, just six months after David Bowie died. Two years later, the pair introduced their daughter, Zowie Tala Mabsie Jones, to their ever-growing family. While Jones appeared ecstatic to tackle fatherhood, he was transparent about his shortcomings in raising two children. 

We saw this during a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair when he spoke about the process of making "Mute." As he began shooting the film in 2016, he noted the challenges he faced maintaining his career obligations while raising his 4-month-old son. Fast forward to 2019, and Jones took to X to share his thoughts on parenting. "I have 2 kids. 2½ years and 9 months old respectively. I'll tell you something I never see anyone admit ... they are exhausting, frustrating, and life-destabilizing," he wrote. "They are rarely fun." Given his somewhat tumultuous home life as a child, it is clear to see why he felt this way. Jones then added to this notion in another lengthy tweet, only this time it ended with a more hopeful sentiment. "It's exhausting! It's banal! It's like looking after a dog you can't housetrain," he stated. "What it is, is that it is. And they are mine. Hopefully, they turn out ok."