Everything We Know About Quincy Jones' Three Wives

Quincy Jones' life was filled with love. In fact, the music icon met his first wife, Jeri Caldwell, when they were still high schoolers. Speaking to PBS in 2001, Caldwell confessed that she actually experienced love at first sight when she spotted Quincy during a rehearsal for "The Chorus." Unfortunately, Caldwell couldn't make his acquaintance often because she was a sophomore and he was a junior. However, she didn't let that deter her and started going out of her way to catch his eye. Meanwhile, the legendary producer told Oprah.com that he gradually realized his future wife may be interested in him after Quincy noticed her consistently hanging around a water fountain. The high school sweethearts tied the knot in 1957 and later welcomed their daughter, Jolie Jones Levine. Caldwell filed for divorce after nine years of marriage in 1966. 

However, they clearly remained on good terms since, after she passed away in 2021, the prolific songwriter penned a heartfelt Instagram tribute thanking her for being by his side long before he shot to fame. "From moving with me to Paris in the '50s, to bootstrapping it with me during my Free & Easy tour (which was anything but free & easy!), to being an incredible mother to our sweet Jolie, she never ceased to put others before herself," Quincy wrote. He also expressed his gratitude for his wife going against her friends and family's wishes by marrying a Black man. The musician later found love again with Swedish actor and photographer Ulla Andersson, with the happy couple welcoming their first daughter, Martina Jones, just a few months before they walked down the aisle in 1966.

Quincy Jones and Ulla Andersson became parents for the second time with the arrival of Quincy Delight Jones III in 1968. The celebrity couple ultimately parted ways in 1974, and Quincy later confirmed to Oprah.com that he had remained faithful to her throughout their marriage. However, when the composer's third wife, Peggy Lipton, appeared on "American Masters, Quincy Jones: In the Pocket" in 2001, she shared that she had met Quincy during his marriage to Andersson. While it didn't seem like there was any crossover, he tied the knot with Lipton shortly after his divorce was finalized in 1974. 

The Grammy winner and his third wife welcomed their first daughter, Kidada Ann Jones, during their first year of marriage, and their second, actor Rashida Jones, in 1976. The couple's marriage was the longest of Quincy's life since they were together for nearly 14 years before divorcing in 1989. During Rashida's 2018 interview with Entertainment Weekly, she proudly shared that her parents always remained on good terms and harbored tons of empathy for each other. After Lipton passed away from cancer in 2019, the legendary music producer took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to pen an emotional tribute similar to the one he wrote for Jeri Caldwell.

"Regardless of the paths that our lives took us on, I can say with the utmost certainty, that love is eternal," Quincy sweetly shared at the time. The Oscar-nominated producer passed away at age 91 in November 2024. Quincy was survived by his seven children, all of whom understandably took the loss incredibly hard.