Peggy Lipton, Star of ‘The Mod Squad’ Dead At 72

Actress Peggy Lipton has reportedly passed away at the age of 72. The Mod Squad actress died on Saturday, May 11 after enduring complications from colon cancer, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The former model rose to stardom in the late 1960s on the groundbreaking television show The Mod Squad and later Lipton starred on Twin Peaks.

Lipton's death was announced on Saturday by her daughters, Kidada and Rashida Jones from her former marriage to iconic music producer Quincy Jones.

“She made her journey peacefully with her daughters and nieces by her side,” Lipton’s daughters said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “We feel so lucky for every moment we spent with her.”

Lipton was born in New York on Aug. 30, 1946, and began modeling at 15-years-old. By the time Lipton was age 19, she found herself making her television debut on the sitcom The John Forsythe Show.

Lipton later made appearances on other series such as Bewitched, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and The Virginian. She catapulted to fame at 21-years-old in 1968 when she portrayed Julie Barnes, a street-smart hippie on ABC's crime show The Mod Squad.

The popular show broke barriers due to it being one of the first TV shows to feature an interracial cast. Lipton starred in it alongside Michael Cole and Clarence Williams III.

The show that tackled tough issues like domestic violence, abortion, police brutality, the Vietnam War and drugs, garnered Lipton four Emmy nominations and a 1971 Golden Globe award for best actress in a TV drama.

Lipton's portrayal of Barnes and her marriage to Jones, a black man, centered Lipton at the nation's intricate wrestle with racism and a post-World War II generation who were seeking change.

The Mod Squad turned Lipton into a fashion icon, although she was uncomfortable being in the spotlight.

“I never saw myself as trend-setting,” Lipton told The Times in 1993. “We were always working. Fame really drove me into my house. I was very paranoid. I didn’t like going out. I had no idea how to be comfortable with the press. I was very young. It was really hard for me.”

Lipton later forged a singing career that resulted in her covers of "Stoney End" and "Lu" by Laura Nyro being successful on the charts. Lipton married Jones in 1974 and took time off from acting to focus on her family. She reemerged in 1979 for the Mod Squad's reunion TV movie.

Lipton and Jones' daughters, Kidada and Rashida followed in her footsteps, both becoming actresses. Rashida garnered fame on comedy series like The Office and Parks and Recreation.

“It was very scary,” Lipton told The Times in 1993. “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.”

Following Lipton and Jones' divorce in 1989, Lipton returned to acting and landed a role on Twin Peaks, a cult TV series where Lipton portrayed the role of Norma Jennings.

Lipton and Clarence Williams III made cameos in the 1999 silver-screen version of The Mod Squad, starring Claire Danes, Omar Epps, and Giovani Ribisi. Lipton penned her memoir, Breathing Out in 2005. In it, she chronicled her bouts with racism that she and Jones faced during their interracial marriage and she also revealed that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

Take a look at Peggy Lipton through the years below.

Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth. Follow her on Twitter.

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 14: Peggy Lipton attends the premiere of Netflix's "Quincy" at Linwood Dunn Theater on September 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 08: Peggy Lipton and Oliver Hudson attend the Equipment and Vanity Fair Dinner hosted by Rashida Jones and Krista Smith at Chateau Marmont on December 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Producer Quincy Jones, actress Rashida Jones and actress Peggy Lipton arrive to the premiere of RADIUS-TWC's "Keep On Keepin' On" at Landmark Theatre on September 17, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 16: Actors Peggy Lipton, Sheryl Lee and Grace Zabriskie attend the after party for The American Film Institute Presents "Twin Peaks-The Entire Mystery" Blu-Ray/DVD release at Bigfoot Lodge on July 16, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 16: Actress Peggy Lipton arrives to The American Film Institute Presents "Twin Peaks-The Entire Mystery" Blu-Ray/DVD Release Screening at the Vista Theatre on July 16, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 28: Actress Rashida Jones (L) and mom Peggy Lipton attend a reception to celebrate Rashida Jones' New Glamour Column hosted by Cindi Leive and Jane Buckingham at arivate residence on March 28, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Glamour)

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 16: Actress Peggy Lipton arrives to The American Film Institute Presents "Twin Peaks-The Entire Mystery" Blu-Ray/DVD Release Screening at the Vista Theatre on July 16, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 28: Actress Rashida Jones (L) and mom Peggy Lipton attend a reception to celebrate Rashida Jones' New Glamour Column hosted by Cindi Leive and Jane Buckingham at arivate residence on March 28, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Glamour)

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 11: Actress Rashida Jones and Peggy Lipton arrives at the Giorgio Armani / Vanity Fair private dinner on October 11, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Giorgio Armani)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MAY 25: Actress Peggy Lipton attends the Alliance For Women In Media's 2010 Gracies Awards on May 25, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MAY 25: Actress Peggy Lipton attends the Alliance For Women In Media's 2010 Gracies Awards on May 25, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

HOLLYWOOD - JANUARY 27: Actress Peggy Lipton arrives at the premiere Of Touchstone Pictures' "When in Rome" at the El Capitan Theatre on January 27, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 17: Actress Rashida Jones and her mother actress Peggy Lipton arrives at the Dreamworks' premiere of 'I Love You, Man' held at Mann's Village Theater on March 17, 2009 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 17: Actress Peggy Lipton arrives at the Dreamworks' premiere of 'I Love You, Man' held at Mann's Village Theater on March 17, 2009 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 17: Actress Rashida Jones and her mother actress Peggy Lipton arrives at the Dreamworks' premiere of 'I Love You, Man' held at Mann's Village Theater on March 17, 2009 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 31: Actress Peggy Lipton (L) and producer Quincy Jones attend the Kidada Jones Disney Couture party at Quincy Jones' house on May 31, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - JULY 21: Actress Rashida Jones (L) and her mother Peggy Lipton arrive at the world premiere of "Little Black Book" at the Ziegfeld Theatre July 21, 2004 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - JULY 21: Actress Peggy Lipton arrives at the world premiere of "Little Black Book" at the Ziegfeld Theatre July 21, 2004 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 30: Actress Rashida Jones (L) and her mother Peggy Lipton arrive for a special screening of 'The Station Agent' at Walter Reade Theater September 30, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Lawrence Lucier/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER OUT) Actress Peggy Lipton attends the Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2004 Collection at the Manhattan Armory during the 7th on Sixth Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on September 15, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

381685 12: Actress Peggy Lipton with her daughter, Kidada Jones (her father is producer Quincy Jones) attend Cartier Haute Joaillerie 2000 "Perles Et Diamants" held at Eurochow November 9, 2000 in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Newsmakers)

Peggy Lipton (left), mother of Rashid Jones (right) of the new FOX series 'The Street' arrive at the FOX 2000 summer press tour party at Yamashiro Restaurant in Hollywood on Friday night, July 21, 2000. Photo credit: Kevin Winter/ImageDirect

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER OUT) Actress Peggy Lipton attends the Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2004 Collection at the Manhattan Armory during the 7th on Sixth Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on September 15, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

Promotional studio portrait of actors Clarence Williams III (L), Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton for the television series, 'The Mod Squad,' c. 1968. (Photo by ABC/Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty Images)

Promotional studio portrait of actors Michael Cole (L), Clarence Williams III and Peggy Lipton for the television series, 'The Mod Squad,' c. 1968. (Photo by ABC/Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty Images)

Promotional portrait of actors (L-R): Peggy Lipton, Michael Cole, Tige Andrews and Clarence Williams III on a university campus for the television series, 'The Mod Squad,' c. 1968. (Photo by ABC/Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty Images)