Ulla Jones
Ulla Agneta Jones[1] née Andersson, known professionally as Ulla Andersson and as Ulla Jones (born June 18, 1946 in Sweden) is a former high fashion model, actress, singer and songwriter who appeared on numerous magazine covers during the 1960's, before she retired from the Ford Modelling Agency, and has been married to Quincy Jones. She also calls herself Ulla Andesong (Swedish for spirit song).
Career
Andersson was discovered in Stockholm by Eileen Ford when she was 15 years old. She was immediately signed to the Ford Modelling Agency and sent to Paris where she learned the business. Before long before she was travelling the world and working in Europe, the United States and Russia. She was photographed by renowned fashion photographers of the day including Hiro and her image appeared on such fashion publications as Harper's Bazaar and Vogue.
In January of 1976, Ulla Jones was cast as "Betty Sue" in Lars Jacob's first Stockholm production of Wild Side Story and was singled out for good notice in major press.[2] The run was cut short when one of the leads dropped out and thus was her performance in it. Fellow cast members Christer Lindarw and Roger Jönsson went on to make considerable names for themselves in their After Dark act which grew out of their debut here.
Private Life
In 1966 when Andersson was 19 years old she met Quincy Jones at a party given by TWA in honour of Frank Sinatra in New York. After a whirlwind courtship, Ulla left the 5th Avenue apartment she was subletting from Robert Evans in Manhattan and moved to California to live with Jones. They were soon married and Andersson retired from her modelling career to raise their two children Martina Jones and Quincy Jones III. Earlier that year, shewas selected to represent Sweden in the 1966 Miss World pageant, in London, United Kingdom.
The pressures of her husband's touring and social life caused friction in the marriage as did Ulla's growing alcoholism and substance abuse problems. After several years of marriage, she took the children and left her husband. She returned to Sweden where she remains today. Although she and Quincy were formally separated, they were not legally divorced until the mid-1970s, when Quincy was diagnosed with a brain tumor and gravely ill. He was not expected to live and it was his wish to marry his longtime partner, actress Peggy Lipton, for the purpose of legal provisions for their two daughters. Ulla agreed to finalize the divorce and a one-time cash settlement. After receiving a small settlement, she moved out to the suburbs of Stockholm and suffered a string of abusive relationships. Ulla struggled continuously with her finances because of her growing health issues. After 25 years of addiction, she attained sobriety and has been sober for over a decade.
Today, she is a grandmother and is the author of an autobiography Red Carpet Blues.
References
- ^ Swedish tax Authority Skatteverket's public records as of December 9 2008
- ^ Göran Sellgren in Svenska Dagbladet January 9 1976 p 14
Bibliography
- Andersson, Ulla. Red Carpet Blues.
- Jones, Quincy. Q: The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones.
External links
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