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Peggy Lipton, actress on "The Mod Squad" and "Twin Peaks," has died at 72

Peggy Lipton dead at 72
Peggy Lipton, "The Mod Squad" and "Twin Peaks" actress, dead at 72 00:35

Actress Peggy Lipton, star of "The Mod Squad" and "Twin Peaks," has died, a publicist for her daughters confirmed to CBS News. She was 72.

The cause was cancer, her daughters Rashida and Kidada Jones said in a statement.

"She made her journey peacefully with her daughters and nieces by her side," the statement said. "We feel so lucky for every moment we spent with her. We cant put all of our feelings into words right now but we will say: Peggy was, and will always be our beacon of light, both in this world and beyond. She will always be a part of us."

Lipton played one of a trio of Los Angeles undercover "hippie cops" on "The Mod Squad," which aired on ABC. 

Actress Rashida Jones and her mother act
Actress Rashida Jones and her mother actress Peggy Lipton (R) arrive at the premiere of "I Love You, Man" held at Mann's Village Theater on March 17, 2009, in Westwood, California. Getty

The Los Angeles Times called it one of pop culture's first efforts to reckon seriously with the counterculture and one of the first TV shows to feature an interracial cast. Lipton was nominated for Emmys and won a Golden Globe in 1971 for her performance. The show addressed issues such as the Vietnam War, drugs and domestic violence. 

Lipton married music producer Quincy Jones in 1974, and they had two daughters. The couple divorced in 1989.

In the 1990s, she played the role of Norma Jennings in the TV series "Twin Peaks."

"It was very scary," Lipton told The Times in a 1993 interview. "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."

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