Blindspotting and Hamilton star Jasmine Cephas Jones is paying tribute to her late father, fellow actor Ron Cephas Jones. The This Is Us star died earlier this month. He was 66.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the Hamilton actress shared a poignant message on social media Wednesday.
“Grief,” she started an Instagram caption. “This one is a battle. I keep looking at my phone wanting to call you and wanting to hear your voice. You listened… you REALLY listened to me. You valued my opinion and you never judged me. We all know you were a great actor but my god you were a damn good father.”
The 34-year-old went on to describe Jones’ strengths as a father.
“Your best gift to me as a father was giving me a safe space to just be me,” she wrote. “Not afraid of my womanhood and all the pain and awkwardness and social anxiety and tough burdens that society can put on us. You understood that. You led me. Mentored me. Gut laughed with me. Cried with me. Sang with me. Celebrated me. Studied with me. Cared for me… and loved me.”
She ended her message by sharing how much she loves Jones.
“There’s so much so say, but I don’t have many words. I just love you so much. I miss you beyond words. I still feel you here with me and I will carry you in my heart forever,” she wrote.
Along with her message, Jones shared several pictures and videos of her and the 66-year-old. The first snap shows a young Jones smiling wide while her father kisses her cheek. Another shows the pair on the red carpet. In a clip Jones shared, the 66-year-old asked, “Are you filming me?” and stuck out his tongue to the camera. Another video shows the pair singing “Hit That Jive, Jack.”
Both Joneses made history at the 2020 Emmy Awards as the first father-daughter duo to win Emmys in the same year. The 34-year-old won an outstanding actress in a short form comedy or drama series award for her work in Quibi’s #FreeRayshawn. The late actor received his third outstanding guest actor in a drama series award for his work on This Is Us.
Sterling K. Brown, who played Jones’ onscreen son on This is Us, also paid tribute to the actor.
“Life imitated art today, and one of the most wonderful people the world has ever seen is no longer with us,” he wrote on Instagram. “The world is a little less bright. Brother, you are loved. And you will be missed. Keep them laughing in the next phase of existence, and I’ll see you when I get there.”
