Oprah Winfrey is mourning the loss of Quincy Jones, whom she “loved unconditionally.”
“My beloved Q. The world’s beloved Q,” Winfrey, 70, began a touching Instagram tribute to Jones, who died at age 91 on Sunday, Nov. 3.
Sharing a throwback photo of the two of them walking outside with their arms around each other, the star noted it was Jones who “discovered” her for her breakout role in the 1985 movie The Color Purple. “My life changed forever for the better after meeting him,” she wrote.
“I had never experienced, nor have since, anyone who’s heart was so filled with love,” continued Winfrey’s caption. “He walked around with his heart wide open, and he treated everybody as if they were the most important person he’d ever met. He was the Light. No shadows.”
Calling the Grammy-winning legend “love lived out loud in human form,” she added that he “was the first person I ever loved unconditionally. That’s how we signed all our notes to each other, ‘Unconditionally…’”
The “favorite” photo of the duo smiling, Winfrey explained, was taken while “at his home in Bel Air in 2001 to interview him about his prolific career, the family that completed him, and the life he still had ahead.”
She concluded the heartfelt post: “He was the Mightiest of Souls. His life enhanced mine and every life he touched. That will be his global legacy. Biggest, fullest, most love-filled life ever. One of One!”
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On The Oprah Winfrey Show and in interviews, Jones, a producer and scorer on director Steven Spielberg’s big-screen adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purpleconfirmed that he pursued casting Winfrey after catching a glimpse of her when she was a Chicago television news anchor. A fan of the novel, Winfrey went on to earn an Oscar nomination for her debut screen performance as Sofia.
Among the other celebrity tributes in the wake of Jones’ passing came from The Color Purple star Whoopi Goldberg. “I was lucky enough to have him in my life for all these years,” the actress, 68, wrote. “My heart is breaking for his friends & his extended family who loved and adored him … my condolences.”
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On The View Monday, Nov. 4, Goldberg got emotional bringing up the loss of her friend. “I can’t even explain what’s happening in my head right now,” she said on the live talk show. “I had no better friend — he never left, when other people were flocking away, Q stayed, and he always told me to stand my ground,” she continued. “I do and always will.”
For The Color PurpleJones received three of his seven Oscar nominations: for Best Picture, Original Song and Score. The 1995 winner of the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, he is due to receive another honorary Oscar at the upcoming Governors Awards.
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