Janet Jackson penned an emotional tribute to her friend Ja’Net DuBois, after news of the star’s death broke on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
The famed character actress died of natural causes after passing away in her sleep at her home in Glendale, California on Tuesday. She was either 74 or 82 (her exact date of birth is unknown).
Jackson, 53, posted a heartfelt tribute to her former “Good Times” co-star and personal friend after hearing the news.
“I am so very saddened to hear my longtime friend Ja’Net DuBois has passed away,” Jackson wrote, alongside a slideshow of snapshots of the pair taken over the years.
“I saw first hand how she broke stereotypes and changed the landscape for Black women in entertainment. I’m grateful in recent years I had a chance to see her and create more lasting memories.”
She added: “I pray for comfort for all her family and friends. Thank you Ja’Net, I’ll miss you.”
DuBois is best known for her portrayal as the projects gossip Willona Woods in the 1970s Norman Lear TV sitcom Good Times, which ran from 1974 to 1979.
Jackson, then 11, joined the cast in the fifth season as Penny – a young girl adopted by Willona after she’s abandoned by her abusive mother.
The pair reunited in 1987 when DuBois played the R&B icon’s mother in the music video for her single “Control.”
Lear also posted a tribute to the late actress and singer, sharing on Twitter, “Ja’Net DuBois was all light and will be missed. I love that she wrote the theme song for her passing, ‘Movin’ on Up’,” referencing the theme song to The Jeffersons, which DuBois wrote and sang.
