Tragic Details About David Bowie's Son Duncan Jones

There's hardly anyone in the world who hasn't heard of the iconic David Bowie, but many may not know too much about his son Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones. Born to the "Starman" singer and his first wife Angela Bowie, his childhood was anything but ideal. Back then, David and Angela led the typical rock star life filled with drinking and drug use, and Jones, nicknamed Zowie Bowie, was raised by staff before he was shipped off to a boarding school.

Despite his unusual upbringing, Jones fondly recalled growing up with his famous dad. "In many ways, it was an incredible childhood. We traveled all over the world and we got to do some amazing things," he told the Daily Mail. The filmmaker added, "I remember one time going to see a sumo wrestling show in Japan and being amazed. There were a lot of unique things that I got to do, and not a lot of people get to experience things like that. And I treasure those memories. But often I'd sit around being bored backstage at a concert." While Jones had great memories of David, it wasn't the case with his mom. Sadly, his relationship with her suffered and the two haven't had a relationship for decades — and that's just one of the tragic details he's faced during his life.

David Bowie and Angela Bowie were married for almost 10 years before divorcing in 1980. After getting over $600,000 as a settlement, Angela gave her ex-husband full custody of their son Duncan Jones. Having been raised solely by his father, Jones eventually cut off ties with Angela and revealed on the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast that he hadn't spoken to her since he was 13 years old. "She was a corrosive person," he stated, adding that his nanny Marion Skene took on the role of his caretaker when he was a toddler. "She was basically, essentially my mother growing up," Jones shared.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Angela recalled Jones visiting her in New York City when he was 14 years old. According to her, he criticized her apartment and the two got into a fight. They reconnected in the early 2000s when Angela's daughter Stasha found Jones online but lost touch soon afterward. "I now realize I should have put up more of a fight. But I didn't and that is something I shall have to live with for the rest of my life," she reflected.

In December 2012, Duncan Jones revealed that his wife Rodene Ronquillo had breast cancer. As reported by HuffPost, the "Mute" creator shared with fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he had found a lump on Ronquillo's breast. After getting it checked out, they discovered that the cancer was at stage 2 and decided to get married upon the diagnosis. A couple of days later, the photographer underwent surgery, which Jones stated was successful. "Did what we had to do, & were put on a fast track to getting ready for chemo," Jones tweeted. He then put out the PSA, "I love my wife more than anyone. She's young as can be. Women are getting breast cancer younger & younger. Women? check yourselves! ..& men?"

A few days later, Jones gave fans an update on X. "Half way through chemo session one. No sign of spider web ability or green hulk powers. We're disappointed!" he joked. A year later, Ronquillo told Popsugar (via the Daily Mail) that along with chemo, she underwent a double mastectomy and radiation treatment. Thankfully, she was given a clean bill of health, but another tragedy rocked Jones' world when he discovered that his father David Bowie had cancer as well.

On January 10, 2016, fans everywhere were shocked when it was revealed on David Bowie's Facebook page that he had passed away. "David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief," the statement read. His son Duncan Jones confirmed the news on X by telling fans, "Very sorry and sad to say it's true. I'll be offline for a while. Love to all."

Four months later, Jones shared on "The Nerdist" (via NME) that he was grateful to be able to say goodbye to his father. "Weird things make me miss him, but it's still early days. I'm sure I always will, but it's tricky. He was a big gravitational pull in my life as far as who I saw myself as," he mused.

In 2021, Jones paid tribute to his father on the five-year anniversary of his death. "We are all a little sad, coping individually in our own ways. But it's both remarkable & delightful that dad is still so clearly loved by so many. Yes, he's missed... but with so much of 'him' in the work he made, he's clearly still here," he wrote on X.

Duncan Jones had a few hit films under his belt before undertaking the big-budget film "Warcraft." Fans of the role-playing game anticipated its release in 2016 but unfortunately, the reviews were not favorable. As the director, Jones found that making the movie turned out to be more daunting than he expected and told Syfy Wire, "'Warcraft' was a political minefield as far as filmmaking goes. And I think a lot of the rewriting in that, over the course of making the movie was really, really difficult and at times disheartening." He continued, "But I've learned a lot and I've become more mature and able to deal with those kinds of situations because I've been through it now. But at the time, that felt pretty traumatic."

Jones revealed in an interview with Thrillist that making "Warcraft" took him over three years and he struggled to get past a lot of red tape with the higher-ups. "Trying to make a movie like 'Warcraft,' and trying to do it in a unique way ... you get killed by a death of 1,000 cuts," he stated.

Six months after David Bowie's death, Duncan Jones welcomed his first son, Stenton David Jones, with his wife Rodene Ronquillo. In April 2018, they officially became parents of two when they had their daughter, Zowie Tala Mabsie Jones. As anyone with children knows, parenting is not always fun and games, which Duncan made clear on X. "I have 2 kids. 2 1/2 years & 9 months old respectively. I'll tell you something I never see anyone admit... they are exhausting, frustrating & life-destabilizing. They are rarely fun. Sure, smiles are great, hugs are lovely, but it's HARD & not obviously a good choice in life," he posted.

Duncan then followed up with a tweet that stated, "This is where people feel compelled to say 'i wouldn't change it for the world!' But you know... Of course I'd reconsider! It's exhausting! Its banal! It's like looking after a dog you can't housetrain. What it is, is that it is. & they are mine. Hopefully they turn out ok." When a fan asked if he knew where babies come from, the filmmaker joked, "Hell." While some slammed Duncan for publicly complaining about his kids, others laughed at his hilarious and relatable tweets.