Bijou Phillips says her mother Geneviève Waite has died at 71: 'She was a light, a fairy, and a gift of a creature'
Bijou Phillips said her mother Geneviève Waite, died at 71 at her Los Angeles home Saturday.
The 39-year-old actress told TMZ, 'Our beautiful mother Geneviève Waite Phillips, passed away in her sleep.
'She was a beautiful soul, and born from another planet. Her ideas, her songs, her voice, and her heart beat to a beautiful African rhythm no one else had and I am so thankful she was able to share it.'
Sad news: Bijou Phillips, 39, said her mother Geneviève Waite, died at 71 at her Los Angeles home Saturday. The mother and daughter were snapped in Las Vegas in 2008
Bijou, who's been seen in films such as Bully and Black & White, opened up about her mother's multiple talents, as the South Africa-born Waite had been an actress, model and singer-songwriter.
'She was a light, a fairy, and a gift of a creature,' Bijou said. 'The lyrics she wrote on her album were timeless and smart. Her mind was poetry and wit, her sense of humor was quick and dry.'
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Bijou's late father, The Mamas & The Papas' John Phillips, tied the knot with Waite in 1972. The couple, also parents to actor Tamerlane Phillips, ended their marriage in June of 1985.
'My father and my mother had a magical, wonderful, heartbreaking life together,' she wrote, 'but they created a masterpiece of music (Romance is on the Rise) and I'm so honored to be their child.'
Kind words: The actress called her late mother 'a light, a fairy, and a gift of a creature'
Marriage: Waite was married to The Mamas & The Papas' John Phillips from 1972 until 1985
Bijou, who's married to actor Danny Masterson, noted her mother's starring role in the 1968 motion picture Joanna, in which Waite played the titular role of a London woman in an interracial relationship.
'My mother's role in Joanna was groundbreaking for racial divides,' the Greenwich, Connecticut native said. 'My mother was a gift and I will miss her everyday. In everything I cook, and in everything I sing and in everything I do without her wise guidance.'
She referenced the late Phillips, who died in March of 2001, in writing, 'It's nice thinking she is with our Dad, dancing around in heaven.'
Opus: Waite played the lead role in the 1968 motion picture Joanna
Flashback: (L-R) Genevieve Waite was snapped in NYC with son Tamerlane, John Phillips and Mackenzie Phillips in this 1980 shot
