Duncan Jones

Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones – born on 30 May 1971 in Bromley Hospital, London – is the son of legendary English musician David Bowie and Cypriot‑born American model and journalist Angie Bowie. His early years were marked by a transcontinental upbringing, moving between London, Berlin and Vevey, Switzerland, and attending the Commonwealth‑American School in Lausanne before a split‑year at the prestigious Gordonstoun boarding school in Scotland. Initially called “Zowie Bowie” to echo his father's stage persona, he later adopted the nicknames “Joey” and “Joe” before finally reverting to his birth name at eighteen. After completing a philosophy degree at the College of Wooster in 1995, he briefly pursued doctoral studies at Vanderbilt University before transferring to the London Film School, where he graduated in 2001 and began a career that blended his artistic heritage with a passion for science‑fiction storytelling. Jones burst onto the feature‑film scene with the critically acclaimed Moon (2009), a solitary lunar drama that earned him the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer and secured multiple nominations at the British Independent Film Awards. He followed with the time‑loop thriller Source Code (2011), showcasing his knack for high‑concept narratives while working with Summit Entertainment. In 2016 he directed the large‑scale adaptation Warcraft, translating the popular video‑game franchise to the big screen, and in 2018 he released Mute on Netflix, a dystopian thriller he described as a “spiritual sequel” to Moon. Throughout his career Jones has also contributed to video‑game cinematics, notably for Republic: The Revolution, and has helmed fashion campaigns such as French Connection’s “Fashion vs Style”. Beyond his professional pursuits, he married photographer Rodene Ronquillo in 2012; the couple have two children, son Stenton David (born 2016) and daughter Zowie (born 2018), and have been vocal advocates for breast‑cancer awareness after Ronquillo’s diagnosis. His body of work continues to explore humanity’s relationship with technology and isolation, cementing his reputation as a distinctive voice in contemporary science‑fiction cinema.