Jacqueline Avant, the wife of famed music executive Clarence Avant, was shot and killed in an apparent home invasion Wednesday morning at the couple’s Beverly Hills home.
Police responded at about 2 a.m. to the home in the 1100 block of Maytor Place in the Trousdale Estates neighborhood.
A Netflix spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that Jacqueline Avant was killed early Wednesday. The couple’s daughter, Nicole Avant, is married to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos.
The Los Angeles Times reported that shooting occurred during a home invasion at the residence.
No arrests were reported early Wednesday.
The victim, suffering from a gunshot wound, died at a hospital, police said.
Homicide investigators remained at the scene Wednesday morning. Aerial video showed a shattered glass sliding door at the home.
NBCLA A sliding glass door was shattered in a home invasion and shooting at a Beverly Hills home Wednesday Dec. 1, 2021.
A news conference was scheduled for later Wednesday at the police station in Beverly Hills.
Clarence Avant is known as the Godfather of Black Music, and has been regularly celebrated by artists such as Jay-Z and Diddy, L.A. Reid and Babyface. He began as a talent manager in the 1950s, worked at Venture Records in Southern California and founded L.A.-based Sussex Records and Avant Garde Broadcasting.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October.
In the 2019 Netflix documentary, “The Black Godfather,” Nicole Avant credited her mother with helping to keep her father balanced.
“Well, they’ve been married for 52 years, and my mom is really the one who brought to my father and our family the love and passion and importance of the arts and culture and entertainment,” Nicole said in the 2019 film. “While my father was in it, making all the deals, my mother was the one who gave me, for example, my love of literature, my love of filmmaking, my love of storytelling.”
Jacqueline Avant, who once modeled in the Ebony Fashion Fair, served as president of the Neighbors of Watts, a support group that focused on child care. She was also on the board of directors of UCLA’s International Student Center.
She married Clarence Avant in 1967. The couple have two children together.
