Rashida Jones was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest daughter of media mogul Quincy Jones and his former wife, actress Peggy Lipton. Her father is an African-American and her mother is Jewish, descended from immigrants from Ireland and Russia. Jones attended Hebrew school and made the National Honor Society.

Around the age of 5 years old, Jones was already playing classical concerts and winning awards. When Jones was 14 years old, her parents divorced and she subsequently lived with her mother before beginning college at Harvard University. While attending Harvard, Jones initially was interested in becoming a lawyer, but lost interest as a result of watching the O.J. Simpson trial. Instead, she became involved in theater. She studied religion and philosophy at Harvard and graduated in 1997.

Though raised Jewish, Jones began practicing Hinduism in her early teens after her mother took her to an Ashram in India. Today, however, she practices Judaism and told a reporter, "In this day and age, you can choose how you practice and what is your relationship with God. I feel pretty strongly about my connection, definitely through the Jewish traditions".

Jones began the serious pursuit of an acting career in 1997, appearing in The Last Don. She has since appeared in Myth America, East of A, If These Walls Could Talk 2 and Little Black Book. She eventually landed the role of Louisa Fenn on Boston Public, which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination. Though she only had a minor supporting role in the series, other opportunities quickly surfaced. She sought out roles in independent films as well as in theatre. She guest starred as Karen Scarfoli on Freaks and Geeks and played the part of the downstairs neighbor, Karen, on the Stella pilot on Comedy Central. She also played special government agent Carmen Merced on the TNT show Wanted. She then played the female lead, Edie, on the seven episode drama NY-LON.

As a singer, Jones was a member and music director for Harvard's oldest co-ed a cappella group, The Harvard Opportunes. They performed an arrangement composed by Quincy Jones himself on the 1997 CD, Candy For The Children. She sang backup on the tracks "Tangled" "Secret" and "Not Coming Home" from Maroon 5's hit record, Songs About Jane. She also sang on the track "Kiwi" on their album It Won't Be Soon Before Long.

Jones has modeled for major clothing labels including Triple 5 Soul and The Gap. She has also appeared in editorials for magazines such as In Style and O Magazine.

In 2002, Jones was chosen as one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People," which she also received in 2007, as well as one of Harper's Bazaar's "Best Dressed Women In America."