Raj Kristo Gupta was the son of the late Good Times actress Ja’Net DuBois. He died of cancer aged 36. Despite his mother being a Hollywood star, she kept his death away from the public eye and grieved in private. Raj Kristo’s mother was best known for her role as Willona Woods, the neighborhood gossip maven on the CBS sitcom Good Times. She also co-wrote and sang The Jeffersons theme song Movin’ on Up.
Did Raj Kristo have any siblings? And who was his father? This article will shed more light on Raj’s life.
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Raj Kristo Gupta Bio
Raj Kristo Gupta was born in 1951 to Ja’Net DuBois and Sajit Gupta. His parents married in 1950 and divorced sometime in 1959 or after 1964. Raj battled cancer for three years before he died in 1987 at age 36.
According to some sources, Raj worked with her mother at the Ja’Net DuBois Academy of Theater Arts and Sciences, a performing arts school for teenagers on Long Island, New York. Raj’s parents kept his details from the public eye from when he was young and stayed away from the limelight until his death.
Raj Kristo Gupta’s Siblings
Even though no one can replace the loss of a loved one, Raj’s mother was lucky she had three children to comfort her when she lost her son. The three siblings of Raj include Provat Gupta, Rani Gupta, and Kesha Gupta-Fields. Provat is a California-based basketball coach. Rani followed in her mother’s footsteps to become an actress. Kesha has maintained a low profile over the years.
Raj Kristo Gupta’s Parents
Raj’s father, Sajit Gupta, is a public figure born in 1945 in the United States, is of Indian-American ethnicity, and practices Hinduism. According to some unconfirmed sources, he is a singer, composer, and actor, but mostly he is famous for being Ja’Net DuBois’ husband. Ja’Net and Sajit married in 1970 and had four children together. It is unclear when the couple divorced since some sources claim it was in 1959, while other records show they were still married in 1964.
Raj’s mother Ja’Net DuBois was born Jeannette Theresa Dubois. Her date of birth was 5 August, but the years are unclear, whether 1932, 1938, or 1945. She was raised in Amityville, New York, on Long Island, by her parents, Lillian Gouedy and Gordon Adelbert Dubois. She began her acting career in the early ’60s and made her Broadway debut playing a small role in the short-lived play The Long Dream in February 1960. She appeared in A Raisin in the Sun, followed by The Blacks in October 1963.
Ja’Net’s television acting credits in television and film include the 1969 J.T., Love of Life from 1970 to 1972, Diary of a Mad Housewife in 1970, Five on the Black Hand Side in 1973, and The Hot I Baltimore in 1973. In February 1974, Ja’Net appeared in the CBS sitcom Good Times as Wilona Woods until the show ended in August 1979.
In 1983, Ja’Net recorded the album Ja’Net DuBois, on her Peanuts and Caviar label.
Ja’Net died of cardiac arrest at her Glendale home, California, on 17 February 2020.
Final Thoughts
Ja’Net did a great job raising her four children while handling her acting career. Although she suffered an immeasurable loss when her son Raj died, she held on strong with her other children.
