Getting the Ronson siblings together is no easy task. After all, they have made being in demand an art form. Mark, 32, the hotshot music producer responsible for Amy Winehouse's breakout album and whose own release, Version, went double platinum in the U.K., splits his time between London and New York when he's not performing with the likes of Duran Duran or Jay-Z. Charlotte, 31, the downtown fashion designer who counts Kate Moss among her following, is busy working on her eponymous label and cohosting charity events. Her twin, Samantha, is an international DJ whose turntable skills are requested everywhere from Bel Air to Mumbai (though recently her most famous asset is Lindsay Lohan, whom she is rumored to be dating). "Not even on the high holiest of Jewish holidays do we all get together," says Mark wryly. "But we get together individually whenever we can."
Even before tabloid targets Winehouse and Lohan entered the picture, the Ronson family was a source of intrigue. Mother Ann Dexter-Jones is a social darling who married Laurence Ronson, a British real estate heir and band manager, and then eventually remarried to Mick Jones of Foreigner. The couple (who recently divorced) moved the family to New York when the children were in grade school and had two more of their own: Annabelle, 21, is a Bard student and aspiring actress who serves as Charlotte's top model, and Alexander, 23, is also a musician and DJ. "It would appear that we had a bohemian, rock 'n' roll upbringing," says Charlotte. "And in many ways it was, but our mother was superstrict, and we also had the very English, proper nanny." When asked about this, Dexter-Jones deadpans, "I used to be nicknamed Mummy Dearest."
That said, Dexter-Jones's get-togethers are legendary. Yes, the kids would wake up to the elder Ronson drinking Johnny Walker and playing chess with Daryl Hall at 8:00 a.m., when they were leaving for school. And sure, Al Pacino has come over for Christmas lunch. ("It was epic," says Samantha. "I had just watched Scarface, and I don't think I spoke.") Speculation about who was a houseguest has taken on mythic proportions. "People say that David Bowie and Andy Warhol would pop over for tea," says Mark. "If they did, I wish I had known."
The parallel between the Ronsons and the quirky prodigies, Chas, Margot, and Richie Tenenbaum, of the 2001 Wes Anderson-directed dramedy The Royal Tenenbaums isn't just a clever concept. All are products of an unusual upbringing and artistic environment.
"Samantha was and still is my renaissance child," says her mother. "She always loved music and books and had a tremendous curiosity and intensity, whatever subject caught her imagination."
Though Samantha is recognized as a celebrity DJ, she originally broke onto the scene as a folk singer and songwriter. (Coincidentally, one of her tunes was featured in Lohan's 2004 smash movie, Mean Girls.) Currently, she is remixing songs for Good Charlotte's greatest-hits album and hopes to get her band up and running again.
Lately, though, she has been in the spotlight for other reasons. When she discovered a small piece about herself and Lohan in Rolling Stone, she balked. "It's like, 'Oh, not you guys, too!'" says the typically press-shy Ronson. "I stay away from the tabloids. I don't feel that I should personally have to defend myself to a magazine. I don't sell pictures of my friends."
When asked about Lohan, Samantha is polite but firm. "I'm not going to talk about Lindsay because she's my friend, you know? She's great. She's also 22 years old. I think people forget that. With the Internet the way it is, one second we're enemies, one second we're best friends, one second we're lovers, and then we're broken up."
By press time, reports had trickled out on the Web that Samantha had changed her personal status on Facebook to "in a relationship," while photos of her and Lohan holding hands had circulated. She is accustomed to the speculation. "Even the airport-security guy in Canada asked me, 'So, is it true?'" laughs Samantha. "It's like, 'Oh, yeah, I'm telling you.'" Charlotte adds, "The funniest thing was, I bought a bunch of those tabloid magazines and didn't even notice that Samantha was on the cover of one."
Lohan, however, is unsurprisingly coy when she replies by e-mail: "I love the Ronsons. They're close to my heart and I respect all the work they do. Samantha and my relationship is a private matter."
The siblings' love of music is as mutual as their disdain for gossipy scrutiny. "At nine months old, Mark would crawl over to sit by the speakers while his father played records," says Dexter-Jones. "It's a miracle that they can both still hear." At seven, he was quizzing Keith Richards about the guitarist's choice of chords and compositions. Another famous Keith (Moon from the Who) gave him a toddler drum lesson. Bob Dylan is also an influence; Mark admits he mimics the singer's 1960s-era style, which has girls swooning at home in the U.K., but affixed to his arm these days is British It-girl model Daisy Lowe, 13 years his junior.
This past winter, Mark won three Grammy Awards, in part for his production of Winehouse's album Back to Black. The two later fell out when Winehouse publicly imploded during work on their collaboration for the new Bond film. The singer's rep maintained it was creative differences, while Mark hints otherwise. "At the time, it was hard to get some work done," he says diplomatically. "But she's been in the clinic. I've been to visit a few times, and she just looks amazing."
The fashion industry is similarly tumultuous, yet Charlotte has maintained her status as a successful designer since she began in 2000. "I was always interested in fashion," she says, "but I went to art school originally. I think if I really thought about it as a career, then I would have been scared off!" She started out by making custom T-shirts that were snapped up by Moss and Gwen Stefani, then formed C. Ronson, a contemporary line. Two years ago, she established the more mature and hipster-approved Charlotte Ronson label, which pulled in an impressive $22 million in worldwide sales in 2007. Recently, she partnered with pals Lily Allen and Nicole Richie to create limited-edition handbags that have sold like hotcakes at her flagship boutique in Tokyo.
Given the Ronsons' genetic fabulousness, it's safe to say that each of the trio is starting his or her own chapter of lore. One thing is obvious: They have one another's backs. Charlotte illustrates the point perfectly and sartorially: "When Samantha is walking around and all of the paparazzi are shooting her, I should have her wear a T-shirt that says, WEAR CHARLOTTE RONSON on the front. And on the back, it could say, AND LEAVE ME ALONE."
), I'd hoped all of their work would have been more like this, with more natural settings and less of the staged feeling like in Coco's editorial. Though I have to admit, that I'm not very familiar with their work so I'm not really in the positionto judge it.
