Mark Ronson revealed that one of his earliest memories involved Robin Williams inexplicably showing up in his bedroom.
The DJ and producer — who has worked with Amy Winehouse, Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa — reflected on his unusual childhood during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Wednesday, September 17. Ronson grew up around celebrities as the son of music manager turned real estate mogul Laurence Ronson and socialite Ann Dexter-Jones. (After the musician’s parents split, Dexter-Jones married Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones twice — first from 1983 to 2007 and once again in 2017.)
Ronson, 50, surprised WWHL host Andy Cohen when he was asked about his first-ever celebrity encounter.
“My earliest childhood memory is of Robin Williams standing over my bed,” he declared. “My mom hit the clubs heavy and she brought Robin Williams home from the clubs. She [said], ‘You’ve got to come [home with me]. My son’s a huge fan.’”
The “Valerie” musician admitted that he had “no idea what [my mom] offered” Williams to actually give her son a bedside visit.
“Mork & Mindy was my favorite show and here’s the guy,” he recalled. “[My mom’s] a legend for a lot [of reasons].”
The nine-time Grammy winner also shared that his first foray into the music industry came at age 12 when he was hired to teach music at a Jewish summer camp.
“I was only 12 so I just made up words to songs, like I only knew real songs,” he hilariously remembered. “Like, ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ by Bad Company became ‘Feel Like Making Lunch.’”
He added, “That summer, I actually interned at Rolling Stone magazine, which was very cool too. It was a good doubleheader!”
Mark Ronson in June 2025 in New York City. Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
Ronson appeared on WWHL to promote his memoir Night People: How to Be a DJ in ’90s New York City, in which he writes about working for Sean “Diddy” Combs early in his career. The producer recalled that Diddy, now 55, left a major impression on him despite “probably [speaking] five sentences” to him during the time they worked together.
“Even to me, the DJ, he emitted a chaotic energy that left me both starstruck and deeply unnerved,” Ronson acknowledged in his book.
Looking back on his experiences with Diddy, Ronson noted that it was “abundantly clear” that Diddy “wielded a tremendous amount of power and cachet.”
“He made people’s careers — playing gigs for him certainly helped mine — and his disapproval meant a certain kind of exile,” Ronson recalled. “Nobody thought of Puffy as a rapper [but as] a force who could will anything into existence, no matter the cost.”
Ronson went on to an extremely successful career of his own as a DJ, songwriter and producer. He won the Producer of the Year Grammy Award for his work on Winehouse’s 2006 landmark album, Back to Black, and took home a Best Original Song Oscar for cowriting “Shallow” with Lady Gaga, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt for A Star Is Born.
His most recent studio album, 2019’s Late Night Feelings, spawned a hit collaboration with Cyrus on “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” and also featured guest appearances from Alicia Keys, Camila Cabello and King Princess, among others. More recently, he coproduced and cowrote songs for the Barbie soundtrack, including Ryan Gosling’s iconic anthem “I’m Just Ken” and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night.”
