Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jonesis a Jamaican singer, songwriter, lyricist, supermodel, record producer, and actress. She was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica and raised by her grandparents. At 13 she moved with her siblings to their parents' home in Syracuse, New York. Jones started out as a model, initially in New York state, then in Paris, working for Yves St. Laurent, Claude Montana, and Kenzo Takada, and appearing on the covers of Elle, Vogue, and Stern working with Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and...
ProfessionPop Singer
Date of Birth19 May 1948
CitySpanish Town, Jamaica
Women and men grow up with both sexes. Our mothers and fathers mean a lot to us, so it's just a question of finding a balance between their influences. I've found mine. And it tends to be more on the male side. I mean male side the way we understand it in the West.
My husband used to shout at my mother, 'What is wrong with your daughter? I'm married to a man.'
There're lots of musicians in my family, too. My mother sings incredibly well. I've got to make a record with my mother's voice on it. She sings a lyric soprano. We do the opposite. I'm a baritone. She's a star singer in her church. She always does her solo.
My mother was a champion high-jumper. My three brothers are basketball players. We've all been very athletic.
I don't like people who hide things. We're not perfect, we all have things that people might not like to see, and I like to show my faults.
It was very painful combing my hair. My grand-uncle was a Pentecostal bishop, and he was very strict: our hair couldn't be permed or straightened. So I just cut it all off.
When I started modelling, I'd raise my arms and it was all muscle and all the other models had nothing. Really, everybody thought I was a man. I don't have to do much to have muscles. It's just genetic.
I don't like people who hide things.
I would have rebelled against parental authority, no matter what. When I was 15, I started painting my face and making my own clothes.
I don't think 'pop' should mean that you had no talent.
I was skinny as a rail and had high cheekbones and a very interesting face - or so I was told.
I was the only black girl at my junior high school. I had an afro, a Jamaican accent, I looked really old.
I'm not a rock star, I'm a soft person.
There will always be a replacement coming along very soon - a newer version, a crazier version, a louder version. So if you haven’t got a long-term plan, then you are merely a passing phase, the latest trend, yesterday’s event.