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
I go feminine, I go masculine. I am both, actually. I think the male side is a bit stronger in me, and I have to tone it down sometimes. I'm not like a normal woman, that's for sure.
I didn't think I had a voice at all, and I still think of myself as an interpreter of songs more than a singer. I thought it was too deep; people thought I was a man. I had a very strong Jamaican accent, too; the accent really messed me up for auditions.
When you become such a strong personality in music, it's hard for people to accept you as a different character.
Survival is my primary instinct...it's out of my control. It's stronger than me. It's an outside force, a voice that says 'do this for your life or it will devour you.'
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.