Grace Jones (see more)

Grace Jones



Grammy-nominee and three-time Saturn Award-nominee, Grace Jones can claim a career in show business by birthright. Her grandfather (on her mother's side) was a musician who traveled with Nat 'King' Cole. She was born Jamaica, to Marjorie Jones (née Williams) and Reverend Robert W. Jones. Though she was born in Jamaica, Grace was raised in Syracuse, New York, where she later studied Spanish at Syracuse University.


Halfway through college, she was approached by a drama professor who proposed that she come work with him in a play he was putting on in Philadelphia, she accepted. She was 18 when she moved back to New York, and signed on as a model with Wilhelmina Modeling agency. But, since her looks were not successfully received, she moved to Paris, France, where her androgynous, bold, dark-skinned appearance fostered her potential.
She modeled for Yves Saint-Laurent, Claude Montana, Kenzo Takada, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Hans Feurer and Azzedine Alaïa, and she appeared on the covers of "Elle", "Vogue", and "Der Stern". While modeling, she found herself acting, playing minor parts in film. Her debut film appearance was in Gordon's War (1973), she played the role of Mary, a drug smuggler. Grace started to work prolifically in the 1980s and became a successful American actress with her roles of Zula the amazonian in Conan, el destructor (1984), and May Day in the 14th James Bond film Panorama para matar (1985).
Other notable roles include: Katrina, the Egyptian queen vampire in Vamp (1986), Helen Strangé, the forceful and sex hungry model in the Eddie Murphy film, Boomerang (El príncipe de las mujeres) (1992), and Christoph/Christine, an intersexed circus performer in the made-for-television film, Wolf Girl (2001).

- IMDb Mini Biography By: tony.r.vario@gmail.com

Spouse 

Atila Altaunbay (24 February 1996 - 2004) (divorced)
Chris Stanley (1989 - 1991) (divorced)

Trivia

From a relationship with Jean-Paul Goude she has a son, Paulo (b. 12 November 1979).
During the 1970s, often attended legendary New York disco Studio 54.
She famously attacked British interviewer Russell Harty when he turned away from her to speak to the other guests on his programme.
Was signed to Island Records in 1977 and released her debut album "Portfolio".

Attended the 1986 wedding of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver on Cape Cod with Andy Warhol.
Lived with Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren for four years, who appeared with her in the Bond film Panorama para matar (1985), though contrary to popular rumor they were never engaged. He was also once her bodyguard.

Her androgynous and statuesque style made her extremely successful in New York City's underground and nightlife scenes and her sexually evocative stage shows and songs like "I Need A Man" earned her the title "The Queen of Gay Discos" because of her large following of gay men.
Was signed to one of New York's top modeling agencies but Grace's looks were too strong for American magazines, so she spent several years in Paris working as a successful model. 
Yves Saint-Laurent, Claude Montana, and Kenzo Takada hired her for runway modeling, and she appeared on the covers of "Elle", "Vogue", and "Stern" working with Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer. She also modeled for 'Azzedine Alaia', and was frequently photographed promoting their line. While modeling in Paris, she shared an apartment with Jerry Hall and Jessica Lange. Hall and Jones frequented Club Sept, one of Paris's most popular gay clubs of the 1970s and '80s, and socialized with Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld.
Speaks seven languages.

Was a close friend and confidant of Andy Warhol's and was a member of his entourage. Warhol made a portrait of her.
Shocked audience members in 1998 when she exposed her breasts during a Disney World performance. She was banned from the park.
Sister of Noel Jones, subject of Sophie Fiennes' 2002 documentary, Hoover Street Revival (2002).
Ranked #82 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock 'n Roll.
Was ranked #19 in Channel 5's "World's greatest supermodel".

Her ex-husband, a Hungarian, was born in 1976. He was only 20 years old when they got married, being 28 years younger than his wife.
Was honored with Q's Idol Award in 2008.
"Bishop Robert W. Jones Way", a street in Syracuse, New York is named after her father, for his community outreach with the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ.
Became friends with Sarah Douglas during the filming of Conan, el destructor (1984), in fact Grace bought Sarah a motorcycle for her 34th birthday.
She appeared on the Danish TV show Go' Aften Danmark (Good Evening Denmark), helping her old friend Sven-Ole Thorsen promote a new book of his. [May 2007]

Personal Quotes 

[on drug use] Use, don't abuse.
[on her gay following] The fact that I get in there and perform during this political time, and have a great time doing it helps. Gays are my best audience.
[on her film career, or lack thereof] After the doing the first big film (Conan, el destructor (1984)), I realized there was so much time, so much empty space -- always, you know... waiting to be called. Thank God, I've got the music because in all that space, I was writing music.

[on how she became to be a singer] I never thought I was going to be a singer. That was an accident.
[on her stage persona] When I perform on stage I become those male bullies, those dominators from my childhood. That's probably why it's so scary, because they scared me.
[on her aggressive behavior] I think I am aggressive in a positive way, it protects me- it puts everyone on their guard-to be nice to me.

[on sexuality, and categorizing one's sexual preferences] Of course I find women attractive, I think that if I didn't - I wouldn't find myself attractive. I think one has to begin first within themselves - then go from there, and for me to say that I don't find women attract would be saying that I don't find myself attractive. It doesn't make me anything, I think it is ridiculous trying to categorize people's feelings or to say what one person prefers, there's no comparison. You can't just say one is better than the other, or one is worse than the other - do what you feel, when you feel like it, if you feel like it.

[on her mothering] I have one formula that really works, and that is never use a negative word to him (her son), ever. I never said, "no", "don't", "never" - I said, "If you have any more sweeties, all your teeth either are not going to grow, or fall out" or, "if you want to go in the swimming pool - you'll drown".

[on preparing for the role of Katrina in Vamp (1986)] I read "Interview With a Vampire", my character was based on that character in a sense, it wasn't taken from the book, but I did read that book in order to get the feeling of putting human feelings into it, and I guess I started smoking cigarettes as a habit, just to see what a habit feels like, because I haven't got any.

[on the misconception of her characters in Conan, el destructor (1984), and Vamp (1986)] I do get hurt, I do cry, I do have feelings. I think it is a nice surprise to see a vulnerable side to me in my music, I'm multifaceted, I think everybody is, I am developing my vulnerable side, and one day it will come out in film.

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