Born into a family of Jamaican ministers, statuesque and strikingly beautiful Grace Jones broke from family tradition when she moved to Syracuse, New York, and began seeking out work as a model. Gaining fame as the cover girl for such with-it publications as Vogue and Elle, Jones briefly moved into acting in 1973. She was far more successful as a "funk singer" on the pop-music scene, scoring the first of many hits with her 1976 album Portfolio. A darling of the disco scene, she wowed her fans with her outrageous stage appearances, sharing space with wild animals and wilder props. Returning to films in the early 1980s, Grace Jones ignited the screen with her vitriolic, sexually ambivalent characterizations in such actioners as Conan the Destroyer (1984) and A View to a Kill (1986), and more recently in Boomerang(1992).
Grace Jones
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Biography by AllMovie
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Factsheet
- Has a vocal range spanning two-and-a-half octaves.
- Moved to New York with her parents in 1965.
- Became a model at age 18, rooming with Jerry Hall and Jessica Lange while living in Paris.
- Her debut single, "I Need a Man," recorded in 1975, reached number 1 on the Billboard dance chart.
- Landed a recording contract with Island Records in 1977; released her debut album, Portfolio, later that year.
- Her hit 1985 single "Slave to the Rhythm" was originally written for the Frankie Goes to Hollywood.