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" Even though the agency kept me pretty busy, I auditioned for every play and film I could find. But they all wanted a black American sound, and I just didn't have it. Finally, I got tired of trotting around and took myself to Paris. "

Grace Jones

Black

American

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" I'm always rebelling. I don't think I'll ever stop. "

" I've had more misrepresentations than I can handle, and people have told the wickedest lies about me. A lot of them have taken their frustrations out on me, and I don't like that because it can wound. Not necessarily me, but those around me. Journalists can be so bad. "

Grace Jones

Bad

" You had to wear a hat to go to church. We weren't allowed to straighten our hair. We couldn't wear jewellery, nail polish, open backed shoes, skirts above the knee... trousers were forbidden because male apparel on a female was not godly. "

" 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. "

Grace Jones

Strict

Hair

" My mum was very glamorous, an incredible seamstress. She made up those Vogue, Givenchy and Yves St. Laurent patterns they used to sell. It was church couture, darling! Because my dad was a pastor, she could get away with more than other women. Her skirts were that bit tighter. "

" It's important that the sexes understand each other. "

" One creates oneself. "

Grace Jones

Oneself

Creates

" They used to call me Firefly when I was a little girl, and I always tried to figure out why I was being called a firefly. I was really black, black, black from the sun. After being in Jamaica for 13 years, my eyes were really beady and white, and my skin was really black. I must have really looked like a fly. My eyes looked like lights, like stars. "

" I like dressing like a guy. I love it. When I was modeling I used to do pictures where I would dress up like my little brother. No makeup, and I looked like a boy. "

" I like to experiment, and as an actress, I always thought it's good to be open about a lot of things. "

Grace Jones

Lot

Open

" 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. "

" Yelling between people in love is normal. "

" I don't take the English press seriously at all because all they want is dirt... I hate them. "

" People always like to make me seem taller than I am. "

Grace Jones

Seem

People

" I'm not a rock star; I'm a soft person. "

" I always thought that feminine, softer side was just too vulnerable to put out there, because then it's like you're opening up a door for everybody to come in, and you don't know who's going to come in that door. "

Grace Jones

Know

Door

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I'm not as impatient as I used to be. I used to hit people if I didn't like what they were saying. Just lash out. 'Bam - shut up! Hahahah!' I was terrible. "

" I've turned down millions of dollars to go on reality TV. It's an absolute no-go. "

" I wanted to be a 'jungle mom', where you're giving birth and getting up and doing things straightaway. "

" I believe in individuality, that everybody is special, and it's up to them to find that quality and let it live. "

" I feel feminine when I feel feminine. I feel masculine when I feel masculine. I am a role switcher. "

Grace Jones

Feel

I Am

" We're not perfect; we all have things that people might not like to see, and I like to show my faults. "

" 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. "

" My brother used to get beaten up all the time because he was very effeminate. "

" I am not a diva: I am a Jones. 'Diva' is so overused. Diva, icons, the whole thing, legends... To be a diva, what is that? "

Grace Jones

Icons

Diva

" I came from a very strict background, and didn't hear any Jamaican music when I was growing up. "

" I loved all those classic figures from the '30s and '40s... Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Humphrey Bogart, Rita Hayworth. They had such glamour and style. I loved the movies of those times too - so much attention paid to details, lights, clothing, the way the studios would develop talent. "

" I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich. But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money. And too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary. "