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" More having to do whatever anybody said you had to do. I couldn't really do anything on my own. But as I got older and then came to America and then Grace became my name, it somehow freed me. All of a sudden, I can be this other person. "

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" Mum was a high-jumper and qualified to go to the Olympics, but it got into the newspapers that she was married to my father, and the church put pressure on her to pull out of the Olympic team, saying, 'You can't be exposing all your legs.' That's how strong the influence of the church was on us all. "

Grace Jones

Father

Saying

Team

" 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? "

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Diva

" Now when I enter a carriage, it almost empties. But there's always one brave enough to stay. "

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

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

Grace Jones

Feel

I Am

" Hiding, secrets, and not being able to be yourself is one of the worst things ever for a person. It gives you low self-esteem. You never get to reach that peak in your life. You should always be able to be yourself and be proud of yourself. "

" I like to think of myself as a positive person. Otherwise I wouldn't have had a child. "

" I had no childhood, really, so I imagined more than played, and that definitely led to my showbusiness image, the theatrics and the drama of my life. "

" Music has its own depths, and I let it take me where it takes me, even if it means stripping all my clothes off. "

Grace Jones

Music

Depths

" Yelling between people in love is normal. "

" Shock always sells. You know? But you could shock in good taste. "

" When you become such a strong personality in music, it's hard for people to accept you as a different character. "

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

Grace Jones

Seem

People

" Growing up in Jamaica, the Pentecostal church wasn't that fiery thing you might think. It was very British, very proper. Hymns. No dancing. Very quiet. Very fundamental. "

" If you want me to work with you, then come with an idea. Come with music. "

Grace Jones

You

Want

" I just go with the flow, I follow the yellow brick road. I don't know where it's going to lead me, but I follow it. "

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

" In the Seventies and Eighties we all had our fun, and now and then we went really too far. But, ultimately, it required a certain amount of clear thinking, a lot of hard work and good make-up to be accepted as a freak. "

" 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. "

Grace Jones

I Am

Down

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

" 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. "

" 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

" Listen to my advice; I have some experience. In a way, it is me being a teacher, which is what I wanted to be. I still feel I could go into teaching. What is teaching but passing on your knowledge to those who are at the beginning? Some people are born with that gift. "

" 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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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

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

" 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

" It's the nature of man to give and receive - to be man and woman, all in one. "