In Jamaica we had the English way of schooling from the age of four, so when I got to America I was already a few years advanced because I started school at the age of three-and-a-half rather than six and my grades moved up accordingly. In America, they start you at school at six because the grades are different. I had to take a test and they didn't know what to do with me. It wasn't that I was any smarter; I had just started younger. All of a sudden I was jumped from eighth to tenth grade. They said I was very smart, but I was only smart in languages, really.
Grace JonesWhatever one is creating, one has to stick to one's guns and just do it. That is all. Put your foot down and do not let your work be compromised.
Grace JonesIt 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 JonesIt's ridiculous for a woman to say that she's not attracted to other women. That's completely false.
Grace JonesI would have rebelled against parental authority, no matter what. When I was 15, I started painting my face and making my own clothes.
Grace JonesI see myself as no color. I can play the role of a man. I can paint my face white if I want to and play the role of white. I can play a green, I can be a purple. I think I have that kind of frame and that kind of attitude where I can play an animal. If you think in color, then everyone around you is going to think in color and that puts limits on the way you think. I don't think like that. A lot of the roles that I'm doing are roles that a man or a person of any color can do.
Grace Jones