Grace Jones
A fearless Jamaican-born performer who weaponized androgyny and avant-garde style to shatter boundaries in music, fashion, and visual art.
Born 1948 (age 78)·Jamaican singer, actress and model·Birthday: May 19·Baby Boomers
Biography
Grace Jones arrived in New York from Jamaica and immediately treated the city as a stage. Her modeling career wasn't about conformity; with her stark cheekbones and towering frame, she became a muse for photographers like Helmut Newton, who captured her as a powerful, sometimes intimidating sculpture. Paris fashion houses embraced her, but Jones was never content to be just a mannequin. She pivoted to music, channeling that same formidable energy into a series of disco and new wave records produced by Chris Blackwell. Her stage shows were performance art spectacles, and her persona—a fusion of the robotic and the primal—challenged every preconception about Black femininity. In film, from "Conan the Destroyer" to "A View to a Kill," she brought an unsettling, captivating presence. Jones didn't just push envelopes; she built entirely new containers for identity.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Grace was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Grace Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Grace's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 78 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Pioneered an androgynous, high-concept visual aesthetic that profoundly influenced fashion and pop culture.
- Released the seminal album "Nightclubbing" (1981), featuring the hits "Pull Up to the Bumper" and "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)".
- Starred in iconic films such as "Conan the Destroyer" and the James Bond movie "A View to a Kill".
- Her modeling work in the 1970s made her one of the most prominent and distinctive Black faces in high fashion.
Did You Know?
She is the older sister of the bishop and politician Noel Jones.
She performed "Slave to the Rhythm" while hula-hooping for the entire duration of the song on stage.
She lived with the artist Jean-Paul Goude for several years, a collaboration that defined her iconic album covers and stage image.
She won a Grammy for Best Music Video in 1986 for her collaboration with Trevor Horn, "Slave to the Rhythm".
“I'm not a one-dimensional person. I'm not just a singer, I'm not just a model, I'm not just an actress. I'm a total person.”
