Mysterious Facts About Grace Jones, Pop’s Biggest Enigma
Just calling Grace Jones an enigmatic character doesn’t do her justice. This model-actor-singer thrives on creating chaos, uncertainty, and on using her work to inspire others to boldly face their biggest fears.
Delighting in telling the press half-truths about her own life, Jones’s personal life is, to put it mildly, a bit of a mystery. Join us as we separate the facts from fiction in the life of Grace Jones.
1. No One Knows Her Real Age
Grace Jones is pretty sure she was born in 1948, but somewhere along the way, sources started listing her birth year as 1952. It didn’t matter much to Jones, though—in her own words, “
the world likes to know a person’s age for some reason, as if that number explains everything. I don’t care at all. I like to keep the mystery.”
There are some things she is absolutely sure about though—such as the very real horrors of her childhood.
2. Her Parents Left Her Behind
To say she had a rough childhood is the understatement of the century. As a child, her mother and father left for the United States to make a living, leaving her and her six siblings in the care of their grandmother and step-grandfather in Jamaica. Jones grew up under the thumb of her step-grandfather’s extreme, religious zeal… and Jones often found herself on the wrong side of that zeal.
3. Her Step-Grandfather Was A Sadist
Her step-grandfather, who she called “Mas P,” didn’t want children, and now he suddenly had seven of them dumped onto his lap. Resenting their presence, Mas P used a blend of religion and fear to keep all seven of them in line.
Jones thought of him as a sadist, using his power as their guardian to beat them under the thinnest of pretenses—and the beatings happened frequently and brutally.
4. Punishments Were Personal
The children each had their own “personal” leather belt that they were beaten with, varying in weight and size, depending on their age. Savagely, Jones sometimes got hit with a heavier belt for transgressions deemed especially sinful.
Beatings didn’t always happen after she did something wrong either—sometimes, she was beat simply because she “might” do something wrong. She reached out for help—and it backfired.
