Iconic isn't a strong enough word. For a decade, Grace Jones was just everywhere. Music, Fashion. Film. If you were out of diapers in the 1980s you knew Grace Jones.

Born on May 19, 1948, in Spanish Town, Jamaica, she started of in modelling, crushing runways with her unapologetically black, androgynous, and "fierce" self. She transitioned that expression to music with the release of her debut album, "Portfolio," in 1977.

Her subsequent albums, including "Nightclubbing" (1981), blended reggae, funk, and new wave, to critical acclaim. Her albums broadcast what can be poorly described as a kind of ferocious detachment. Restrained-but-straining desire. Savoir faire with plenty of kiss my derriere.

Her roles in films such as "A View to a Kill" and "Conan the Destroyer" only increased her visibility.