Claim: Grace Jones's style drew on funk.

Grace Jones -LRB- born 19 May 1948 -RRB- is a Jamaican born singer , songwriter , lyricist , supermodel , record producer , and actress . Born in Jamaica , at age 13 she moved with her siblings to their parents ' home in Syracuse , New York . Jones began her modelling career in New York state , then in Paris , working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo , and appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue . She worked with photographers such as Helmut Newton , Guy Bourdin , and Hans Feurer , and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features .   In 1977 Jones secured a record deal with Island Records , initially becoming a star of New York City 's Studio 54-centered disco scene . In the early 1980s she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae , funk , post-punk , and pop music , frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie . Her most popular albums include Warm Leatherette -LRB- 1980 -RRB- , Nightclubbing -LRB- 1981 -RRB- , and Slave to the Rhythm -LRB- 1985 -RRB- . She scored Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart with `` Pull Up to the Bumper '' , `` I 've Seen That Face Before '' , `` Private Life '' , and `` Slave to the Rhythm '' . In 1982 , she released the music video collection A One Man Show , directed by Goude .   Jones appeared in some low-budget films in the US during the 1970s and early 1980s . In 1984 she made her first mainstream appearance as Zula in the fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sarah Douglas , and subsequently appeared in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill as May Day . In 1986 she played a vampire in Vamp , and acted in and contributed a song to the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang . She appeared alongside Tim Curry in the 2001 film Wolf Girl . For her work in Conan the Destroyer , A View to a Kill , and Vamp , she was nominated for Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actress .   In 1999 , Jones ranked 82nd on VH1 's 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll , and in 2008 , she was honored with a Q Idol Award . Jones influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 1980s and has been an inspiration for artists including Annie Lennox , Lady Gaga , Rihanna , Lorde , Róisín Murphy , Brazilian Girls , Nile Rodgers , Santigold , Basement Jaxx and Stanka Brljevic . In December 2016 , Billboard magazine ranked her as the 40th most successful dance artist of all time .