Grace Kelly’s Troubled Childhood Revealed in New Book

Grace Kelly's princess persona masked her dark childhood with a physically abusive mother and sister and anti-Semitic father who offered her Jewish boyfriend a Jaguar to go away but who approved of ‘Catholic' Bing Crosby

The patrician blonde from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Grace Kelly came out to Hollywood in the 1950s as a struggling actress and exuded more sophistication and glamour than any other actress at the time.

But her charisma and talent disguised a harsh childhood with a physically abusive mother, a boorish anti-Semitic father, and a sister who continually beat her up, it is revealed in the new book, Grace Kelly: Hollywood Dream Girl, by Jay Jorgensen and Manoah Bowman, Dey Street, an imprint of William Morrow publishers.

Kelly, a Hollywood legend who later became royalty, slept with many of her co-stars and fell in love with many including ‘The King of Hollywood' Clark Gable, while on location.

But her husband, Prince Rainier of Monaco was different than any of her Hollywood sweethearts.

When she accepted his marriage proposal, her close friend and fashion designer Oleg Cassini told her: ‘One of the reasons I believe you're marrying this man is because this is the best script that you ever received in your life. You will be a star for years to come.'

The Hollywood starlet was born in 1929 to a wealthy family. Her father, John B. Kelly (right) amassed a fortune with a bricklaying business in Philadelphia and won a gold medal for sculling in the 1920 Olympics held in Belgium

Grace's friend, Judith Balaban Quine viewed the upcoming nuptials differently.

‘He was her prince on a white charger and he was going to rescue her from all this. He could not possibly have known that what he was taking her from what made her the very person he loved. She did not know it either,' she was quoted at the time.

‘Grace realized she would never be able to act again, which is what she had wanted more than anything else,' actress friend Rita Gam is quoted.

The Hollywood starlet was born in 1929 to a wealthy family. Her father, John B. Kelly, amassed a fortune with a bricklaying business in Philadelphia and won a gold medal for sculling in the 1920 Olympics held in Belgium.

He was rarely at home, consumed with his business, golf, and politics but ‘he never attained the ‘Main Line' status of the old-money Philadelphia families, because he had worked as a laborer', the book states.

That made the Irish Catholic Kelly all the more determined to succeed and prove his worth – and he did. He was elected to the City Council of Philadelphia becoming one of the city's favorite sons.

At home in Philadelphia's East Falls, he stressed achieving goals with his four children.

When the youngest, Elizabeth, ‘Lizanne' was born, Grace admitted she resented no longer being the baby of the family and the center of attention.

Lizanne confessed to elbowing her older sister out of the way and becoming the chosen daughter.

‘I used to beat her up – yes, I really did! I was the brat sister who made her life miserable, especially if she was with her boyfriends,' she said.

Grace idolized her father but winning his approval proved to be nearly impossible.

He set his stars on Peggy, Grace's older sister and paid no attention to Grace, so the young girl turned to her mother for love and affection.

But Margaret Kelly believed in old-fashioned punishments. ‘Today, Ma Kelly would be arrested for child abuse because she did not spare the rod. And she did not spoil the child. She demanded obedience,' Lizanne confessed.

Grace viewed the competitive spirit that her father aggressively encouraged as sinister.

‘We were always competing for everything – competing for love,' Grace remembered.

Grace's younger sister Lizanne (pictured right) admitted to being the ‘brat sister who made her life miserable.' Acting in school plays helped Grace's confidence and by 16, and the boys at the private school she attended began to take notice

She wasn't going to win at athletics so she focused on the theater following in the footsteps of her namesake, Aunt Grace and her uncle Walter Kelly, a vaudeville and 1930s film actor.

Her uncle George Kelly had been an actor turned playwright and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1926.

Grace dreamed of pursuing acting but was no young beauty.

She was somewhat overweight, wore glasses, was insecure about having a small bust and had a ‘thin, nasal voice from years of sinus problems'.

Acting in school plays helped her confidence and by 16, and the boys at the private Stevens School she attended, began to take notice.

‘She always had a lot of boyfriends,' friend Jane Hughes recalled. ‘I didn't feel she was wild. She was just attractive and she was kind of a star…I don't think she ever missed any of the dances or was without a date on the weekends.'

After graduating, Grace attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York – but her parents hoped she would get the acting bug out of her system and ‘grow up to marry some nice boy.'

Their only stipulation was that she must live at the all-women Barbizon Hotel in Manhattan, once home to Joan Crawford, Gene Tierney and Lauren Bacall.

Afternoon tea was served daily and no men were allowed in the hotel after 10 pm and never above the first floor.

She was off to a roaring start dating – an actor, Johnny Miles, classmate Herbie Miller and then in her second year a romance blossomed with her instructor Don Richardson.

Grace also dated Ray Milland, who was her co-star in Dial M for Murder (pictured on set) Milland, married but separated at the time, fell in love with Grace and openly courted her

Grace dated legendary singer and actor Bing Crosby, her co-star in The Country Girl. He proposed and Grace's mother approved because Crosby was Catholic and a widower but

Grace dated legendary singer and actor Bing Crosby, her co-star in The Country Girl. He proposed and Grace's mother approved because Crosby was Catholic and a widower but Grace was not in love with him

This little affair they kept secret, because Richardson was married. Richardson thought Grace's voice projection was weak but he did believe she was quite photogenic.

She was also considered rather tall at five feet seven.

Grace's parents insisted on meeting this fellow but when she took him to Philadelphia, John Kelly boorishly revealed his anti-Semitism and the family members all burst out laughing when Richardson told them Grace was going to be an important movie star one day.

When the couple was out of the house, Margaret Kelly rifled through Richardson's suitcase and uncovered a letter revealing his upcoming divorce.

Richardson was ordered to leave promptly and never return.

Grace didn't fight back and ‘always found it difficult to express her darkest emotions'.

She was offered a role in a Broadway play and started seeing Richardson again secretly, but after her father found out he offered Richardson a Jaguar to end the relationship, the book states.

Richardson declined the rather crude offer but it only escalated the end of the affair.

Grace performed in more than 60 live television dramas before her first film offer.

The starlet was said to have ‘led on' famed fashion designer Oleg Cassini (pictured at the Hollywood premiere of Rear Window in 1954) She accepted his proposal but later broke off their engagement

The starlet was said to have ‘led on' famed fashion designer Oleg Cassini (pictured at the Hollywood premiere of Rear Window in 1954) She accepted his proposal but later broke off their engagement

She went from Hollywood star to royalty after she married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956 (pictured together at the Monte Carlo Ball) She retreated from acting after her marriage

She went from Hollywood star to royalty after she married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956 (pictured together at the Monte Carlo Ball) She retreated from acting after her marriage

Her second came from Stanley Kramer's office in Los Angeles – co-starring with Gary Cooper in High Noon.

She showed up wearing white gloves – unheard of in Hollywood – and she moved into an apartment at the infamous Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard.

‘I was new then. I knew at the time I was bad — and I had much to learn,' Grace is quoted. She then went back to New York to study acting.

In September 1952, she got the call to screen test in Hollywood for Magambo, with Clark Gable playing a big game hunter.

Grace didn't want to be ‘one of the crowd' and her lawyer demanded contractual stipulations that she be allowed to take time off to do Broadway plays and could live in New York. The studio agreed and signed her to a seven-year contract for $750 a week.

‘Grace was swept away by the natural beauty of Africa on location for Mogambo and responded by falling in love with Clark Gable who was old enough to be her father.

‘Both were single at the time and neither made any attempt to conceal their on-set romance,' according to the book.

The water was not drinkable so the cast and crew consumed alcohol.

‘[Grace] was never much of a drinker. Her nose would get pink, she'd get sick, and we'd have to rescue her. Or she'd get easily hurt …and run off into the darkness.'

Grace's close friend, Judith Balaban Quine (pictured together shopping at Cartier) said Prince Rainier was not aware that he was taking her from what made her the very person he loved

Grace's close friend, Judith Balaban Quine (pictured together shopping at Cartier) said Prince Rainier was not aware that he was taking her from what made her the very person he loved

Grace believed the love affair with Gable would continue back in Hollywood but when they returned to London, Gable denied all rumors of a romance.

Grace's close friend Balabine Quine knew that Gable had been seriously in love with Grace.

‘The King' had determined that they should part only as friends because he sadly believed their age difference would bring them unhappiness and distance in too few years.'

He was 28 years her senior.

Hitchcock saw a preview of Mogambo and wanted her for his next movie, Dial M for Murder.

The director wanted Cary Grant to play her husband but his salary and percentage of the profits demands were too high so he settled on actor Ray Milland, 22 years her senior.

‘Hitchcock controlled Grace perfectly,' writer Alexander Walker stated. He wanted to bring out ‘the smoldering amorousness that ladylike exterior concealed.'

Hitch told off-color stories to Milland in front of her to see if he offended her, but she told him she had heard all those stories when she was thirteen at a girls' convent school.

‘When he [Hitchcock] got his hands on women, he did so through his camera. He put them through it. He made the ladies suffer. And then he redeemed her at the end and she finished up still a lady and intact,' according to Alexander Walker.

Milland, married but separated at the time, fell in love with Grace and openly courted her.

Milland's wife wanted her husband back and tipped off gossip columnists that Grace was a homewrecker.

Despite her parents' lack of support, Grace rose to the top of the industry playing alongside Hollywood's leading men. Above she is pictured on set speaking with Cary Grant

Despite her parents' lack of support, Grace rose to the top of the industry playing alongside Hollywood's leading men. Above she is pictured on set speaking with Cary Grant

Grace's younger sister Elizabeth, ‘Lizanne' (pictured left holding up a mirror for Grace) was born in 1933 and Grace admitted she resented no longer being the baby of the family and the center of attention

Grace's younger sister Elizabeth, ‘Lizanne' (pictured left holding up a mirror for Grace) was born in 1933 and Grace admitted she resented no longer being the baby of the family and the center of attention

Grace's father stepped in and ordered Grace to give up Milland and return to New York.

‘Grace was devastated when in the end, Milland returned to his wife.'

By 1954, Grace was hot, still in love with Ray Milland when designer and ex-husband of actress Gene Tierney came calling. But first up was an affair with married actor William Holden, her co-star in The Bridges at Toko-Ri.

She then moved on to Bing Crosby, her co-star in The Country Girl.

He proposed and Grace's mother approved because Crosby was Catholic and a widower but Grace was not in love.

Cassini was still in hot pursuit while Grace led him on and finally agreed to marry him.

He was hardly acceptable to her parents who informed him so on meeting. He had been married twice before.

So Grace moved back into the arms of an old flame, Jean-Pierre Aumont and they talked about marriage in the spring of 1955 while attending the Cannes Film Festival.

While in France, a journalist at Paris Match magazine, suggested that the movie queen meet the real-life Prince Charming, Rainier of Monaco – just for a photo op.

The gorgeous Hollywood legend starlet's second film was 1952's High Noon, co-starring with Gary Cooper

The gorgeous Hollywood legend starlet's second film was 1952's High Noon, co-starring with Gary Cooper

Grace was described to have had made a ‘luminous climb' to the top the industry. Above she is pictured alongside Frank Sinatra in High Society

Grace was described to have had made a ‘luminous climb' to the top the industry. Above she is pictured alongside Frank Sinatra in High Society

At the time of their meeting she described him as ‘charming'. And then she was back in Aumont's arms.

By December, Rainier was coming to the States and asked to visit Grace and her family in Philadelphia.

The couple had been corresponding but Grace considered not going back to Philly to meet him.

She consented at the last minute and for two days, out of the public eye, ‘walking in the woods, driving through the mountains, and talking about life and values – they fell in love.'

He proposed and she accepted.

‘Everything was perfect', she said of their time in Philly. ‘When I was with him, I was happy wherever we were, and I was happy with whatever we were doing.'

‘If I'd met the prince two or three years earlier, perhaps I might not have married him – at least not so soon. But we came together at the right time.'

Finally, he was the one man that met the approval of John B. Kelly.

Grace fell into the role of the well-bred 1950s women who married, had children, let their husbands run the household while they did charitable work and planned parties.

‘Before we all knew it, she was gone', Jimmy Stewart remembered. ‘She had made this extraordinary, luminous climb to the absolute top apex of the industry'.

She could have call all the shots – what films she wanted to make.

‘She fell in love and she said, “Bye,”‘ said friend Judith Balaban Quine.

Grace never imagined that this would-be fairytale life in Monaco would be harder than ‘any day on a movie set, and she would be called upon to create more illusion that she had as an actress' when she set sail for the poorest state in Europe in April 1956 with her family and her pet poodle, Oliver and 80 pieces of luggage.

She famously fell in love with Prince Rainier of Monaco after spending time together with him in Philadelphia. ‘I had been through several unhappy romances. Although I had become a star, I was feeling lost and confused. I didn't want to drift into my 30s without knowing where I was going in my personal life,' she said

She famously fell in love with Prince Rainier of Monaco after spending time together with him in Philadelphia. ‘I had been through several unhappy romances. Although I had become a star, I was feeling lost and confused. I didn't want to drift into my 30s without knowing where I was going in my personal life,' she said

‘I had been through several unhappy romances. Although I had become a star, I was feeling lost and confused. I didn't want to drift into my 30s without knowing where I was going in my personal life,' Grace said.

At the end of the honeymoon, she was Princess Grace of Monaco and pregnant.

She suffered morning sickness, her husband's erratic temperament, not feeling particularly welcome in the Monegasque society.

She had their first child, daughter Caroline in 1957, and the following year, son Albert. She suffered two miscarriages after he was born, and then had Stephanie in 1965.

She also suffered depression and missed her film career.

Rainier no longer opposed her making another film and she quickly responded to Hitchcock's request to join the cast of Marnie in 1963.

But when her return to Hollywood was announced, the press speculated she was escaping a troubled marriage and was just raising money to help threatened businesses in Monaco after De Gaulle halted trade between Monaco and France.

Grace sadly withdrew from the project.

She closed the door on that chapter of her creative life that she fought for so many years.

Grace had three children and was expecting a fourth in 1967 when it was discovered that the boy she had been carrying died inside of her a month early.