A life in photos: Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Grace Kelly's 'enfant terrible'

Princess Stéphanie of Monaco at a younger age
Youngest daughter of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier
A terrible accident
Survivor's guilt
Stéphanie of Monaco in the 1980s
Princess Stéphanie's lovers
Adventurous, athletic princess
'Wild' eighties
Androgynous look of the 80s
Her own swimwear
Stéphanie of Monaco's singing career
Secret singer of 'In the Closet' with Michael Jackson
In love with her bodyguard
Two children and then marriage
Divorce from Daniel Ducruet
Camille, Stéphanie's third child from a mystery man
The father was a bodyguard
Drawn to the circus
The circus artist
A married elephant trainer
Moving into the caravan
She married the acrobat instead
Back to a quiet life with the children
Philanthropy
Official acts with Prince Albert and Princess Caroline of Monaco
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco's net worth
Stéphanie of Monaco: tattoos
Animal lover
The circus still lures Stephanie and her daughter Pauline
The beautiful children of Princess Stephanie
Bachelorettes of the House of Monaco
Some retouching of the princess
Princess Stephanie nearly 60
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco at a younger age

Stéphanie of Monaco is not the average princess. The daughter of Prince Rainier III and American actress Grace Kelly has lived an adventurous life. Dating very different sorts of men, singing with Michael Jackson, joining the circus... these are just a few chapters in the story of the princess whom Grace Kelly lovingly called her 'enfant terrible' (rebellious child).

Youngest daughter of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier

Born on February 1, 1965, Stéphanie is the youngest daughter of the late Prince of Monaco, Rainier III, and the American actress Grace Kelly. She has one elder sister, Caroline, and an elder brother, Albert, who is the leader of the tiny state of Monaco today.

"Enfant terrible"

Stéphanie's mother Grace Kelly once called her an 'enfant terrible' in an interview with People Magazine. She meant it in a good way though. Stéphanie was bright, athletic, and artistic. Besides classical dance and piano, she practice horse riding and gymnastics as a child.

A terrible accident

When she was 17 years old, Princess Stéphanie experienced what undoubtedly has been the most traumatic event of her life. During a trip with her mother, coming home from their farm in France, they had a terrible car accident. Grace Kelly died in the crash, and Stéphanie hurt her neck vertebra.

 

Survivor's guilt

Besides the experience of losing her mother in such a horrible way, Stéphanie also had to cope with rumors that it was her, not Grace Kelly, who had driven the car and caused the accident. The princess has always denied these claims.

Stéphanie of Monaco in the 1980s

After the accident, Stéphanie started her career in fashion and modeling. She worked for Christian Dior and made the covers of Vogue and Vanity Fair, among others. Her unique style, which made the trends of the 1980s her own, helped the young Stéphanie become a desired figure in the European jet-set and fashion world.

Princess Stéphanie's lovers

Stéphanie was living her best life and meeting many famous and powerful men on the way. She dated racer Paul Belmondo, actor Anthony Delon, nightclub owner Mario Oliver Jutard (image), and - reportedly - actor Rob Lowe.

Adventurous, athletic princess

Stéphanie traveled and enjoyed sports, men, and modeling. Because of the accident, she realized how lucky she was to "have life."

 

'Wild' eighties

Hello Magazine quoted the princess as she looked back on her 'wild' eighties. "I had my arms open to the future and I said to myself, 'This could be all over tomorrow.'"

Androgynous look of the 80s

Stéphanie was a quirky but trendy, androgynous-looking princess. "Nobody has really tried to understand me or my behavior," she told Hello Magazine, "which just reflected my decision to enjoy life to the full."

Her own swimwear

In 1986, when she was 21 years, old, the princess launched her own swimwear line. Three years later a perfume with her name came out. "We're in the 20th century," her agent said in People Magazine. "You can be a princess, you can be beautiful - and you can still have a job."

Stéphanie of Monaco's singing career

Europeans may know Stéphanie most of all from her singing career. She made one of the best-selling singles ever in France ('Ouragan') and also sang in English: 'Irresistible' and 'One Love to Give.' However, she never really consolidated international success, even though she recorded an album in Los Angeles and appeared in The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Secret singer of 'In the Closet' with Michael Jackson

When we hear the song 'In the Closet' by Michael Jackson, we may remember the guest performance of supermodel Naomi Campbell in its steamy video. But did you know that Princess Stéphanie of Monaco sings along with the King of Pop in this track? The credits say 'Mystery Girl,' and when you consider the racy lyrics of the song, it's understandable that a respectable monarchy wants no association with it. Years later, the real identity of 'Mystery Girl' was revealed to be Princess Stéphanie.

In love with her bodyguard

After a series of romances and artistic adventures, Princess Stéphanie of Monaco fell seriously in love with this racing man: Daniel Ducruet. He was her bodyguard at the time.

Two children and then marriage

The couple got together in 1992 and had their first child in the same year: a boy with the name Louis. In 1994, their daughter Pauline was born. Interestingly, the couple was unmarried when they had their kids. In 1995, they decided to tie the knot after all, but the event was discrete because the bride's father, Prince Rainier, wanted to draw very little attention to it. Stéphanie, meanwhile, managed to put on the shortest wedding dress in royal history.

Divorce from Daniel Ducruet

The marriage did not last long. One year, three months, and three days to be exact. There were rumors of Daniel Ducruet's infidelity. A Miss Belgium was named as his romantic interest. Whatever the truth was, Stéphanie left with her son Louis and daughter Pauline while maintaining a friendly relationship with their father.

Camille, Stéphanie's third child from a mystery man

In July 1998, Princess Stéphanie gave birth to a baby girl: Camille. She did not have a confirmed relationship with anyone at the time, and she did not even put the name of a father on the birth certificate. The modern princess was a consciously single mother.

 

 

The father was a bodyguard

Camille herself would later acknowledge that her father was one of Stéphanie's bodyguards - yes, she had a taste for them! - and that she had taken on his last name: Jean Raymond Gottlieb.

Drawn to the circus

As a Princess of Monaco, Stéphanie has long been the patron of the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo. Over time, it became clear that she had a special affinity with circuses: perhaps it was the music, the athletics, or... the men?

The circus artist

In 2001 the news broke that Princess Stéphanie was seeing the elephant trainer Franco Knie. He was also the director of the family circus bearing his name.

A married elephant trainer

Franco Knie was a married man, but allegedly he fell hopelessly in love with Stéphanie. They had eleven years in age between them, but they shared their love for elephants.

Moving into the caravan

Head over heels, the Princess of Monaco moved into the circus caravan of Franco Knie and took her three children with her. They had a romantic time together for about a year. Then Stéphanie and the kids moved out of the trailer again and the love was over.

She married the acrobat instead

While at the circus, Stéphanie had apparently fallen in love with one of its acrobats, the Portuguese Adans Lopez Peres. He was ten years younger than the princess. In 2003, they got married. A year and roughly two months later they got divorced.

Back to a quiet life with the children

That was the last marriage for Princess Stéphanie of Monaco - so far. She returned to her family villa in Monaco and raised her three children. To her left on this photo are Louis and Pauline Ducruet, and to her right is little Camille Gottlieb.

Philanthropy

Besides music and the fashion industry, Princess Stéphanie is interested in philanthropy. She founded an association to support people with HIV and AIDS, trying to take the stigma away from the illness. In 2006, Stéphanie became a UN ambassador for its HIV/AIDS program.

Official acts with Prince Albert and Princess Caroline of Monaco

Apart from these individual activities, she also appears regularly at royal events with her elder sister Caroline and her brother Albert. The latter became Prince of Monaco when their father died in 2005.

Princess Stéphanie of Monaco's net worth

Stéphanie of Monaco has an estimated net worth of $100 million. According to Yahoo Finance, this makes her the fourth richest princess in the world (after her sister-in-law Charlene, the Italian Princess Gesine, and little Princess Charlotte of England). Stéphanie has the same fortune as her sister Caroline, who's number five on the list.

Stéphanie of Monaco: tattoos

Princess Stéphanie's rebellious side has been eternalized with tattoos of a flower bracelet on her wrist, jumping dolphins on her foot, and a snake-like drawing on her back.

Animal lover

The Princess of Monaco is often seen in close harmony with animals such as dolphins, seals, or elephants. However, ecologists and animal rights activists disagree with her about the fate of circus animals. When the French government banned the use of wild animals in traveling circuses in 2020, Stéphanie was critical of that legislation. She does not think animals are necessarily worse off in a circus, the Daily Mail reports.

The circus still lures Stephanie and her daughter Pauline

Together with her daughter Pauline, Stéphanie still visits the circus regularly. Pauline is interested in gymnastics and elephants, just like her mother.

The beautiful children of Princess Stephanie

Louis and Pauline are in their late twenties now. They have become beautiful young socialites like their mother was in the eighties.

Bachelorettes of the House of Monaco

Stéphanie's daughters Pauline Ducruet (right) and Camille Gottlieb (left) appear to be very independent. Camille declared in 2020 that she'd rather be "alone" than "in bad company." However, according to the tabloids, they are both currently seeing someone, albeit informally.

Some retouching of the princess

We can see some aesthetic corrections in the appearance of Princess Stéphanie, although none of them have been confirmed. Experts told the online paper El Confidencial that the princess looks like she's had at least some lifting of the skin and botox in strategic areas.

Princess Stephanie nearly 60

As she has moved beyond the age that her mother Grace Kelly would ever reach (she died at 53), it seems that Princess Stéphanie of Monaco prefers more and more to have a quiet life outside of the spotlights. No more singing or modeling, less circus, and less paparazzi. It seems that the 'enfant terrible' has settled down.

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