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Grace: The Secret Lives of a Princess
The Secret Lives of a Princess, An intimate biography of Grace Kelly Spada, James
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 2, 1985
64 people are currently reading
541 people want to read
About the author
James Spada
36 books29 followersAs a thirteen-year-old kid in Staten Island, James Spada started the first Marilyn Monroe Memorial Fan Club. He produced four bulletins and one yearbook a year for four years, when he had to disband the club due to lack of money.
In college he founded EMK: The Edward M. Kennedy Quarterly, and worked as an intern in Senator Kennedy’s Boston office in 1970.
At 23 his first book, Barbra: The First Decade (The Films and Career of Barbra Streisand), was published. He followed that up with the authorized book The Films of Robert Redford. He went on to write illustrated coffee-table books about Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Midler, Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty, and Jane Fonda.
In 1987 his first non-pictorial biography, Grace: The Secret Lives of a Princess, became a major international bestseller. He followed that up with intimate biographies of Peter Lawford, Bette Davis, Barbra Streisand, and Julia Roberts.
His writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, People, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times Book Review, McCall’s, the Los Angeles Times, the London Sunday Express, and many other publications.
In 2010 his first work of fiction, Days When My Heart was Volcanic—A Novel of Edgar Allan Poe, was published.
In recent years he has become equally renowned as a photographer of the male nude. His first collection, Black & White Men, was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award as the Best Visual Arts Book of 2000.
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From "Black & White Men" published in 2000:
Over the past several years, Jim has also become known for his evocative black-and-white studies of the male nude. He has had three one-man exhibitions, most recently in January 2000 at the prestigious Gallery One at the New England School of Photography in Boston. "I've been taking pictures since I was a teenager," Jim says, "but it took a back seat to my celebrity books. Now I d like to be known as a hyphenate, a writer-photographer. Photographing people is very much like writing about them, except that I'm creating the portrait with light rather than words. Light is as much a subject for me as the model."
In college he founded EMK: The Edward M. Kennedy Quarterly, and worked as an intern in Senator Kennedy’s Boston office in 1970.
At 23 his first book, Barbra: The First Decade (The Films and Career of Barbra Streisand), was published. He followed that up with the authorized book The Films of Robert Redford. He went on to write illustrated coffee-table books about Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Midler, Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty, and Jane Fonda.
In 1987 his first non-pictorial biography, Grace: The Secret Lives of a Princess, became a major international bestseller. He followed that up with intimate biographies of Peter Lawford, Bette Davis, Barbra Streisand, and Julia Roberts.
His writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, People, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times Book Review, McCall’s, the Los Angeles Times, the London Sunday Express, and many other publications.
In 2010 his first work of fiction, Days When My Heart was Volcanic—A Novel of Edgar Allan Poe, was published.
In recent years he has become equally renowned as a photographer of the male nude. His first collection, Black & White Men, was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award as the Best Visual Arts Book of 2000.
-----------------------------
From "Black & White Men" published in 2000:
Over the past several years, Jim has also become known for his evocative black-and-white studies of the male nude. He has had three one-man exhibitions, most recently in January 2000 at the prestigious Gallery One at the New England School of Photography in Boston. "I've been taking pictures since I was a teenager," Jim says, "but it took a back seat to my celebrity books. Now I d like to be known as a hyphenate, a writer-photographer. Photographing people is very much like writing about them, except that I'm creating the portrait with light rather than words. Light is as much a subject for me as the model."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
November 14, 2024
Published in 1987, five years after Grace Kelly's death, this book may have been more of a shocker than it is now. Up to her death, Kelly's image was of an ice princess with high morals. As this book revealed, the truth was otherwise, but it really is more of a 'whatever', as it seems the author wanted to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Grace Kelly was the daughter of Jack Kelly, a hardworking Irish-American who raised himself to become one of the most powerful men in Philadelphia. He didn't seem to have much love for his shy daughter, preferring his other children. The father's comments throughout Grace's life confirm that he never felt she was the best and ended up surprised that she not only became a movie star and award-winning actress but also, you know, a fairy-tale princess.
James Spada reveals her affairs withBing Crosby, William Holden, Gary Cooper, Oleg Cassini just about everyone, which must have been devastating to discover in the 1980s. All in all, he decides she must have been a very lonely and miserable woman who fought with her two strong-willed daughters in the last years of her life. There are many interviews with other people (aka 'hearsay') which he uses to confirm this, so as a reader I really couldn't sit there and say, yup, that be the truth when it may not have been.
I learned more than I ever knew about Grace Kelly which isn't saying much as I didn't know anything about her, apart from her appearances in High Society and To Catch A Thief. Those two films summarized my entire Grace Kelly catalogue. Her life as Monaco royalty is chronicled here, too, and the gist of the message is that she missed making movies. Or something like that.
Standard celebrity tell-all bio written-after-a-celebrity-is-dead. Okay. But no Hitchcockian fireworks.
Book Season = Winter (ice ice baby to go)
Grace Kelly was the daughter of Jack Kelly, a hardworking Irish-American who raised himself to become one of the most powerful men in Philadelphia. He didn't seem to have much love for his shy daughter, preferring his other children. The father's comments throughout Grace's life confirm that he never felt she was the best and ended up surprised that she not only became a movie star and award-winning actress but also, you know, a fairy-tale princess.
James Spada reveals her affairs with
I learned more than I ever knew about Grace Kelly which isn't saying much as I didn't know anything about her, apart from her appearances in High Society and To Catch A Thief. Those two films summarized my entire Grace Kelly catalogue. Her life as Monaco royalty is chronicled here, too, and the gist of the message is that she missed making movies. Or something like that.
Standard celebrity tell-all bio written-after-a-celebrity-is-dead. Okay. But no Hitchcockian fireworks.
Book Season = Winter (ice ice baby to go)
March 16, 2013
Before reading this book I was not a Grace Kelly fan. In fact, I have never seen a Grace Kelly film. I only knew that she was a famous classic film star who married into Monaco royalty. Therefore, I had no real expectations going into this book and I really did not expect it to be an absolutely thrilling read. And it wasn't. James Spada claims that he his book exposes the juicy tidbits of Grace Kelly's existence, if this is true then I would hate to read those accounts that come before this one. When writing a biography, one should attempt to make the figure that you are writing about as fascinating as possible, even the most common life, treated by a good writer can be made enthralling. Spada's account makes Kelly seem rather dull and immature. I found myself wondering why anyone would idolize this woman. She was bored by Monaco life? Oh, poor thing! Eye roll. Spada's treatment is surface level at best, there is no deep analysis of the actions taken by Kelly and those around her. He often falls back on celebratory language that makes one want to gag. He goes on and on about how handsome Grace found Prince Rainier when they met: we have all seen the photos, ain't no one going to think that dude is hot. In the last year of her life, according to Spada, the most important thing to happen to Kelly was that she "got fat."(questionable in and of itself, maybe by Hollywood standards)He decides to include some absurd account about Grace wearing some odd bra thing that strapped in her voluminous rolls. Then she drove off a cliff. The end. Give me a break.
I have to believe that Grace Kelly was more interesting than this book gives her credit. I would like to see an actual writer tackle a similar project. Perhaps there is a better biography out there, I must admit I'm not up on the literature.
I have to believe that Grace Kelly was more interesting than this book gives her credit. I would like to see an actual writer tackle a similar project. Perhaps there is a better biography out there, I must admit I'm not up on the literature.
June 28, 2019
I first heard about this book in a Twitter thread somebody had going about Grace Kelly. I was intrigued because I had seen her in Rear Window and Dial M for Murder, but didn't know much about her besides that she was the Princess of Monaco. The Twitter thread was talking about her "wild" younger days which I had no clue about, and cited this book and two others, so I headed to Amazon and got this one.
I, at first, found this book to be pretty interesting- it has interviews from Grace's family and friends and was seemingly pretty factual. I also assumed a bit of gossipy partial-truths were included as well. I felt I was able to determine between the facts and partial-truths pretty well, and considered it pretty good. When I got to the epilogue and afterword, I was disappointed. The author gave an update on the lives of Prince Rainier and their children from Grace's death to the present day at the time of the updated version of the book. He told about the marriages, affairs and children of Caroline, Albert and Stephanie. He said that Grace would be proud, and also mortified at their behaviors and actions. He even said Stephanie's life would have troubled Grace the most. The addition of these somewhat rude opinions really turned me off of the book. A good part of the book retelling Grace's life as a princess told how much she disliked the press and how their coverage of her and her children affected her, yet that's exactly what the author did to finish the book.
In the end, it was an interesting read, but I would've preferred something more objective.
I, at first, found this book to be pretty interesting- it has interviews from Grace's family and friends and was seemingly pretty factual. I also assumed a bit of gossipy partial-truths were included as well. I felt I was able to determine between the facts and partial-truths pretty well, and considered it pretty good. When I got to the epilogue and afterword, I was disappointed. The author gave an update on the lives of Prince Rainier and their children from Grace's death to the present day at the time of the updated version of the book. He told about the marriages, affairs and children of Caroline, Albert and Stephanie. He said that Grace would be proud, and also mortified at their behaviors and actions. He even said Stephanie's life would have troubled Grace the most. The addition of these somewhat rude opinions really turned me off of the book. A good part of the book retelling Grace's life as a princess told how much she disliked the press and how their coverage of her and her children affected her, yet that's exactly what the author did to finish the book.
In the end, it was an interesting read, but I would've preferred something more objective.
September 29, 2024
As per my usual, 5 star to the non-fiction bios
Grace is an amazing lady, and this did nothing to truly dispel that
Grace is an amazing lady, and this did nothing to truly dispel that
September 18, 2012
I picked up this book because I have always wondered what happened in the fatal car crash that ended the Princess's life. I have heard so many theories and unfortunately this book does not really give any more clues. I am not a biography specialist but it felt this one lacked of something, maybe some parti-pris from the writer. It was like he just patchworked chronologically interviews about Grace Kelly. Some of them were contradictary and I think it would have been more 'reader-friendly', to link them with a bit of hindsight. The purpose for Spada I believe was to reveal that Grace Kelly was not as virginal as she looked with her white gloves on. That seemed a useless premise to me, I mean, she was a normal girl with normal needs. Who actually believed in the existence of a chaste actress among Hollywood's enthusiastic actors? I wish I could have read more about her experiences in the films she played (especially the Hitchcock's ones).
One passage drew my attention tho and I sort of got obsessessed with it for a bit. When her wedding banns were posted, she left New York with all her family and friends (and several journalists) on a boat to go to Monaco for the wedding. It sort of fascinated me that she spent 8 days with about every one she knew in a huis-clos on her way to a whole new life. I think it's a sweet way to say good-bye to your bachelor life and get into married one. I wonder what she talked about with her relatives. I couldn't help looking (several times) at the pictures made on that special journey.
earworm + plum pudding
One passage drew my attention tho and I sort of got obsessessed with it for a bit. When her wedding banns were posted, she left New York with all her family and friends (and several journalists) on a boat to go to Monaco for the wedding. It sort of fascinated me that she spent 8 days with about every one she knew in a huis-clos on her way to a whole new life. I think it's a sweet way to say good-bye to your bachelor life and get into married one. I wonder what she talked about with her relatives. I couldn't help looking (several times) at the pictures made on that special journey.
earworm + plum pudding
December 1, 2023
A tratti ripetitivo e pesante ma nel complesso una piacevole e interessante lettura
February 8, 2017
This biography is readable and cover Grace's lifestory in good detail. Spada mostly avoids the tabloid sensibilities of some other Grace biographers. So I’m not sure why it just doesn’t “click” into a compelling, insightful read. But judging from the mostly 2-to-3 star reviews on Good Reads, many agree. I wonder if it’s because it hasn’t aged well since originally published in 1988, when the myth of the pure, regal, saintly Grace still had widespread authority and the revelations seemed sensational. What seemed scandalous then (Grace slept with men before marriage! Her marriage wasn’t a fairy tale! She was lonely and unhappy at times!) doesn’t raise eyebrows today. That’s part of it. But I also think it’s because those closest to her, especially the Grimaldis, did not participate. I agree with those readers who say it's clear that Spada had to rely mostly on (a) widely available sources (newspapers, magazine interviews) and (b) a very few in-depth interviews with the few people really willing to open up (notably her sister Lizanne and former lover Don Richardson). And it’s sadly not surprising that no one from the Grimaldi family agreed to be interviewed about her; they have a stake in maintaining the Grace of Monaco myths (and the corresponding myths about Rainier who clearly struggled with his own issues). But what it means is that something is always missing. Spada does as well as anyone and his underlying argument is sympathetic and convincing – that she had different sides to her, one of them cool and regal and committed to keeping up appearances at the expense of personal happiness, and other rebellious and willing to defy conventions to pursue her own goals. Still, those wishing for a thoroughly researched, insightful, compelling biography of Grace are still waiting.
October 3, 2019
Book number 19 of 2019. Full title "Grace Kelly: Secret Life Of A Princess"
I picked this up second hand and wasn't expecting much from it, it's been sitting on my shelf for years waiting to be read. I didn't know anything about Grace Kelly until a trip to Monaco a few years ago, and even then I didn't know much. Predactibly it covers everything from her early life and her short acting career through to her years as Princess Of Monaco and one of the most famous people in the world, but it also tells the stories of what was going on away from the cameras and from the glitz and the glamour. There's a fair amount of scandal, especially in the early chapters where Grace's romantic and sexual history is detailed and tutted over with casual misogyny but I guess we can put that down to being "of its time" (the book was written in 1987). It's a sad story and James Spada paints a sympathetic picture of her as a lonely woman who spent her whole life in search of happiness and yearning for approval, from audiences, from lovers, from her family and from her subjects and its difficult not to come out of it feeling sorry for her. Overall a very good read.
#nowreading #books #gracekelly #princessgrace
I picked this up second hand and wasn't expecting much from it, it's been sitting on my shelf for years waiting to be read. I didn't know anything about Grace Kelly until a trip to Monaco a few years ago, and even then I didn't know much. Predactibly it covers everything from her early life and her short acting career through to her years as Princess Of Monaco and one of the most famous people in the world, but it also tells the stories of what was going on away from the cameras and from the glitz and the glamour. There's a fair amount of scandal, especially in the early chapters where Grace's romantic and sexual history is detailed and tutted over with casual misogyny but I guess we can put that down to being "of its time" (the book was written in 1987). It's a sad story and James Spada paints a sympathetic picture of her as a lonely woman who spent her whole life in search of happiness and yearning for approval, from audiences, from lovers, from her family and from her subjects and its difficult not to come out of it feeling sorry for her. Overall a very good read.
#nowreading #books #gracekelly #princessgrace
July 18, 2021
I had no preconceived notions about Grace Kelly before this book as I was somewhat unaware of her. I had, of course, heard of Marilyn Monroe and others who were famous at the same time. So, in this way the book added a bit to the history of the time and educated me. I have now read some bios of people from the same time period and am sickened by the falseness of the times and attempts to show many of the "stars" in a unreal moral light. The pendulum of the times has swung far to the other side now which is almost as bad, but we do get a more true picture of events. It is quite hard for anyone to analyze their actions when young, but I think we are getting a bit better at it without all the religious moralism. All in all, I think we get a picture of a strong woman who accepted the choices she was able to make at the time.
February 27, 2022
One of the better biographies on Grace
The many different sides of Grace Kelly. She just wasn't this removed, distant gorgeous movie star she was that too but she was also very dignified deep compassionate rebellious and selfless person. She was a walking Paradox she personified the saintly ability to connect with other people but at the same time she also enjoyed exploits that would be considered condemnable. She chose marriage and motherhood over her career and while it might have seemed like she regretted it oh, she accepted the choice that she made and did the very best she could as Princess of Monaco. Monaco is what it is because of Grace Kelly beautiful glamorous jet-set place because of her cachet. Very interesting life on a woman who died too young.
The many different sides of Grace Kelly. She just wasn't this removed, distant gorgeous movie star she was that too but she was also very dignified deep compassionate rebellious and selfless person. She was a walking Paradox she personified the saintly ability to connect with other people but at the same time she also enjoyed exploits that would be considered condemnable. She chose marriage and motherhood over her career and while it might have seemed like she regretted it oh, she accepted the choice that she made and did the very best she could as Princess of Monaco. Monaco is what it is because of Grace Kelly beautiful glamorous jet-set place because of her cachet. Very interesting life on a woman who died too young.
July 10, 2018
Very well researched and written. Really helped me envision who Grace Kelly was. I related to her - not only because we share a birthday - but because she was raised in an Irish Catholic family. I think because it was written within 5 years of her death, there were a lot of details that were glossed over and the last few chapters were rather rushed (or that may have been because I read it faster at the end).
August 12, 2024
This has been in my basement since I first purchased/read it in the 80's. Interesting read. Funny how you envision people in the 50's being chaste and victorian . . .Wrong!!! But Bing Crosby? Can't see the attraction there!! Nice read for people who are old enough to remember the people discussed.
November 6, 2024
This book completely shocked me. I always thought Grace Kelly was this wholesome, angelic princess with the fairy tale life. But, after reading this book, I now have a completely different look at her. If all of this is truth. It makes you wonder if anyone ever really gets to live a fairy tale life? Was the marriage to the prince really just a business deal? That is so wicked.
April 1, 2018
Grace Kelly's life was really interesting and I enjoyed reading more about it. Spada hasn't created a literary masterpiece here, but for me the book fulfilled its purpose in giving me more information about a woman I find fascinating.
May 3, 2024
Controversial when first released, as it is a warts and all recounting of Grace Kelly’s life, but it is richer for this. The author conducted interviews with key friends and family members to construct perhaps the most clear picture we will ever get of who Grace was.
January 7, 2020
Wow!
A sad complicated lady surrounded by the rigours of the church which kept her in a place which she felt trapped her
A sad complicated lady surrounded by the rigours of the church which kept her in a place which she felt trapped her
June 3, 2020
cool to learn about her life, but man is the author biased and judgmental.
Read
February 15, 2021#Edición 1987
*Want to read
*Want to read
March 17, 2021
Enjoyed this book. She lived an interesting life, worth writing about and also worth reading about.
March 26, 2022
im either in love with her or i want to be her maybe a little bit of both
January 5, 2023
Quick and easy read. Arguably a bit sensationalist in parts but overall enjoyable.
November 27, 2023
A slow read
December 9, 2023
I very much enjoyed reading this book on Jackie Kennedy’s life. She is an inspiration to woman with a true heart and compassionate soul. May she rest in peace.
September 26, 2025
A Very detailed book on Grace's childhood, career as an actress and then as Princess of Monaco
December 1, 2022
Reading this biography is a sad experience. It's not that the book is boring, oppositely it's attractive, but the Grace Kelly documented in the book is such a sad person.
James Spada, the author of this book, uses a lot of material to create an dominant pattern of Grace Kelly, that of an extraordinary dichotomy, there was also a large gap between what Grace wanted for herself and what she was forced to accept; between what she was and what she was expected to be.
I don't know if the real Grace Kelly is really so contradictory, or if it's all just the author's speculation and conjecture, but this contradictory dichotomy runs through Grace Kelly's entire life in this book, and her childhood and marriage are so depressing that the six years of her acting career can be considered the only light in her life, but this light is so short-lived, burning for only six years before being extinguished
In response to the numerous references to Grace Kelly's affair in the book, Oleg Cassini, her ex-boyfriend, once said in an interview: "he(Spada) wrote a terrible book about her and it was envy camouflaged and there was no basis on it", which I was really relieved to hear, not that I cared how many boyfriends Grace had had, but I hope that real Grace Kelly was not such a sad princess, but a happier person.
James Spada, the author of this book, uses a lot of material to create an dominant pattern of Grace Kelly, that of an extraordinary dichotomy, there was also a large gap between what Grace wanted for herself and what she was forced to accept; between what she was and what she was expected to be.
I don't know if the real Grace Kelly is really so contradictory, or if it's all just the author's speculation and conjecture, but this contradictory dichotomy runs through Grace Kelly's entire life in this book, and her childhood and marriage are so depressing that the six years of her acting career can be considered the only light in her life, but this light is so short-lived, burning for only six years before being extinguished
In response to the numerous references to Grace Kelly's affair in the book, Oleg Cassini, her ex-boyfriend, once said in an interview: "he(Spada) wrote a terrible book about her and it was envy camouflaged and there was no basis on it", which I was really relieved to hear, not that I cared how many boyfriends Grace had had, but I hope that real Grace Kelly was not such a sad princess, but a happier person.
December 21, 2015
Heavily researched, Spada seems to have aggregated information from sources widely known and a few "close" friends and family to help the reader understand the seemingly cool Grace Kelly. Coming from a up and coming Irish family in Philadelphia, moving on to New York and Hollywood, the actress finally decides her ultimate role is one of reviving the small nation of Monaco's economy and becoming a wife of its ruler.
Despite footnotes that accompany almost every fact in the book Grace still seems more myth than real and her "love story," still a mystery.
Despite footnotes that accompany almost every fact in the book Grace still seems more myth than real and her "love story," still a mystery.
August 11, 2014
This is a book that gives a surprising look into Grace Kelly's life. It tells the good, the bad, & the ugly, when all we've ever heard of before was the good. It lets us know that she was indeed all too human behind that porcelain pretty exterior, a woman with heart, heartbreak, passion, sorrows, & everything else. Nicely done...
July 15, 2008
What an exceptional woman. The story of her life is heartbreaking from the abortion to the stroke and car accident. Still a great woman with a name that says it all.
October 16, 2008
read this for work. made me want to read more about hitchcock. they worked on a few films together and seemed to have a lot of fun
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews