Princess Stephanie of Monaco Biography

Princess Stephanie of Monaco is the daughter of Prince Rainier of Monaco and his late wife Princess Grace (the former movie star Grace Kelly).

Princess Stephanie was the couple’s third and last child, after Caroline (b. 1957) and Albert (b. 1958). Stephanie was a passenger in the 1982 auto crash which killed Princess Grace. (Rumors that Stephanie was actually behind the wheel seem to have been untrue.)

After the crash, Princess Stephanie developed a reputation as the headstrong enfant terrible of the Grimaldi family, partying across Europe and dating a succession of men. She dabbled in fashion design (creating a line of swimwear called “Pool Position” in 1985) and tried her hand at pop music, releasing the album Besoin in 1986 (including the hit “Ouragan”) and Stephanie in 1991.

Her romance with a bodyguard, Daniel Ducret, resulted in two children (Louis, born 1992, and Pauline Grace, born 1994) before their marriage in 1995. The marriage ended a year later after Ducret was spotted cavorting with a Belgian stripper. Stephanie had a third child, Camille, in 1998 but refused to name the father.

Among her other colorful boyfriends was Franco Knie, an elephant trainer and the head of the Circus Knie, a Swiss troupe with whom Stephanie and her children travelled. In 2003 she married Adans Lopez Peres, an acrobat with the same Circus Knie; they were divorced in 2004.

In later years, Princess Stephanie has continued to live in Monaco and take part in royal responsibilities. Among other duties, she is the the patron of the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo.