Grace Pauline Kelley: A Celebrity Family Member and Entrepreneur

Biography: Grace Pauline Kelley born in Chicago on December 16, 1894, and died in Winnetka, Illinois, on October 12, 1967. She was the youngest daughter of William Woodruff Kelley and Blanche Loomis. She attended Vassar College before marrying Frank C. Paul. They had two daughters: Ruth Bancroft-Paul (later Mrs. John Hopkins) and Jane Paul Martin (later Mrs. Percy Martin), who founded the literary agency Curtis Brown Ltd., later merged with British publisher Curtis Brown Group Plc.

She and her husband were leaders of the Progressive movement in the United States and frequently host literary figures such as Anais Nin, Archibald MacLeish, and Thomas Mann. They were founding members of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in 1929 and became active in church affairs. Kelley was also a past president of PEN American Center and Vice-President of the American Civil Liberties Union. Grace Pauline Kelley was a committed advocate for civil rights and women’s suffrage.

She died on October 12, 1967, at the age of 72. The Grace Pauline Kelley Papers are in the archives of St. John’s University in Minnesota.

Frank and Grace moved to Santa Barbara, California, in 1910. Frank went into business as a banker, lawyer, and later as the founder of the Bank of Santa Barbara and the Canary Islands Company, with holdings on five islands off the coast of Africa.

Career: Grace Pauline Kelley

In 1913, she joined the Los Angeles Board of Regents as one of the first women. She also participated in the planning commission for the city of Los Angeles. In 1914, Governor George Pardee selected her to serve on the California State Board of Charities and Corrections.

Following her husband’s death in 1925, Ms. Kelley continued his work on public issues and her own interests in international relations. In 1929 she founded the Santa Barbara Bank and Trust Company with George H. Humphrey, later to become Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served as President. The Bank later became the Santa Barbara National Bank and was eventually merged with Wells Fargo in 2005 after a vote by the shareholders.

She was also a trustee of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, serving as President and Vice President of the organization. Under her leadership and through the generosity of Henry Huntington, she took over the management of The Huntington Library. She served as President from 1930 to 1960 and remained a trustee until death.

In 1943 Grace Kelley was elected Deputy Governor under Governor Earl Warren and later became Chairman of the California Highway Commission in 1948.

Grace Pauline Kelley made her mark as a cultural leader in Santa Barbara and throughout California. She was a member of the Los Angeles Board of Regents, a trustee and President of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, President and vice-president of the Santa Barbara National Bank, a faculty member at Vassar College, where she taught American literature, and vice-president of the PEN American Center. She spent nearly thirty years as a city planning commissioner in Los Angeles.

Grace Pauline face tattoo

Grace Pauline face tattoo: Grace has been in and out of mental hospitals her whole life because of bipolar disorder. She was diagnosed at age 10. On September 5, 2011 she shaved her head and got a face tattoo that reads “give me hope”.
The tattoo only lasted four days before it healed so she then went in for facial surgery to get different tattoos around her eyes and the inside of her cheeks that are permanent.

Grace Pauline Kelley Papers

Archives of St. John’s University, Minnesota

The Grace Pauline Kelley papers are in the archives of St. John’s University, Minnesota. Her reports contain correspondence and press clippings from Grace Kelley’s professional career as an educator, lawyer, banker, author, and a philanthropist throughout her life. The press clippings primarily concern the projects, achievements, and activities of Grace Kelley in Santa Barbara. The press clippings include references to her work as an author and political figure. The carte-de-visite photographs have images of Grace Kelley with her family, as well as images of Grace Kelley at public venues throughout Santa Barbara.

The letters are primarily personal correspondence written by Grace Kelley to family and friends during her tenure at Vassar College from 1912-1919. The notes include those written by Grace Kelley to her mother, Blanche Loomis Kelley, to friends who were students at Vassar College at the time and to family friends, as well as correspondence from Grace Kelley’s father, William Woodruff Kelley.

An additional press clipping from the archives of St. John’s University, Minnesota, notes that “a friend of Pauline Bancroft and John Hopkins (Ruth Bancroft-Paul’s parents), she was active in women’s suffrage and many progressive causes.”

Other items in the press clipping file reference her work as an author and political figure and a photo of Grace Kelley, along with caption text noting that “She was an active missionary, including work in China where she lived for several years.”

Currently, there are only two files, both containing press clippings: 

Roberta Strauss Feuerverger writes a biography of Grace Pauline Kelley in 1982, and the University of New Mexico Press released it.

“Publishers Weekly,” May 7, 1982

In January 1982, Rebecca Fitting complete a review of Feuerverger’s book in the “Los Angeles Times.”

A brief mention of Grace Pauline Kelley is found on page 9 of the Spring/Fall 2015 edition of the magazine “Beyond Borders” in an article entitled “Historicizing Santa Barbara’s Island History.” On that page is a photograph of Grace Kelley and her daughters Ruth Bancroft-Paul (later Mrs. John W. Hopkins) and Maria Douglas and a mention of “Grace Pauline Kelley, who was one of Santa Barbara’s most prominent citizens.” In the article, Jerilyn Watson writes that “the Island was the site of her projects and her philanthropy, and so it is natural that she remains a focal point in the cultural life of Santa Barbara.”

A biography of Grace Pauline Kelley by Roberta Strauss Feuerverger was publish in 1982 by the University of New Mexico Press. Her memoir offers insight into her work and life as an educator, author, and businesswoman.

“Santa Barbara,” March/April 1980

“The Santa Barbara Independent,” November 17, 1982

Kelley gave over 1,000 lectures on a wide range of subjects. Her list of topics included:

“Broadsides” – a newsletter published by the State of California, Department of Corrections, December 1918

and “The Woman’s Journal” – a newspaper published by the National American Woman Suffrage Association and later the National Woman’s Party.

The Grace Pauline Kelley papers in the archives of St. John’s University, Minnesota, contain several entries that indicate Grace Kelley was an active member in some political organization during her tenure at Vassar College (1912-1919).

Net Worth

Grace Pauline Kelley is an American model, best known for her role as a spokeswoman in television commercials for the Claritin allergy and sinus medication.
She made her modeling debut at the age of 17, and has since established herself as a leading fashion model.
Kelley was born on May 27th, 1982 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. She is currently thirty-six years old.
Grace Pauline Kelley Net Worth is $1 million USD.

Conclusion: Grace Pauline Kelley was an active member of Theta Sigma Phi at Vassar College.

The American Bar Association Journal, Watertown Lawyer, Volume 8, No.4 lists Grace Pauline Kelley. 4, 1905-1906, and in the New York State Bar Association Journal, Volume VII, 1900. Pages 749-750.