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A quiet, nearsighted child in a family of beautiful,robust overachievers, Grace was never considered exceptionally good-looking by her relatives. From her earliest days, she was forced to look inward and seek other ways to distinguish herself. She could never be the dazzling beauty of the Kelly family-that honor went to her older sister,Peggy. But Grace could be the most thoughtful, or the most creative, or the funniest, or the most dramatic, or the most tenacious. She aspired to attain inner qualities that would sustain her throughout her life. Flashy, fleeting glamour was never something to cling to.

The Kelly family from left to right: John B. Kelly (father), Margaret (mother), Peggy, John Jr., Grace and Lisa at the Jersey Shore in 1935