Grace Pauline Kelley: The Tragic Story of Wynonna Judd’s Daughter

Grace Pauline Kelley may not sound familiar but her family is a very famous one that has birthed various skilled artists who have entertained fans through the generations. Grace Pauline was born in California in 1996 to the late multi-award-winning songstress, Wynonna Judd and her husband Arch Kelley III whom he met in 1993.

The couple divorced in 1998, after five years of marriage and two children Elijah and Grace Pauline Kelley with many pundits speculating that the divorce took a toll on the children, especially, Grace Kelley.

As common with most kids with famous parents, Grace Pauline Kelley had a troubled childhood and went missing for several days before she turned Sweet Sixteen. On a connecting flight from boarding school, the then 15-year-old Grace Pauline couldn’t be found and an official report was filed.

She had an abusive relationship with her mum, who was a confessed pill-popper, so she had to spend some time with her aunt, the actress Ashley Judd. This, however, created tension between Wynonna and her half-sister, Ashley, with Wynonna going as far as placing a tracker on the car of Ashley. Many media outlets carried the story with Fox reporting that Wynonna Judd’s daughter Grace Pauline may have been driving Ashley’s car.

Grace Pauline Kelley Arrested

In 2015, the then 22-year-old, Grace Pauline Kelley was arrested for manufacturing, possessing delivery, and intending to sell meth in the Maury and Williamson Counties by a Williamson county court. The arrest took place at a Walgreens parking lot in Nashville Tennessee after cops spotted her moving in and out of her vehicle multiple times.

At the time of arrest, Wynonna Judd’s daughter was in possession of pseudoephedrine, and a receipt for the purchase of Coleman fuel popularly referred to as white gas. The cops quickly surmised that the 22-year-old wanted to make meth and arrested her.

Grace Pauline Kelley was arraigned before a Williamson county court where she pled guilty to meth manufacture, delivery, sale, and possession with intent. Later, she also pled guilty to possession of meth at the Maury county court but pled not guilty to manufacture and delivery.

Grace Pauline Kelley Goes to Prison

She was sentenced to less than a year in prison but the sentence was suspended and instead, she was ordered to serve only 30 days in jail while the rest of the 180 days was to undergo a drug rehabilitation program to cure her addiction.

Unfortunately, Grace Pauline skipped the program which earned her an 8-year prison sentence for violating her probation period.

Grace Pauline is Released and Re-arrested

In 2019, Grace Pauline Kelley was released from prison after serving 4 years of her sentence and was placed on parole until 2024.

But once again, Wynonna Judd’s daughter was arrested for violating her parole in 2020 and was sentenced to another 8 years in jail to be released in 2028. The court, however, decided not to make public why Grace Pauline violated her parole.

Kelley Gets Another Parole

In 2021, she was granted another parole and was ordered to a rehab facility to help treat her drug addiction. According to The US Sun, “The Board reached a final decision on April 22, 2021, recommending releasing her to parole supervision with post-release conditions”.

A representative of the Board said that Kelley agreed to get treatment for her drug abuse and submit to random drug tests. However, the representative added that Kelley wouldn’t head home straightaway as the board needed to ensure her home doesn’t contribute to a relapse.

“Her home plan will need to be approved by the Tennessee Department of Correction”, said the rep. “Then a parole certificate will be issued and then the Tennessee Department of Corrections will manage her release back to the community.”

Grace Pauline Kelley Gets Arrested Yet Again

When everyone thought Wynonna Judd would finally stay out of trouble and seek help, news of her arrest hit the headlines in August 2021, though many were not surprised. This time when her mugshot was released, fans spotted a new accessory that Kelley had added to her face – a tattoo above her right eye.

What Wynonna Judd Said About Her Daughter

In a 2020 interview with country music star, John Rich, her mother Wynonna Judd spoke of her daughter’s constant struggles with drugs and problems with the law. “I will tell you this. My daughter is the strongest Judd woman in our ‘herstory.’ She’s healthier than I was at 23,”

She continued, “How she got there — I would not go that way, but I was also sequestered”. According to Wynnona, she would have gone down the same road as her daughter Grace had she not spent a lot of time with her mum Naomi Judd.

However, Naomi Judd died in May 2022 when she shot herself after years of struggling with mental illness. She left behind her husband, Larry Strickland, whom she married in 1989. Unfortunately for Grace Pauline Kelley, she could not spend her grandmother’s last few years with her due to her constant legal problems.

Grace Pauline Kelley Wiki

• Full name: Grace Pauline Kelley
• Date of Birth: 21 June 1996
• Place of Birth: California
• Known for: Being a member of a famous family, a law offender
• Pauline Kelley’s net worth: $200,000 – $350,000

Currently, the granddaughter of Naomi Judd doesn’t have any Wikipedia page dedicated to her but snippets of information about her can be gleaned from the Wikipedia pages of her more famous family members.