Who is Grace Kelley? All about Wynonna Judd’s daughter amid allegations against mom and stepfather

Country music singer Wynonna Judd’s daughter, Grace Kelley, sat down for an interview with The Daily Progress, published on July 29, 2025. During the conversation, Kelly claimed that she was molested by her former stepfather when she was 10.

Wynonna was married to her ex-bodyguard, D.R. Roach, for four years from 2003 until their divorce in 2007. Days before the artist filed for divorce, Roach was arrested and charged with s*xual battery against a minor. At the time, the victim’s identity remained undisclosed.

Grace Kelly was born to Wynonna Judd and her first husband, Arch Kelley III, in June 1996. Her middle name is Pauline, and she has an elder brother named Elijah. Over the years, the now 29-year-old has faced legal troubles, including robbing a church van in Virginia in October 2024.

Besides accusing her ex-stepfather of s*xual abuse, Grace has also alleged that Judd was a “good performer” but “never a mother,” and was “so rich” that she reportedly tried to:

"sweep me under the rug and abuse me and then cover it all up."

The daughter has also claimed that her mother tried to keep the family together via counselling:

“When they found out in counseling what he had done to me, they’re like, ‘Wait a minute. We’re going to report this to law enforcement.’ When he was arrested and it came out in the news, that’s when she divorced him,” Grace Kelly stated.

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Exploring the troubled past of Wynonna Judd’s daughter, Grace Kelley

Grace Kelley was born into a family of celebrities. Both her mother, Wynonna Judd, and her late grandmother, Naomi Judd, are award-winning country music singers.

Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, the Judds were recognized for their multiple Grammy and CMA Awards wins, as well as their induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Grace’s aunt, Ashley Judd, is a well-known Hollywood actress who has worked in Double Jeopardy.

During his 1997 interview with Tampa Bay Times, Wynonna Judd revealed she “almost died” during Kelley’s birth. Later, in her February 2020 appearance on the show, The Pursuit! With John Rich, the country star sang praises of her daughter, despite her troubled life.

“I will tell you this. My daughter is the strongest Judd woman in our ‘herstory.’ She’s healthier than I was at 23. How she got there — I would not go that way, but I was also sequestered. I was on a bus with my mother. Kind of hard to get in trouble. So that could have been me, John, if I didn’t have music,” Wynonna Judd stated.

Meanwhile, Grace Kelley told The Daily Progress last month that she has had several run-ins with the law since her teenage days.

“My story is so messed up. Between 12 and 17, I was in 14 different facilities,” Kelley mentioned.

In December 2015, Grace was pulled over for having an “improperly secured” license plate. However, when officers found meth-making ingredients in the back seat of her car, she was arrested and charged with a felony count of “promotion of meth manufacture,” as per Radar Online. However, she pleaded guilty to possession of meth and was released on probation in May 2016.

Six months later, Grace Kelley was arrested for being a fugitive, and her probation was revoked. In May 2017, she pleaded guilty to meth manufacture, delivery, sale, and possession with intent and received an 11-month prison sentence and a fine.

While she was released from jail after a month and was sent to a rehab facility, in June of 2018, Grace Kelley faced eight years in prison for leaving the court-ordered program before her time. Fortunately, in November 2019, she was released on parole.

However, she was arrested for the next two years for multiple parole violations. While still serving her time in jail, Grace Kelley gave birth to her daughter, Kaliyah Chanel, in April 2022. Wynonna Judd has the custody of her 3-year-old granddaughter.

In 2023, Kelley violated parole and a restraining order and spent five months in jail. She was arrested three times last year. In April 2024, she was charged with soliciting prostitution, indecent exposure, and obstructing governmental operations after flashing drivers on the highway in Alabama.

She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of public lewdness and obstructing governmental operations and had to spend 60 days in jail and pay fines to the court. In August, Wynonna Judd’s daughter was arrested on three charges in Georgia, including evading the police, driving with a suspended license, and incorrectly using motorcycle equipment, but posted bail the following day.

In October last year, Grace Kelley made headlines after attempting to rob a church van in Albemarle County, Virginia. She was charged with seven felony counts, including grand larceny. In December, she took a plea deal and spent six weeks in jail.

Currently, she is based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and has found a new life full of hope, faith, religion, community support, and sobriety. In fact, she is now part of the congregation of Pastor Kent Hart of Ground Zero Church, whose van she tried to rob. She recently told The Daily Progress that she was “thankful” for finding God and forgiveness.

Grace Kelley is currently writing a memoir with a working title, Pronoia.

“I believe that now’s my time. I never had a voice, and I was iffy about talking about all this stuff, but no matter what is said about me, the Bible says the truth will set you free,” she told the outlet.

Kelley now spends time serving the community, working for the church, spending time in nature, swimming, and enjoying a new romance.

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Wynonna Judd told Oprah Winfrey in 2010 that she went into “mama bear mode” after discovering D.R. Roach had exploited her daughter. She hasn’t responded to Grace Kelley’s latest remarks yet.

Judd, however, spoke about her own experiences with abuse in her May 2025 documentary, The Judd Family: Truth Be Told.