Grace April Smith: What Happened To Faye Dunaway's Mother?

Grace April Smith is the mother of American actress Faye Dunaway. Grace’s daughter Faye has been active in the film industry since the 1960s. She started her career on Broadway and made her film debut appearing in The Happening. She appeared as Bonnie Elizabeth Parker in Bonnie and Clyde. She has been honored with numerous accolades.

Grace April Smith: Bio Summary

Who Was Faye Dunaway’s Mother, Grace April Smith?

Grace April Smith was the woman who gave birth to award-winning actress Faye Dunaway on January 14, 1941, in Bascom, Florida, U.S. Grace was born on 22 April 1922, in Bascom, Jackson County, Florida, USA to Simeon Luther Smith and Maggie Lena (Fears) Smith. She retired from Fort Jackson and was a member of Lebanon United Methodist Church.

Grace Smith was married to John MacDowell Dunaway Jr., a career non-commissioned officer in the United States Army. She became the wife of John on 11 August 1939 in Jackson, Florida, United States. They had two children, Faye Dunaway born Dorothy Faye Dunaway, and Mac Simmion Dunaway. Faye became an actress, producer, and director while Mac became a lawyer.

Grace April Smith was a housewife. She and John MacDowell Dunaway Jr divorced in the year 1954. The reason for their divorce is unknown. She later married James F. Hartshorn. Her daughter Faye Dunaway is the reason she is in the spotlight. Faye is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of her generation.

Grace’s daughter Faye Dunaway was one of the leading actresses during the golden age of New Hollywood. She is known for appearing in over seventy films, thirty television shows, thirteen plays, and two music videos. She started her acting career on Broadway and has appeared in several plays throughout her career.

ALSO, READ: John MacDowell Dunaway Jr.: How Did Faye Dunaway’s Father Die?

Faye appeared in two music videos, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Into the Great Wide Open and Hill Zaini’s I Heard. She has appeared in films such as “The Happening”, “Bonnie and Clyde”, “The Arrangement”, “Little Big Man”, “Puzzle of a Downfall Child”, “The Deadly Trap”, “The Three Musketeers”, “Chinatown”, and”The Four Musketeers: Milady’s Revenge”.

Faye appeared as Laura Scofield in the TV series It Had to Be You. She appeared in the series Touched by an Angel, Alias, and Grey’s Anatomy, among others. She has also appeared as herself on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Entertainment Tonight, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Hollywood Insider, Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and many more.

Faye was the executive producer of “Cold Sassy Tree”, co-executive producer of “Silhouette”, producer and director of “The Yellow Bird”, and associate producer of “The Case for Christ”. Faye has gained success and recognition for her work. She told PEOPLE: “When I was discovered, everything happened like dominos. I don’t know how to talk about it now because it’s too mindblowing.”

“It’s so unreal and yet it’s real. I’m grateful for it but I guess part of that is missing it – when one grows older. The whole thing is a great experience, but it has its pain as well. There’s a lot of manipulation that goes on, a lot of fear. ‘Will I make it?’ But in the end, you realize it was a very good life.” Speaking of her love life, Faye said:

“I’m very much a loner. I’d like to have a partner in my life and I would if I could find the right person, I think, but I don’t know who that might be right now.” She was married to musician Peter Wolf and photographer Terry O’Neill. Both marriages ended in a divorce.

ALSO, READ: Liam Dunaway O’Neill: Who Is Faye Dunaway’s Son?

What Happened To Faye Dunaway’s Mother?

Grace April Smith died on 1 June 2004, at age 82, in Richland County, South Carolina, USA. She lived a private life away from the spotlight. Due to her private nature, much is unknown about her life. She was buried at Elmwood Memorial Gardens, in Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina, USA. She was predeceased by her first husband, John M. Dunaway.

Grace April Smith was survived by her husband, James F. Hartshorn, son Mac S. Dunaway and his wife, Brenda, daughter, Faye Dunaway, two brothers, Neil Smith and Joseph Smith, and four grandchildren, Liam O’Neill, Ashley Johnston, Derek Dunaway, and Leslie May and great-grandchildren.

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