Carol Grace


Carol Grace was an American actress and author. She is often referred to as Carol Marcus Saroyan or Carol Matthau.

Biography

Grace was born in New York City's Lower East Side; her mother, who was sixteen when she gave birth, was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. Grace never knew her biological father. She was placed in foster care until the age of eight when her mother married Charles Marcus, the wealthy head of the Bendix Corporation. Grace would take his last name as her own.
She was reportedly the inspiration for the Holly Golightly character in Truman Capote's novella Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Grace's Broadway credits include Once There Was a Russian, The Cold Wind and the Warm, The Square Root of Wonderful, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, The Time of Your Life, and Across the Board on Tomorrow Morning and Talking to You.
She was twice married to Pulitzer Prize-winning writer William Saroyan over an eight-year period.. She later revealed that he was abusive. The couple had two children: Aram Saroyan, an internationally known writer, and the late actress Lucy Saroyan, who died in 2003.
She subsequently married actor Walter Matthau on August 21, 1959. The couple remained married until his death on July 1, 2000; they had one son, Charles. She had a wide social circle and was known for her wit and good company.
In 1955, Random House published her novella based on her experiences as a foster child, The Secret in the Daisy. In 1992, she published a memoir, Among the Porcupines.
Grace died of a cerebral aneurysm on July 21, 2003, aged 78, and was interred in the same grave of Matthau, who died 3 years prior. She was survived by her two sons and a sister, Elinor Dee Pruder.

Filmography