# Judy Balaban

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{{Short description|American actress and author (1932–2023)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name   = Judith Rose Balaban
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1932|10|13}}
| birth_place  = [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago%2C_Illinois), U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2023|10|19|1932|10|13}}
| death_place  = [Los Angeles, California](/source/Los_Angeles%2C_California), U.S.
| death_cause  =
| education    = 
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[Jay Kanter](/source/Jay_Kanter)<br>|1953|1961|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[Tony Franciosa](/source/Anthony_Franciosa)<br>|1961|1967|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[Don Quine](/source/Don_Quine)<br>|1971|1996|end=divorced}}
}}
| known_for    = 
| occupation   = 
| children     =  3
| parents      = Tillie Urkov Balaban<br> [Barney Balaban](/source/Barney_Balaban)
| family       = [Leonard "Red" Balaban](/source/Red_Balaban) (brother)<br> [Burt Balaban](/source/Burt_Balaban) (brother)<br> [Bob Balaban](/source/Bob_Balaban) (cousin)<br> [A. J. Balaban](/source/A._J._Balaban) (uncle)<br> [Elmer Balaban](/source/Elmer_Balaban) (uncle)
}}

'''Judith Rose Balaban''' (October 13, 1932 – October 19, 2023) was an American actress and author of ''The Bridesmaids: Grace Kelly and Six Intimate Friends'', about [Grace Kelly](/source/Grace_Kelly).<ref name=NYTSlumber>[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/11/books/a-movable-slumber-party.html#h New York Times: "A MOVABLE SLUMBER PARTY" by Sey Chassler] June 11, 1989</ref> Balaban was a friend of Kelly's, through her marriage to [Jay Kanter](/source/Jay_Kanter), and served as a bridesmaid at her wedding to [Rainier III, Prince of Monaco](/source/Rainier_III%2C_Prince_of_Monaco) in April 1956.

==Biography==
Judith Rose Balaban was born to a [Jewish](/source/American_Jews) family in [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago%2C_Illinois),<ref name=Heavy>[http://heavy.com/entertainment/2017/06/becoming-cary-grant-cast-showtime-documentary/ Heavy.com: "‘Becoming Cary Grant', Showtime Documentary: Meet the Cast" By S.M. Walsh] June 9, 2017</ref> the daughter of Tillie (née Urkov) and [Barney Balaban](/source/Barney_Balaban). Her brothers were American jazz tubist and sousaphonist, [Leonard "Red" Balaban](/source/Red_Balaban) and American film producer and director [Burt Balaban](/source/Burt_Balaban). Balaban wrote ''The Bridesmaids: Grace Kelly and Six Intimate Friends''.<ref name="Quine1990">{{cite book|last=Quine|first=Judith Balaban|title=The Bridesmaids: Grace Kelly and Six Intimate Friends|url=https://archive.org/details/bridesmaidsgrace00quin|url-access=registration|year=1990|publisher=Pocket Books|isbn=978-0-671-70770-5}}</ref> She appeared in the [Showtime](/source/Showtime_(TV_network)) documentary ''‘Becoming Cary Grant'''.<ref name=Heavy />

Balaban was married three times. In the early 1950s she dated actor, [Montgomery Clift](/source/Montgomery_Clift).  In 1953, she married Grace Kelly's talent agent [Jay Kanter](/source/Jay_Kanter); they had two daughters, Victoria Kanter and Amy Kanter, before divorcing in 1961.<ref name=NYTSlumber /> In 1961, she married actor [Tony Franciosa](/source/Tony_Franciosa); they had one daughter, Nina Franciosa, before divorcing in 1967. In 1971, she married actor [Don Quine](/source/Don_Quine); they divorced in 1996.<ref name=NYTSlumber />

Balaban died at a Los Angeles hospital on October 19, 2023, at the age of 91.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barnes |first1=Mike |title=Judy Balaban, High-Placed Participant in Hollywood, Dies at 91 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/judy-balaban-dead-grace-kelley-tony-franciosa-1235623495/ |website=[The Hollywood Reporter](/source/The_Hollywood_Reporter) |access-date=October 19, 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0049311}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balaban, Judy}}
Category:1932 births
Category:2023 deaths
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Category:American women non-fiction writers
Category:Jewish American actresses
Judy
Category:20th-century American women writers
Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers
Category:Actresses from Chicago
Category:Writers from Chicago
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:21st-century American women writers

{{US-actor-stub}}
{{US-nonfiction-writer-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Judy Balaban](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Balaban) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Balaban?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.