Grace Miller

Grace Miller is a woman with a good head screwed tightly on her shoulders. She doesn't dwell on the past or worry about the future; each day that she lives is a gift to be thankful for.

But like most people with such a grounded disposition, it took a lot of living to get there. Having been through her share of personal triumph and tragedy, Grace's outlook is shaped by all the lessons she's learned along the way.

Life was exciting when she was young and single in New York City. She always wanted to work in the fashion and cosmetic industries, so with the singular gumption of youth, she marched straight into Elizabeth Arden's offices and asked for a job. While working there as a sales rep, she met Pablo Manzoni, a count from Milan and face designer who taught her the fine art of makeup application, which she likens to portrait painting. Later she went to work for the Clinique Division of EstÈe Lauder, and even did a brief stint with FabÈrge-after two days she walked out.

"I always said that you have to follow your passions to be successful," said Grace. "That's what I did. If I didn't enjoy a job, I didn't stay."
Throughout her decade-long run in the glamour-obsessed world of the New York cosmetics industry, Grace made a lot of high-profile connections. At the posh cocktail parties thrown to introduce new products, she met the likes of Oscar de la Renta, Gregory Peck and Estee Lauder herself. She was even in the audience-sitting right behind Robert and John Kennedy-when Marilyn Monroe sang her legendarily sexy rendition of "Happy Birthday Mister President."

But despite all this, Grace was never star struck and she never allowed her values to be corrupted by the notoriously competitive beauty industry.
"I was always very grounded," she said. "If you know who you are and you believe in yourself, that's how you stay happy."

Eventually, she married and moved to Chicago, leaving the professional world in favor of staying at home to raise her two daughters. When her husband died of a sudden heart attack, Grace was devastated.
"It was like an out-of-body experience," she said. "I looked at the situation, but it wasn't me. I only kept going because of my girls."

Now her daughters are "successful, motivated and caring," strong women who realize that you can't just rely on being married; you always have to have a career. Grace reinvented herself as a realtor; then nine years ago, she left everything and moved to Bluffton after visiting a close friend here.
"I feel sometimes you have to take the plunge, otherwise life gets stagnant," she said of her decision to start fresh. "And this is paradise. Sometimes I go out with friends and we sit and say, aren't we lucky? Aren't we fortunate?"

Now Grace is the office manager for Pink magazine, a job which she thoroughly enjoys. When she leaves work, she often goes to the beach to bask in the ocean's calm, and these everyday moments are enough to fill her with gratitude.

"I believe you step out of the past, you live in the now and the future is unknown," said Grace. "You really have to enjoy every day."


Up Close
Hometown: NYC Maiden name: Medici, as in de'Medici, the famous art-loving family that led the Italian Renaissance

Family includes: daughters Robyn, director of editorial and design for Oprah.com, and Lauren, director of payment management for BMG/Columbia House; son-in-law Jeff Brecker, "who's been a wonderful support to the family" and Leo, her maltipoo

Hobbies: painting, dancing, reading non-fiction and keeping a gratitude journal, which she believes everyone should do

Hidden talent: playing Italian love songs on the accordion Favorite colors: mossy green and purple

Guilty pleasures: shopping and politics Inner beauty vs. outer beauty: "Beauty is from within. If you're happy and positive and enjoy each day, you shine."