Born on February 1, 1965, Princess Stephanie spent her early years growing up in the Palais de Monaco, dreaming of studying fashion design. Then, in 1982, her life suddenly changed when her mother was killed as the two travelled on a winding mountain road in Monaco. "Not only did I go through the horrible trauma of losing my mother at a very young age, but I was beside her at the moment of the accident," she said in 2002, after a 20-year silence about the tragedy. "Nobody can imagine how much I've suffered, and still suffer." And it was in the years following the crash that Stephanie, who these days sports at least three tattoos, began to earn a reputation as a royal rebel. "I realised how lucky I was to have life," she said later. "I had my arms open to the future and I said to myself, 'This could be all over tomorrow.' Nobody has really tried to understand me or my behaviour, which just reflected my decision to enjoy life to the full." For Stephanie, enjoying life "to the full" involved embracing a glamorous lifestyle and dating a string of high profile men as she tried her hand at modelling, fashion design and pop singing. "I'm quite happy to perform my official duties," she said as she launched an eponymous perfume in 1989. "But on the other hand, I've always wanted to be independent and to have my own career." Acknowledging she had "tried everything", she added: "I've had an unusual career path for a princess." And she seemed to approach her love life with the same enthusiasm. By the time she was in her mid-20s, she had left behind a series of colourful beaus - including race car driver Paul Belmondo, a twice-divorced disco owner, a record producer and Hollywood star Rob Lowe - as well as a broken engagement with a French real estate developer. Then, in 1991, she courted controversy when she began dating her former bodyguard Daniel Ducruet, whose ex-girlfriend was six months pregnant with his child. The romance was not well-received by Prince Rainier, and the rift between them further deepened in May 1992 when the princess announced she was expecting. (Baby Louis was born later that year.) More ...