Atila Altaunbay, 49, is a Turkish bodyguard whose marriage to Grace Beverly Jones on the 24th of February 1996 made him very popular. The marriage which caused a stir at the start did not last very long before the estranged couple parted ways, although they did not officially divorce.
While Atila’s marriage and subsequent separation from Beverly have continued to put him in the media spotlight, he is scantily mentioned to have an entertainment career of his own. Here is all we know.
Who Is Atila Altaunbay?
Atila Altaunbay is a Turkish Muslim who was born in 1976. Although the 49-year-old was born in Turkey, he was raised in Belgium. Not much is known about his early childhood and education. However, sources say he worked as a pizza delivery boy in Belgium before becoming a bodyguard.
Interesting Details About Grace Jones’ Bodyguard
1. Atila Altaunbay Found Love in the Line of Duty
As mentioned above, Atila is a professional bodyguard who found love in the line of duty. The Turkish-born worked as a bodyguard to Grace Jones before the pair finally fell in love. Their relationship and subsequent marriage have been the major factors that made Atila an item in the media space.
2. Grace Jones Proposed Marriage to Him
Atila dated Jones for some months before he was offered a marriage proposal by his former boss – Grace Jones. He obliged and in 1996, Atila and Grace got married in Rio de Janeiro after Grace’s show during the Carnival celebrations. The pair had about 50 guests who attended their ceremony which was officiated in a private house by a Presbyterian minister.
However, after the ceremony, Grace Jones’ father was said to have performed another marriage ceremony for the couple at their family house in Syracuse.
3. He Flouted His Family Tradition by Marrying Grace Jones
Atila’s marriage to Grace was a serious act of disobedience against his family as he is a Turkish Muslim whose family tradition stated that all-male should get married according to their age. Atila was the youngest son and wasn’t supposed to get married till his entire older brothers were married. However, he flouted the tradition and cut off ties with his family.
Meanwhile, the bodyguard-turned-husband was 21 years old when he got married to Grace Jones. Jones on the other hand was 48 years old. The age difference between the couple stood at 28.
4. Did Atila Altaunbay Actually Try to Kill Grace Jones?
Atila and Grace Jones ended their 7-year-old marriage in 2004. This breakup was because Atila pulled out a knife at Grace Jones ‘threatening’ to kill her during an argument they had. Grace Jones stated that Atila put the knife to her throat in a fit of jealousy during their argument and after that, he left their home and returned to his family and has been unreachable ever since.
From available reports, seeing his wife getting a lot of attention took a bad toll on Atila who allegedly got jealous about how much attention Grace was getting from other men.
Although the pair got separated in 2004, they are still legally married as their divorce was not made official in any way.
5. Does He Have any Children?
Altaunbay does not have a child of his own but used to act as a father of Grace Jones’ son with Paulo Goude. Paulo Goude was a Graphic designer who dated Jones for about 7 years and had a child with her before she met and married Atila.
Together, Paulo and Grace have a granddaughter and this makes Atila a step-granddad.
6. Atila Altaunbay is Grace Jone’s First, and Only Husband
Before and after Atila, Grace Jones was never married. The model had a number of ‘high-profile’ relationships through the years though.
There were rumors of her getting married to Chris Stanley but she debunked the rumors in her 2015 memoir and stated that they only dated for a few years.
7. He is Not the Only Bodyguard that Grace was Intimate with
Grace Jones seems to have a special liking for her bodyguards. Apart from Atila, she also dated Dolph Lundgren in the 1980s. Lundgren was completing a master’s degree in chemical engineering on an exchange program with the University of Sydney in Australia when Grace Jones spotted him at a dance club and hired him as a bodyguard. From being a bodyguard, Grace said she and Dolph moved on to date for 4 years.
Meanwhile, Dolph Lundgren is now better known as a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist famous for movies like The Expendables (2010-2014) and Aquaman (2018).
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8. Altaunbay is Also Mentioned as an Entertainer
It is said that Atila Altaunbay has been featured in many stage plays but his first popular on-screen feature came when he acted in the movie; ‘Mind Games’. Also, sources have it that before he met Jones, Atila was taking singing classes and used to sing at weddings.
9. His Estranged Wife Changed Her Name When She was Younger in Order to Work as a Go-go Dancer
When Grace was in her 20s, she changed her surname to ‘Mendoz’ so that her parents would not know that she was working as a go-go dancer. Grace’s father, Bishop Robert W used to be strict with her and never supported her kind of music. According to him, her singing was supposed to be glorifying God.
10. Atila’s Former Partner has an Impressive Career Record
As mentioned earlier, Atila’s former lover is a famous actress, singer, and model who has 10 studio albums and at least 21 movies to her credit. More so, she has had several awards and nominations including The Voice of a Woman Awards (2017) and Q Awards (2008).
11. What is His Net Worth?
Atila Altaunbay has an estimated Net Worth of $800,000.00. Although he is mentioned to be an entertainer, his money was actually made from being a bodyguard. Similarly, his estranged partner’s net worth is currently put at $7 million. Grace was able to amass this huge sum from her entertainment career which spans 52 years.
12. Where is Altaunbay Now?
Atila has been rarely seen in public since his separation from Grace. As earlier mentioned, his estranged lover has said he went back to his family and has remained unreachable. Grace on the other hand is still an influential entertainer even at the age of 77.
