Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale: Facts about Frank Abagnale's Wife

Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale is the wife of Frank Abagnale. Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale’s husband Frank is an American author and convicted felon. He gained notoriety in the late 1970s with biographical claims that included working as an assistant state attorney general in Louisiana, a hospital physician in Georgia, a professor in Utah, and a Pan American World Airways pilot who logged over two million air miles. According to Abagnale, he began to con people and pass bad checks when he was 15 years old.

Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale: Bio Summary

Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale is the wife of Frank Abagnale. She was born in 1954 in the United States of America. As of 2023, Kelly is 69 years old. She gained much of her fame from being the wife of Frank. Aside from being a wife, she is also a mother of 3 boys.

How did Kelly and her husband, Frank Abagnale meet and started the relationship that lead to their married? Abagnale cites meeting his wife as the motivation for changing his life. He told author Paul Stenning that he met her while working undercover for the FBI when she was a cashier at a grocery store.

At age 22 Kelly A. Welbes married six years her senior Frank W. Abagnale Jr (age 28). The couple got married on November 6, 1976. They got married in a beautiful ceremony in the presence of their friends, family, and loved ones. Their marriage has been blessed with three children. They are Sean Abagnale, Scott Abagnale, and Chris Abagnale. Her son Scott Abagnale is an FBI Special agent.

ALSO, READ; Sean Abagnale, Chris Abagnale, and Scott Abagnale- Who are Frank Abagnale’s children?

The couple has been married for decades and currently lives nearby Daniel Island with their three boys. Frank Abagnale still works in Quantico Virginia where he has worked as an instructor for the FBI training academy for over 40 years specializing in fraud prevention.

Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale’s husband Frank Agbanale

According to Abagnale, he began to con people and pass bad checks when he was 15 years old. During his teens and early twenties, he was arrested multiple times and was convicted and imprisoned in the United States and Europe. In 1980, Abagnale co-wrote a book on his life, Catch Me If You Can, that inspired the film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg, in which Abagnale was portrayed by actor Leonardo DiCaprio. He has also written four other books. Abagnale runs Abagnale and Associates, a consultancy firm.

According to Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale’s husband, his first victim was his father, who gave Abagnale a gasoline credit card and a truck and was ultimately liable for a bill amounting to $3,400. Abagnale was only 15 at the time. In his autobiography, Abagnale says, because of this crime, he was sent to a reform school in Westchester County, New York run by Catholic Charities USA.

ALSO, READ; Paulette Abagnale: What happened to Frank Abagnale’s mother?

In December 1964, Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale’s husband enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 16. He was discharged after less than three months and was arrested for forgery shortly thereafter. Abagnale was arrested in Montpellier, France, in September 1969. He had stolen an automobile and defrauded two local families in Klippan, Sweden. He was sentenced to four months for theft in France but only served three months in Perpignan’s prison.

Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale’s husband was then extradited to Sweden where he was convicted of gross fraud by forgery. He served two months in a Malmö prison and was banned from returning to Sweden for eight years and required to recompense his Swedish victims (which, they say, he never did). Abagnale was deported back to the United States in June 1970 when his appeal failed.

After returning to the United States, 22-year-old Abagnale dressed in a pilot’s uniform and traveled around college campuses, passing bad checks and claiming he was there to recruit stewardesses for Pan Am. At the University of Arizona, he stated that he was a pilot and a doctor, and according to Paul Holsen, a student at the time, Abagnale conducted physical examinations on several female college students who wanted to be part of flight crews. None of the women were ever enrolled in Abagnale’s fictional program.

In 1977, Abagnale gave public talks wherein he claimed that between the ages of 16 and 21 years old, he was a doctor in a Georgia hospital for one year, an assistant state attorney general for one year, a sociology professor for two semesters, and a Pan American airlines pilot for two years.

In addition, Abagnale claimed that he recruited university coeds as Pan-American stewardesses traveling with them for three months throughout Europe. He also claimed he eluded the FBI with a daring escape from a commercial airline toilet bowl, while the plane was taxiing at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

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