Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: They had three children , Blanca ( who died in 1886 ) , Laura ( a painter ) , and Alfonso ( who played for Real Madrid in the early 1900s before embarking on a career as a diplomat ) .
Simplified: They had three children , Blanca ( who died in 1886 ) , Laura ( a painter ) , and Alfonso ( who played for Real Madrid in the early 1900s before becoming a diplomat ) .