Grace Kelly

Hollywood Actress to Monaco Princess 

Grace Patricia Kelly

(1929-1982)

Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco

Kelly was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their civil marriage on April 18, 1956 followed by an extravagant religious ceremony on April 19, 1956. Prior to her marriage she achieved stardom in several significant Hollywood films in the early to mid-1950s.  She received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards and was ranked 13th on the American film Institute's 25 Greatest Female Stars list. 

Kelly was born into a prominent Catholic family in Philadelphia, PA.  After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1949, she began appearing in New York City theatrical productions and television broadcasts.  Kelly made her film debut in Fourteen Hours (1951).  She also gained stardom from her roles in High Noon (1952) and Mogambo (1953), the latter of which earned her the Academy Award for a Best Supporting Actress nomination.  Kelly played the supporting character, Linda Nordley, alongside Clark Gable and Ava Gardner.  The part of Linda Nordley was a deglamorized leading role for Miss Kelly.  Mogambo, the adventure film was shot on location across equatorial Africa and at studio soundstages in the United Kingdom. 

She won a Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Country Girl (1954) with Kelly playing the leading role of Georgie Elgin opposite Bing Crosby.

She made three Alfred Hitchcock suspense thrillers:  Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954) and To Catch a Thief (1955).   When Kelly won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Country Girl in 1954 she also starred in the three Htichcock films all within three years!

In 1956, Kelly starred in High Society with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. 

Both Crosby and Sinatra had profound respect for Kelly's off-screen demeanor, speaking of her in a 1976 reflection:

"She has taste, style, very good instincts, dignity and most respectable principles.  Grace was also kind, considerate and thoughtful of everybody connected with her films .. from the actors right on down to the grips.  I just have to consider her a most perfect person. When you look at Grace she reminds you of a cool breath of fresh air."

Bing Crosby

"Grace was the most incredible human being I've ever known.  Everything she touched came alive. A gracious, wonderful woman who was a princess from the moment she was born."

Frank Sinatra

Trivia:  Grace Kelly wore her engagement ring in the musical romantic comedy, High Society and was her last film before marrying Prince Rainier III.

The ring made by Cartier was set with a stunning 10.48 carat emerald cut diamond flanked by a pair of baguette-cut diamonds. 

In 1955, Prince Rainier III of Monaco proposed to Grace Kelly with a diamond and ruby eternity band representing the colors of Monaco.  Prince Rainier was deeply smitten from the moment he met the Hollywood starlet, telling his inner circle that he knew she was the one.  Though they only met briefly in 1955, the Prince wrote her poetic, romantic letters from afar before traveling to the United States to propose during Christmas that year.  They were married a few months later in what the media dubbed "the wedding of the century".  As Princess Grace, she left her acclaimed Hollywood career behind to dedicate herself to Monaco and raise their three children Caroline, Albert and Stephanie.  While their royal union was undeniably a strategic and political alliance Monaco required an heir and financial stability.  Grace's family provided a significant dowry and the two developed a genuine and profound affection for one another. 

The Prince was completely heartbroken when Princess Grace perished in September 1982 following a tragic car accident.  Following her death, Prince Rainier spoke only about his deep love for her and preserved her memory by establishing the Princess Grace Foundation to honor her lasting commitment to the arts. 

..their story was one of the world's great love stories..

Kelly retired from acting at age 26 to marry Rainier and began her duties as Princess of Monaco.  Princess Grace's charity work focused on young children and the arts.  

She has been regarded as an influential figure in cinema and was often associated as the "Hitchcock blonde".  One author described her screen image as characterized by elegance and glamour. On January 31, 1955 Kelly appeared on the cover of TIME magazine. Kelly was described in the article as the "Girl in White Gloves".

In 2012, Grace's childhood home was made a Pennsylvania historic landmark and an historical marker was placed on the site.  The home is located in the East Falls section of Philadelphia.  It was built by her father, John B. Kelly Sr. in 1929.  Grace lived in the house until 1950.  Prince Rainier III proposed to her there in 1955.

The Kelly family sold the property in 1974.

3901 Henry Avenue

The Royal Palace

The civil ceremony was held in the Throne Room of the Prince's Palace of Monaco, one day prior to their lavish religious ceremony at Saint Nicholas Cathedral.  This dress was made of taffeta, pale pink in color, covered by cream-colored Alencon lace, designed as a "fitting bodice with high rounded collar and a flared skirt". She wore kid gloves and a Juliet cap. The dress for the legal civil ceremony was designed by Helen Rose, a costume designer in the wardrobe department of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who also designed the gown for the main religious ceremony. 

The civil marriage was legally solemnized in the presence of 80 guests which included representatives from 14 nations.

The wedding dress of the American actress, worn during her wedding on April 19 is cited as one of the most elegant and best-remembered lace masterpiece bridal gowns of all time and one of the most famous since the mid 20th century.  The dress consisted of a bodice with an attached under-bodice and skirt support. There were two petticoats, one being an attached foundation.  The wedding attire included a headdress, veil, shoes and the lace-and-pearl-encrusted prayer book which she carried down the aisle.  The dress was a high-necked, long-sleeved gown with a fitted torso and billowing skirt.  Grace Kelly worked closely with Helen Rose to come up with the design.  The two women looked to costumes in the MGM archives for inspiration. The materials included "twenty-five yards of silk taffeta, one hundred yards of silk net and 125-year-old Brussels rose point lace. The Juliet cap was bejeweled with seed pearls and orange blossoms.  The veil, made of tulle, measured an expansive 90 yards.  

In 2005, the Philadephia Museum of Art discovered that her wedding shoes held a lucky penny, hidden in the right shoe.  The wedding dress train of 3 feet was described as "flowing like a river of whipped cream among the plush red floor".

On April 1, 2006, The Philadelphia Museum of Art presented an exhibition titled Fit for a Princess: Grace Kelly's Wedding Dress that ran until May 21, 2006.  The exhibition was in honor of the 50th anniversary of the wedding.

Some 50 years on, Kelly's 1956 wedding gown is still influential.  It has come in for praise in recent times because the wedding dress that Catherine Middleton wore on April 29, 2011 when she married Prince William was said to have been inspired by it.  

Grace Kelly's iconic wedding dress took six weeks to create.  The monumental project required a dedicated team of 3 dozen seamstresses working around the clock.  It had over 400 yards of fabric in total, including roughly 300 yards of lace. An intricate detail is that hundreds of thousands of hand-sewn seed pearls were used to complete the bodice.

In 2009, a plaque was placed on the "Rodeo Drive Walk of Style" in recognition of her contributions to style and fashion. 

"Grace Kelly was the best actress I've ever worked with in my life.  That woman was total relaxation, absolute ease.  She was totally THERE.  She was an extraordinarily serene girl".

Cary Grant, co-starred with Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief.

Grace Kelly holding her Oscar statue for Best Actress in the film, The Country Girl (1954) at the 27th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Circa March 30, 1955

Bob Hope giving Grace Kelly a congratulatory kiss on the cheek.

"I would like to be remembered as someone who accomplished useful deeds and who was a kind and loving person.  I would like to leave the memory of a human being with a correct attitude and who did her best to help others."

Princess Grace Patricia Kelly Grimaldi

..  to be continued ..