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Grace Kelly

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Grace Patricia Kelly
Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco
File:AmazinGrace.jpg
SpouseRainier III
IssuePrincess Caroline, Prince Albert, Princess Stéphanie
HouseGrimaldi
FatherJohn B. Kelly, Sr.
MotherMargaret Katherine Majer

Grace, Princess of Monaco, née Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12 1929 – September 14 1982) was an Academy Award-winning American film actress who, upon marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco on April 19 1956, became Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco. She was the mother of the principality's current reigning Sovereign Prince, Albert II. Princess Grace was not required to renounce her American citizenship upon her marriage.

Early life

Grace Kelly was born in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John Brendan Kelly, Sr., also known as Jack Kelly, and Margaret Katherine Majer Kelly, a German American Catholic convert from Lutheranism. Kelly's father's Irish American Catholic family (originally from Kidney Lake, Newport, County Mayo, Ireland) were new but prominent figures in Philadelphia society. The family was well-known and popular throughout the country. Kelly's father was a self-made millionaire and a triple gold-medal-winning Olympic sculler at a time that the sport of rowing was at its zenith. He was active in politics, running for mayor of Philadelphia and serving on the Fairmount Park commission. During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed the senior Kelly as his National Director of Physical Fitness, a public relations post which allowed Kelly to use his fame to extoll the virtues of physical fitness. Her brother John B. Kelly, Jr., followed in that tradition. He won the Sullivan Award in 1947 as the top amateur athlete in the country. His rowing exploits were well-chronicled. John, Jr., gave his sister the bronze medal he won at the 1956 Summer Olympics as a wedding present. Kelly Drive in Philadelphia is named for John, Jr., who was a city councilman there. Her father's large family included two prominent uncles in the arts: Walter Kelly, a vaudevillian, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright, George Kelly. Kelly's maternal grandparents, Carl Majer and Margaretha Berg, were of German descent.

Career

Although her family had opposed her becoming an actress, Kelly became a fashion model and appeared in her first film, Fourteen Hours (1951), when she was 22. The following year she "starred" (with a supporting role) in High Noon (1952).

Her next film, Mogambo (1953), was a drama set in the Kenyan jungle which centers on the love triangle portrayed by Kelly, Clark Gable, and Ava Gardner. Whilst filming this movie she had an affair with Gable, later memorably commenting "What else is there to do if you're alone in a tent in Africa with Clark Gable?" The movie earned Kelly an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but the award went to Donna Reed for her role in From Here to Eternity. Kelly made three films with Alfred Hitchcock: Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, and To Catch a Thief.

Kelly in High Society.

In 1955, she was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Country Girl. While it was being filmed, she was romanced by co-star Bing Crosby, a fellow Irish Catholic (who had recently lost his wife), but Kelly always denied that they had an affair.

Life as Princess

File:Grace Kelly pressconf Expo67.jpg
Princess Grace at a press conference in Montreal, during Expo 1967.

The musical comedy High Society (1956) was her last film, as her marriage to Rainier III marked her retirement from acting. Before her marriage, she was previously allegedly involved with Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Ray Milland, William Holden, Oleg Cassini, and Jean-Pierre Aumont. She reportedly was surprised to learn from Rainier that she was expected to give up her film career entirely, but followed his wishes grudgingly.

Her Catholicism and ability to bear children were key factors in her being chosen to marry Prince Rainier. Tales were circulated that Monaco would revert to France in the absence of an heir; and though there is no requirement for a Catholic marriage, it was thought unlikely that a Catholic prince would divorce and remarry if his chosen wife were barren. In fact, there was really little actual danger that Monaco would revert to France since, from 1882, a childless prince of Monaco could adopt an unrelated heir, thereby ensuring Monaco's survival as a principality. Prince Rainier's maternal grandfather, Louis II also legitimized his illegitimate daughter Charlotte Louvet (later Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois), who would become Rainier's mother and made her his heir.

Before Kelly drew Rainier's attention, French film star Gisèle Pascal had been his love interest for six years. Pascal and Rainier supposedly parted when a physical examination reportedly found her to be infertile, but she later married Raymond Pellegrin, to whom she bore a child.

Princess Grace's gravesite in St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Alfred Hitchcock wanted to use Kelly in his 1964 film Marnie; although she expressed interest in returning to films, many citizens of Monaco protested her plans and she rejected the director's offer. She later served as a narrator in a few film projects, including Universal's movie for television, The Poppy Is Also A Flower.

Prince Rainier and Princess Grace had three children:

In 2002 a new treaty between France and Monaco clarified that even if there are no direct heirs of the reigning prince, the principality will remain an independent nation, rather than reverting to France. Due to Prince Albert's enduring bachelorhood, Monegasque law now states that in the event of a reigning prince's lack of descendants, his siblings and their children will inherit the throne. The line of succession is now Princess Caroline, then her children by her late second husband Stefano Casiraghi, who died in 1990, and her daughter by her third husband, Ernst August V, Prince of Hanover.

Death

At the age of 52, in September 1982, Princess Grace suffered a stroke while driving. It had been rumored that she was driving on the same stretch of highway in Monaco that had been featured in To Catch a Thief, although her son claims that it was not. It resulted in an accident, and she died the next day without regaining consciousness. Princess Stéphanie, who was alleged by some sources to have been the actual driver of the car, suffered only minor injuries.

Princess Grace is interred in Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco; Prince Rainier was buried alongside her following his death in 2005.

Filmography

File:Gracerear.jpg
Grace Kelly modelling an evening gown in Rear Window.
Template:S-awards
Preceded by Academy Award for Best Actress
1954
for The Country Girl 		Succeeded by
Princess Consort to the Reigning Monarch of Monaco
Preceded by
Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois, Comtesse de Polignac (Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi, née Louvet)
 Princess of Monaco
1956 - 1982 		Succeeded by
None (will be the bride of Prince Albert II upon marriage)

Trivia

  • Alfred Hitchcock wanted to cast Kelly in the title role of his motion picture Marnie but reportedly, the people of Monaco were not happy with the idea of their princess taking on the role of such a character.
  • When dancer Josephine Baker was near bankruptcy, Princess Grace of Monaco helped her make a comeback.

Cultural references

File:Gracekellystamp.jpg
Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier on a 1956 stamp of Monaco.

Grace Kelly's lasting impact on popular culture and fashion has been widely noted.

  • She was the first actress to appear on a postage stamp. (Source: The Book of Useless Information, 2002)
  • The French haute couture fashion house Hermès named one of its most famous, and now most sought-after, products for Grace Kelly—the "Kelly Bag." Waiting lists of up to two years are not unusual for this handbag, and prices start at $5000 for the small version in plain leather and soar over $50,000 for crocodile skin or other unusual materials. The late Diana, Princess of Wales had to wait for almost a year to get an ostrich skin version of one.
  • The classic head-cover of a silk scarf crossed under the chin and knotted at the side or nape of the neck is universally known as the "Grace Kelly". This chic look is still copied by many female Hollywood stars when they wish to retain a degree of anonymity in the public eye. Famous users include: Sharon Stone, Madonna, and Annette Bening.
  • The gown Princess Grace wore on her wedding day was donated to the Philadelphia Museum of Art shortly thereafter. It is currently on display in honor of her fiftieth wedding anniversary.
  • She is mentioned in the Elton John song "Wrap Her Up".
  • Mika, a Beirut-born singer, has a song named "Grace Kelly" in which he sings "I tried to be like Grace Kelly. But all her looks were too sad."

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grace Kelly.
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