Grace Kelly was a famous American actress in the 1950s who won an Oscar. She stopped acting in 1956 after appearing in eleven movies to marry Prince Rainer of Monaco. As the Princess Consort of Monaco, she did her royal responsibilities and started a foundation to aid poor kids and promote the arts. She died in an automobile collision on September 14, 1982, at the age of 52.
Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 12, 1929. Jack Kelly, her father, was a self-made billionaire who won three gold medals in sculling in the Olympics. Jack, her father, made a lot of money running a thriving construction firm on the East Coast.
Grace had a brother named John and two sisters named Margaret (Peggy) and Elizabeth. John competed in the Olympics in 1948, 1952, and 1956, much as his father did. He earned a bronze medal in rowing in 1956. Even though her family was good at sports, Grace was never really interested in them. She was more interested in acting and modeling. She didn't fit in perfectly with her family, but she subsequently thanked her parents for being open-minded and encouraging her to strive for excellence.
"My parents were extremely open-minded individuals, even though they were quite serious about life in general and their children in particular. There was no terrible job for them. Because I was their daughter, they knew that I would perform well in whichever job I chose. That was enough for them.
Grace went to Ravenhill Academy, a Catholic girls' school, and then Stevens School in the North West of Philadelphia. Both were private schools for the upper class. Grace was not very well at school and couldn't get into Bennington College in 1947 because she didn't do well in math. One instructor at Stevens Academy said:
"She didn't care about doing well in school; she cared more about boys and drama."
But following this rejection, she felt inspired to strive to become an actress.
At first, her father was upset because he thought acting was a bad second choice for his daughter. Jack Kelly had two brothers, Walter and George Kelly, who were Grace's uncles. They both had an effect on movies and plays. George Kelly received the Pulitzer Prize for drama for his comedy-drama The Show Off (1924–25), but he lost touch with his family when they found out he was gay.
Kelly got into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1947, thanks in part to her uncle George's influence.
She started studying acting in October 1947 and worked hard on it at night in her room. She often used a tape recorder to practice her voice. She lived in a women's hostel in Manhattan and didn't get much money from her parents. To make ends meet, she worked as a model for the John Robert Powers modeling agency. She had been modeling part-time since she was 12, and her beautiful features, composure, and blonde hair made her quite popular. At the time, she was said to be one of the most well-paid models in New York.
At the age of 19, she made her Broadway debut in Strindberg's The Father. TV producers started to notice her stage shows during the golden period of TV drama after World War II. Kelly was chosen by Delbert Mann to play Bethel Merriday in a drama based on a Sinclair Lewis book. Kelly's work on TV and stage led to offers of roles in movies. She had a little part in the movie Fourteen Hours (1951), which was her debut performance. Kelly didn't get much critical attention for the movie, but famed actor Gary Cooper was impressed with the youthful and lovely actress. He said she had something special that other actresses didn't. Cooper suggested her for her first big job, which was co-starring with him in High Noon (1952).
She signed a seven-year deal with Director John Ford in 1952. Her first movie with Ford was Mogambo (1953), which was filmed in Kenya. Kelly won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for her first Academy Award. She was in a movie with Clark Cable, and the movie's popularity helped her profile rise.
She was in Alfred Hitchcock's classic Dial M for Murder in 1954. Hitchcock and Kelly became friends and admired one other. Kelly said this about Hitchcock:
"Mr. Hitchcock taught me everything I know about movies." Because of him, I learned that murder scenes should be filmed like love scenes and love sequences should be photographed like murder scenes.
Hitchcock said that Kelly had an interesting personality and once called her:
"Grace Kelly's apparent coldness was like a volcano covered in snow." Michael Johns (2004) Moment of Grace: The American City in the 1950s. p.24
She agreed to play a part in Hitchcock's movie Rear Window (1954) alongside James Stewart since he was so excited about the project.
One of her best parts is as an affluent socialite (Lisa Fremont) who progressively warms up to L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies (James Stewart). The movie did well at the box office and with critics, and it is now one of the best movies of all time.
The Country Girl (1954), in which she played Bing Crosby's wife, was another important movie in her career. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, defeating Judy Garland by a little margin.
Her long string of great movies continued with her last Hitchcock movie, To Catch a Thief (1955), in which she starred opposite Cary Grant. Grant subsequently said that he enjoyed working with Kelly.
While she was in Monaco for the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, she met Prince Rainer III, the Prince of Monaco. In December 1955, Prince Rainer came to America and saw Grace Kelly again. He proposed to Grace Kelly after meeting her family and spending only three days with her. Kelly said yes.
Grace Kelly's film career would stop if she married into European royalty. This is because she would have to do a lot of new royal tasks that would keep her from becoming a movie star. Kelly felt both happy and sad about quitting acting. She didn't enjoy the Hollywood treadmill, and she had rejected down numerous good movie deals. She also didn't like a lot of things about Hollywood, saying:
"Other ladies saw me as a competitor. And that hurt me a lot. There is no mercy in this community. Success is the only thing that matters. I don't know of any other area in the world where so many people have nervous breakdowns, drink too much, or are unhappy.
But she had also worked hard and spent a lot of time getting ready to be an actor. Hitchcock was especially upset because he wanted Kelly to feature in his next movies. He adored working with Kelly.
The wedding, which happened on April 19, 1956, was called the "Wedding of the Century" and got a lot of media attention and conjecture. Kelly's family had to pay $2 million as a dowry to marry Prince Rainer.
Kelly got 142 titles (the same as her husband's) when they got married. Titles that were read aloud at the event. Princess Grace of Monaco was the most common title for her. She was also known as "Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco."
Many of the biggest stars of the time were at the wedding, and it was seen by a record number of people on TV. There were 20,000 people on the streets of Monaco to watch the pair.
That year, her last movie, "High Society," came out. It was filmed when she was engaged.
Caroline, Princess of Hanover; Albert, who is now the ruler of the Principality of Monaco; and Princess Stephanie were the couple's three children.
Prince Albert and Grace Kelly in 1972
She started AMADE Mondiale, a non-governmental organization located in Monaco, when she got married. According to UNESCO, AMADE works to improve the spiritual health of children all throughout the world. She also worked to promote the arts in Monaco and started the Princess Grace Foundation to help local artists. Grace Kelly was a big part of bringing Monaco back to life as a cultural and artistic center. Kelly adjusted to her new life in Monaco, even though it was a tremendous change from her life in Hollywood.
"Before I got married, I didn't think of all the responsibilities that would come with it. My experience has been helpful, and I think I have a natural tendency to care about other people's difficulties.
The Princess Grace Foundation also wanted to aid people with special needs who weren't getting the care they needed from regular social services.
Even though she had new royal obligations, film makers sought to get Kelly to come out of retirement. Hitchcock wanted Kelly to star in his movie Marnie in 1962. Kelly was eager to get back into performing, but her husband and the people of Monaco didn't want her to. She never went back to the screen.
Grace Kelly was in a bad car accident on September 13, 1982, after she had a stroke while driving. She lost control of the automobile and tumbled down a mountain. She never woke up and died the next day. Her daughter Stephanie, who was in the car, got hurt but lived.
On September 18, 1982, she was laid to rest in the Grimaldi family crypt. The burial was attended by 400 people from across the world, including leaders from foreign governments and the Hollywood community. James Stewart gave a eulogy at her funeral.
"I really like Grace Kelly." Not because she was a princess, not because she was an actress, and not even because she was my buddy. She was just about the loveliest person I had encountered. Every time I saw Grace, she brought a lovely, bright light into my life, just like she did for you. Every time I saw her was like a holiday. "There's no doubt I'll miss her. We'll all miss her. God bless you, Princess Grace."
At the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, a new movie called "Grace of Monaco" came out about Kelly. Olivier Dahan directed this contentious biography about her time as Princess of Monaco.
Following the tragic events of September 1982, the world struggled to reconcile the sudden loss of the woman who had embodied both American Hollywood royalty and European nobility. While the public mourned the "Serene Highness," those closest to her mourned the woman behind the titles—the one they described as compassionate, sunny, and profoundly grounded.
To her friends and family, the transition to Monaco was never seen as a mistake or an accident of fate. It was a choice she made for the right reasons, fully committing to a role that required her to set aside her first love: the screen. Though she occasionally looked back at her Hollywood years with a sense of wistfulness, she remained dedicated to her responsibilities in the Principality until her final day.
Her legacy is perhaps best captured in her own words. In an interview recorded just one month before the accident, she was asked how she would ultimately like to be remembered. Discarding the grandeur of her Oscars and her crown, she offered a simple, sincere reflection:
"I would like to be remembered as trying to do my job well, of being understanding and kind. I’d like to be remembered as a decent human being and a caring one."
Ultimately, beyond the glamour of the 1950s and the 700-year-old traditions of the House of Grimaldi, that is exactly what Grace Kelly was—a woman who believed that being kind and caring was the most important role she would ever play.