| Grace Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Grace Kelly in High Society (1956). | |
|
|
|
| Tenure | April 19, 1956 – September 14, 1982 |
| Spouse | Rainier III, Prince of Monaco |
| Issue | |
| Caroline, Princess of Hanover Albert II, Prince of Monaco Princess Stéphanie of Monaco |
|
| Full name | |
| Grace Patricia Kelly | |
| House | House of Grimaldi |
| Father | John B. Kelly, Sr. |
| Mother | Margaret Katherine Majer |
| Born | November 12, 1929 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US |
| Died | September 14, 1982 (aged 52) Monaco |
| Burial | Monaco Cathedral |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Signature | |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.
After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of 20, Grace Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions as well as in more than forty episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. In October 1953, with the release of Mogambo, she became a movie star, a status confirmed in 1954 with a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination as well as leading roles in five films, including The Country Girl, in which she gave a deglamorized, Academy Award-winning performance. She retired from acting at 26 to enter upon her duties in Monaco. She and Prince Rainier had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie. She also retained her American roots, maintaining dual US and Monégasque citizenships.
She died after suffering a stroke on September 14, 1982, when she lost control of her automobile and crashed. Her daughter, Princess Stéphanie, was in the car with her, and survived the accident.
In June 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her No.13 in their list of top female stars of American cinema.
Contents |
Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia to John Brendan "Jack" Kelly, and his wife, Margaret Katherine Majer. The newborn was named after her father's sister, who had died at a young age. She was raised Catholic,[1][2] and was of Irish and German descent.[3] Before her marriage, Majer studied physical education at Temple University and later became the first woman to head the Physical Education Department at the University of Pennsylvania. Jack Kelly was a local hero as a triple Olympic-gold-medal-winning sculler, and became wealthy as his construction company became the largest such enterprise on the East Coast.[2] Registering as a Democrat, he obtained the party's nomination for mayor in the 1935 election and lost by the closest margin for any Democrat in the city's history. In later years, he served on the Fairmount Park Commission and, during World War II, was appointed by President Roosevelt as National Director of Physical Fitness.
When Grace was born, the Kellys already had two children, Margaret Katherine, known as Peggy (June 13, 1925 – November 23, 1991) and John Brendan, Jr., known as Kell (May 24, 1927 – May 2, 1985). Another daughter, Elizabeth Anne, known as Lizanne (June 25, 1933 – November 24, 2009), was born three and a half years after Grace.
At Margaret's baptism in 1925, Jack Kelly's mother, Mary Costello Kelly, expressed her disappointment that the baby was not named Grace in memory of her last daughter, who had died young. Upon his mother's death the following year, Jack Kelly resolved that his next daughter would bear the name and, three years later, with the arrival of Grace Patricia in November 1929, his late mother's wish was honored.
Following in his father's athletic footsteps, John Jr. won in 1947 the James E. Sullivan Award as the country's top amateur athlete. Also, similar to his father's gold medals in rowing at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics, he competed in the sport at the 1948, 1952 and the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne where, on November 27, seven months after his sister's Monaco wedding, he won a bronze medal, which he gave to her as a gift of the occasion. He also served as a city councilman, and Philadelphia's Kelly Drive is named for him.
Two of Grace Kelly's uncles were prominent in the arts; her father's eldest brother, Walter C. Kelly (1873–1939), was a vaudeville star whose nationally known act The Virginia Judge was filmed as a 1930 MGM short and a 1935 Paramount feature, and another older brother, George Kelly (1887–1974), estranged from the family due to his homosexuality, became renowned in the 1920s as a dramatist, screenwriter and director with a hit comedy-drama, The Show Off in 1924–25, and was awarded the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his next play, Craig's Wife.[4]
| Grace Kelly | |
|---|---|
from the film To Catch a Thief |
|
| Born | Grace Patricia Kelly |
| Years active | 1950–1956 |
While attending Ravenhill Academy, a prestigious Catholic girls' school, Kelly modeled fashions at local social events with her mother and sisters. In 1942, at the age of twelve, she played a lead in Don't Feed the Animals, a play produced by the East Falls Old Academy Players.[4] During high school, she acted and danced, graduating in May 1947 from Stevens School, a small private institution in a mansion on Walnut Lane in the Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood of Germantown. Her graduation yearbook listed her favorite actress as Ingrid Bergman and her favorite actor as Joseph Cotten.[5] Written in the "Stevens' Prophecy" section was, “Miss Grace P. Kelly – a famous star of stage and screen.”
Because of low mathematics scores, Kelly was rejected by Bennington College in July 1947. To the dismay of her parents—despite his brothers' occupations, her father viewed acting as "a slim cut above streetwalker"[2]—Kelly decided to pursue her dreams of a career in the theater. For an audition into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York she used a scene from her uncle's 1923 play The Torch-Bearers. Although the school had already selected its semester quota, Kelly obtained an interview with the school's admission officer, Emile Diestel, and was admitted due to her uncle George.[2] Living in Manhattan's Barbizon Hotel for Women, a prestigious establishment which barred men from entering after 10 pm, and working as a model to support her studies, Kelly began her first term the following October. A diligent student, she would use a tape recorder to practice and perfect her speech. Her early acting pursuits led her to the stage, most notably a Broadway debut in Strindberg's The Father alongside Raymond Massey. At 19, her graduation performance was as Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story.[2]
Television producer Delbert Mann cast Kelly as Bethel Merriday, an adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name, in her first of nearly sixty live television programs.[2] Success on television eventually brought her a role in a major motion picture. Kelly made her film debut in a small role in the 1951 film Fourteen Hours. She was noticed during a visit to the set by Gary Cooper, who subsequently starred with her in High Noon. Cooper was charmed by Kelly and said that she was "different from all these actresses we've been seeing so much of." However, her performance in Fourteen Hours was not noticed by critics, and did not lead to her receiving other film acting roles. She continued her work in the theater and on television,[4] although she lacked "vocal horsepower" and would likely not have had a lengthy stage career.[2] Kelly was performing in Colorado’s Elitch Gardens when she received a telegram from Hollywood producer Stanley Kramer, offering her a co-starring role opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon.
Kelly's role as Linda Nordley in MGM's production of Mogambo garnered her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Although High Noon increased Kelly's prominence in Hollywood, director John Ford noticed her by seeing a 1950 screen test which showed, he said, that Kelly had "breeding, quality and class".[2] Gene Tierney was initially cast in the role, but due to emotional problems dropped out at the last minute,[6][7] and the studio flew Kelly to Los Angeles to audition in September 1952. She won the role, along with a 7-year contract at the relatively low salary of $850 a week. Kelly signed the deal under two conditions: First that, one out of every two years, she have time off to work in the theater and second, that she be able to live in New York City, at the now-landmarked Manhattan House, at 200 E. 66th Street.[8][2] Just two months later, in November, the cast arrived in Nairobi to begin production. She later told Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, "Mogambo had three things that interested me. John Ford, Clark Gable, and a trip to Africa with expenses paid. If Mogambo had been made in Arizona, I wouldn't have done it."[9] The filming timetable afforded her opportunity to indulge in types of activities that undoubtedly would not have been broadcast to the likes of Hedda Hopper or her reading public. Kelly and Mogambo co-star Ava Gardner enjoyed a break in the production schedule to journey to Rome and supposedly spent time there "brothel-hopping."[10]
After the success of Mogambo, Kelly starred in a TV play The Way of an Eagle, with Jean-Pierre Aumont before being cast in the film adaptation of Frederick Knott's Broadway hit Dial M for Murder. Director Alfred Hitchcock also saw the 1950 screen test[2] and would become one of Kelly's last mentors. He took full advantage of Kelly's virginal beauty on-camera. In a scene in which her character Margot Wendice is nearly murdered, a struggle breaks out between her and her would-be-killer Tony Dawson as she kicks her legs and flails her arms attempting to fight off her killer. Dial M for Murder opened in theaters in May 1954 to both positive reviews and box-office triumph.
Kelly began filming scenes for her next film, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, in January 1954 with William Holden. The role of Nancy, the wife of naval officer Harry (Holden), proved to be a minor but pivotal part of the story. Released in January 1955, The New Yorker wrote of Kelly and Holden's unbridled on-screen chemistry, taking note of Kelly's performance of the part "with quiet confidence."
In committing to the role of Lisa Fremont in Rear Window, Kelly unhesitatingly turned down the opportunity to star alongside Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, which won her replacement, Eva Marie Saint, an Academy Award. "All through the making of Dial M for Murder, he [Hitchcock] sat and talked to me about Rear Window all the time, even before we had discussed my being in it."[11] Much like the shooting of Dial M for Murder, Kelly and Hitchcock shared a close bond of humor and admiration. Sometimes, however, minor strife would emerge on set concerning the wardrobe:
At the rehearsal for the scene in Rear Window when I wore a sheer nightgown, Hitchcock called for Edith Head. He came over here and said, 'Look, the bosom is not right, we're going to have to put something in there.' He was very sweet about it; he didn't want to upset me, so he spoke quietly to Edith. When we went into my dressing room and Edith said, 'Mr. Hitchcock is worried because there's a false pleat here. He wants me to put in falsies.' Well, I said, 'You can't put falsies in this, it's going to show and I'm not going to wear them.' And she said, 'What are we going to do?' So we quickly took it up here, made some adjustments there, and I just did what I could and stood as straight as possible – without falsies. When I walked out onto the set Hitchcock looked at me and at Edith and said, 'See what a difference they make?'
Kelly's new co-star, James Stewart, was highly enthusiastic about working with her.[12] The role of Lisa Fremont, a wealthy Manhattan socialite and model, was unlike any of the previous women which she had played. For the very first time, she was an independent career woman. Stewart played a speculative photographer with a broken leg, bound to a wheelchair and so reduced to curiously observing the happenings outside his window. Kelly is not seen until twenty-two minutes into the movie. Just as he had done earlier, Hitchcock provided the camera with a slow-sequenced silhouette of Kelly, along with a close-up of the two stars kissing and finally lingering closely on her profile. With the film's opening in October 1954, Kelly was again praised. Variety's film critic remarked on the casting, commenting about the "earthy quality to the relationship between Stewart and Miss Kelly. Both do a fine job of the picture's acting demands."[13]
Kelly won the role of Bing Crosby's long-suffering wife, Georgie Elgin, in The Country Girl, after a pregnant Jennifer Jones bowed out. Already familiar with the play, Kelly was desperate for the part. This meant that, to MGM's dismay, she would have to be loaned out to Paramount. Kelly threatened the studio that she would pack her bags and leave for New York for good. The vanquished studio caved in, and the part was hers.
The film also paired Kelly again with William Holden. The wife of a washed-up alcoholic singer, played by Crosby, Kelly's character is emotionally torn between two lovers. Holden willfully begs Kelly to leave her husband and be with him. A piece of frail tenderness manages to cloak itself inside of her, even after having been demonized by Crosby, describing "a pathetic hint of frailty in a wonderful glowing man. That appeals a lot to us. It did to me. I was so young. His weaknesses seemed touching and sweet, they made me love him more."
As a result of her performance in The Country Girl, Kelly was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her main competitor for the prize was Judy Garland's much heralded comeback performance in A Star Is Born; playing not only the part of an up and coming actress-singer, but also ironically, the wife of an alcoholic movie star. Although Kelly won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for best actress for her performances in her three big movie roles of 1954 (Rear Window, Dial M For Murder, and The Country Girl), she and Garland both received Golden Globe Awards for their respective performances.
By the following March, the race between Kelly and Garland for the Oscar was very close. On the night of the Academy Awards telecast, March 30, 1955, Garland was unable to attend because she was in the hospital having just given birth to her son, Joseph Luft. However, she was rumored to be the odds-on favorite, and NBC Television cameras were set up in her hospital room so that if she was announced as the winner, Garland could make her acceptance speech live from her hospital bed. However, when William Holden announced Kelly as the winner, the technicians immediately dismantled the cameras without saying one word to Garland. Garland was reported not to have been very gracious about Kelly's win, saying in later years, "I didn't appreciate Grace Kelly taking off her makeup and walking away with my Oscar."
In April 1954, Kelly flew to Colombia for a 10-day shoot on her next project, Green Fire, with Stewart Granger. Kelly plays Catherine Knowland, a coffee plantation owner. In Granger's autobiography he writes of his distaste for the film's script, while Kelly later confided to Hedda Hopper, "It wasn't pleasant. We worked at a pathetic village – miserable huts and dirty. Part of the crew got shipwrecked ... It was awful."[9] Green Fire was a critical and box-office failure.
After the back-to-back filming of Rear Window, Toko-Ri, Country Girl and Green Fire, Kelly flew to France, along with department store heir Bernard "Barney" Strauss, to begin work on her third and last film for Alfred Hitchcock, To Catch a Thief. Kelly and her co-star, Cary Grant, developed a mutual admiration. The two cherished their time together for the rest of their lives. Years later, when asked to name his all-time favorite actress, Grant replied without hesitation: "Well, with all due respect to dear Ingrid Bergman, I much preferred Grace. She had serenity."[14] The fireworks scene has been the subject of much commentary, as Hitchcock peppers an undertone of sexual innuendo during the sequence.
Kelly headed the US delegation at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1955. While there, she was invited to participate in a photo session at the Palace of Monaco with Prince Rainier III, the sovereign of the principality. After a series of delays and complications, Kelly met the prince in Monaco.
Upon returning to America, Kelly began work on The Swan, in which she coincidentally portrayed a princess. Meanwhile, she was privately beginning a correspondence with Rainier. In December, Rainier came to America on a trip officially designated as a tour, although it was speculated that Rainier was actively seeking a wife. A 1918 treaty with France stated that if Rainier did not produce an heir, Monaco would revert to France as a result of the Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918. At a press conference in the United States, Rainier was asked if he was pursuing a wife, to which he answered, "No." A second question was posed, asking, "If you were pursuing a wife, what kind would you like?" Rainier smiled and answered, "I don't know – the best." Rainier met Kelly and her family, and after three days, the prince proposed. Kelly accepted and the families began preparing for what the press called "The Wedding of the Century." Kelly and her family had to provide Prince Rainier with a dowry of 2 million USD in order for the marriage to go ahead. The religious wedding was set for April 19, 1956. News of the engagement was a sensation even though it meant the possible end to Kelly's film career. Industry professionals realized that it would have been impractical for her to continue acting and wished her well, and Kelly was uninterested in remaining an actress as she aged.[2] Alfred Hitchcock had quipped that he was "very happy that Grace has found herself such a good part."
Preparations for the wedding were elaborate. The Palace of Monaco was painted and redecorated throughout. On April 4, 1956, leaving from Pier 84 in New York Harbor, Kelly, with her family, bridesmaids, poodle, and over eighty pieces of luggage boarded the ocean liner SS Constitution for the French Riviera. Some 400 reporters applied to sail, though most were turned away. Thousands of fans sent the party off for the eight-day voyage. In Monaco, more than 20,000 people lined the streets to greet the future princess consort.
That same year, MGM released Kelly's last film, the musical comedy High Society (based on the studio's 1940 comedy Philadelphia Story). One highlight of the film was Kelly's duet with Bing Crosby, singing "True Love," with words and music by Cole Porter.
Kelly and Rainier had both civil and religious weddings. The 40-minute civil ceremony took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956, and was broadcast across Europe. To cap the ceremony, the 142 official titles (counterparts of Rainier's) that Kelly acquired in the union were formally recited. The following day the church ceremony took place at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Kelly's wedding dress, designed by MGM's Academy Award–winning Helen Rose, was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses. The bridesmaid's gowns were designed by Joe Allen Hong at Neiman Marcus after Lawrence Marcus visited Monaco. The 600 guests included Hollywood stars David Niven and his wife Hjördis, Gloria Swanson, Ava Gardner, the crowned head Aga Khan, Gloria Guinness, Daisy Fellowes, Etti Plesch, Lady Diana Cooper and Conrad Hilton. Frank Sinatra initially accepted an invitation but at the last minute decided otherwise, afraid of upstaging the bride on her wedding day. The ceremony was watched by an estimated 30 million people on television. The prince and princess left that night for their seven-week Mediterranean honeymoon cruise on Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II.
As Princess of Monaco, she founded AMADE Mondiale, a Monaco-based non-profit organization eventually recognized by the UN as a Non-Governmental Organization. According to UNESCO's website, AMADE promotes and protects the "moral and physical integrity" and "spiritual well-being of children throughout the world, without distinction of race, nationality or religion and in a spirit of complete political independence." Her daughter Princess Caroline carries the torch for AMADE today in her role as President.
Princess Grace gave birth to the couple's first child, Princess Caroline, nine months and four days after the wedding. Twenty-one guns announced the event, a national holiday was called, gambling ceased, and free champagne flowed throughout the principality. A little over a year later, 101 guns announced the birth of their second child, Prince Albert. Prince Rainier and Princess Grace had three children:
After the wedding, Prince Rainier banned the screening of Kelly's films.[15] Hitchcock offered Kelly the lead in his film Marnie in 1962. She was eager, but public outcry in Monaco against her involvement in a film that portrayed her as a kleptomaniac made her reconsider and ultimately reject the project. Director Herbert Ross attempted to lure Princess Grace for his 1977 film The Turning Point, but Prince Rainier quashed the idea. Later that year, Kelly returned to the arts in a series of poetry readings on stage and the narration of the documentary The Children of Theater Street. She also narrated ABC's made-for-television film The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966).
As princess, Kelly was active in improving the arts institutions of Monaco, and eventually the Princess Grace Foundation was formed to support local artisans. She was one of the first celebrities to support and speak on behalf of La Leche League, an organization that advocates breastfeeding; she planned a yearly Christmas party for local orphans, and dedicated a Garden Club that reflected her love of flowers.
Kelly was also a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1960.[16]
In 1981, the Prince and Princess celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
Kelly was the object of the tabloids and gossip throughout her life. Her love life was a particular focus of speculation. Stories of affairs circulated from her first major role in motion pictures and eventually included the names of almost every major actor at the time. It is likely that many of the stories are exaggerated, although she is believed to have had affairs with all of her leading men apart from James Stewart.[17]
During the making of Dial M for Murder, her co-star Ray Milland probably seduced her.[2] Milland was 22 years older than she. Milland was married to Muriel Milland for thirty years, and the couple had a son. Milland assured Kelly that he had left his wife, which she would later find out to have been a lie.[18] Muriel Milland was one of the most popular wives in Hollywood and had the support of many friends, including gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. After Muriel Milland found out about the alleged affair, Kelly was branded a homewrecker. After Kelly gave a press interview explaining her side of the story the town seemed to lose interest in the scandal. It was never proven that Kelly actually succumbed to Milland's advances; in fact, her friends at the time, such as Rita Gam, believed she had little interest in him.
Russian fashion designer Oleg Cassini, having just seen Mogambo earlier that evening, encountered Grace Kelly having dinner at Le Veau d'Or. Formerly married to actress Gene Tierney, the original choice to play Mogambo's Linda Nordley, Cassini was raised in Florence and had a cultured air with an abundance of charm and courtliness. He became just as captivated by Kelly in person as he had been while watching her in the film and soon piqued her curiosity by sending her a daily bouquet of red roses. His persistence paid off when she accepted his invitation to lunch, with the provision that her eldest sister, Peggy, join them. Although Kelly and Cassini almost married,[2] their relationship ended with her parents' refusal to accept a divorced non-Catholic as a future son-in-law.
When she was a princess, Prince Rainier laid down a list of strict rules when it came to the encounters with the Princess at the palace, which included, no autographs, no photographs, no audio recording devices, and nobody was allowed to leave the room for anything, unless, and until, the Princess left the room first, so that she would avoid being trapped by a mob of fans. This observation was reported in 1963. Whether either had extramarital affairs is unclear, but the couple had become closer before Kelly's death.[2]
In a 1960s interview, Kelly explained how she had grown to accept the scrutiny as a part of being in the public eye, but expressed concern for her children’s exposure to such relentless scandalmongering. After her death, celebrity biographers chronicled the rumors with renewed enthusiasm.
In 1951, the newly famous Kelly took a bold stand against a racist incident involving Black American expatriate singer/dancer Josephine Baker, when Sherman Billingsley's Stork Club in New York refused Baker as a customer. Kelly, who was dining at the club when this happened, was so disgusted that she rushed over to Baker (whom she had never met), took her by the arm, and stormed out with her entire party, vowing never to return (and she never did).[19] The two women became close friends after that night. A significant testament to their close friendship was made evident when Baker was near bankruptcy, and was offered a villa and financial assistance by Kelly (who by that time had become The Princess of Monaco) and her husband Rainier III of Monaco. The princess also encouraged Baker to return to performing and financed Baker's triumphant comeback in 1975, attending the opening night's performance. When Baker died, the Princess secured her burial in Monaco.
On September 13, 1982, while driving with her daughter Stéphanie to Monaco from their country home, Roc Agel, on the French side of the border, Princess Grace suffered a stroke, which caused her to drive her Rover P6[20][21] off the serpentine road down a mountainside. The accident site is located at .[22] Grace was pulled alive from the wreckage, but had suffered serious injuries and was unconscious. She died the following day at the Monaco Hospital (renamed Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace – "The Princess Grace Hospital Centre" in English—in 1985), having never regained consciousness. Kelly was 52 years old. It was initially reported that Princess Stéphanie suffered only minor bruising, although it later emerged that she had suffered a serious cervical fracture.[23]Grace was overweight at the time of her death and a postmortem examination revealed that she had extensive arteriosclerosis and accumulation of fatty plaques in her circulatory system. The medical examiner listed this as a contributing factor in the stroke she had suffered.
Grace was buried in the Grimaldi family vault on September 18, 1982, after a requiem mass in Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco.[24] The 400 guests at the service included representatives of foreign governments and of present and past European royal houses. Diana, Princess of Wales represented the British royal family. Cary Grant was among the members of the film community in attendance. Prince Rainier, who did not remarry, was buried alongside her following his death in 2005.[25]
In his eulogy, James Stewart said:
| “ | You know, I just love Grace Kelly. Not because she was a princess, not because she was an actress, not because she was my friend, but because she was just about the nicest lady I ever met. Grace brought into my life as she brought into yours, a soft, warm light every time I saw her, and every time I saw her was a holiday of its own. No question, I'll miss her, we'll all miss her, God bless you, Princess Grace. | ” |
The Princess Grace Foundation, Monaco was founded in 1964 with the aim of helping those with special needs for whom no provision was made within the ordinary social services. In 1983, following Princess Grace's death, Caroline, Princess of Hanover assumed the duties of President of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. Albert II, Prince of Monaco is Vice-President.[26]
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) was established following the death of Princess Grace of Monaco to continue the work that she had done, anonymously, during her lifetime, assisting emerging theater, dance and film artists in America. Incorporated in 1982, PGF-USA is headquartered in New York and is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, publicly supported organization. The Princess Grace Awards, a program of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, has awarded nearly 500 artists at more than 100 institutions in the U.S. with more than $7 million to date. The Princess Grace Foundation-USA also holds the exclusive rights to, and facilitates the licensing of, Princess Grace of Monaco's name and likeness throughout the world. Princess Grace Foundation-USA
On June 18, 1984, Prince Rainier inaugurated a public rose garden in Monaco in Princess Grace's memory because of her passion for the flower.[27]
In 1993, Princess Grace became the first U.S. actress to appear on a U.S. postage stamp.[15][28]
During her pregnancy in 1956, Princess Grace was frequently photographed clutching a distinctive leather hand-bag manufactured by Hermes. The purse, or Sac à dépêches, was likely a shield to prevent Kelly's baby bump from being exposed to the prying eyes of the Paparazzi. However, the photographs popularized the purse and became so closely associated with the fashion icon that the purse would thereafter be known as the Kelly Bag.[29]
In 2003, 83 years after Olympic Gold Medalist John Kelly, Sr. was refused entry to the most prestigious rowing event in the world, the Henley Royal Regatta renamed the Women's Quadruple Sculls after his daughter, "Princess Grace Challenge Cup". Princess Grace was invited to present the prizes at the Henley Royal Regatta in 1981 as a peace offering by the Henley Stewards to put a long conflict (61 years) between the Kelly family and Stewards to rest. Her brother, John Kelly, Jr., won the Diamond Sculls at Henley in 1947 and 1949 as well as a Bronze Medal in the single sculls at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. In 2004 her son, Prince Albert, presented the prizes at the Henley Royal Regatta.
On April 1, 2006, The Philadelphia Museum of Art presented an exhibition entitled, Fit for a Princess: Grace Kelly's Wedding Dress, that ran through May 21, 2006. The exhibition was in honor of the 50th anniversary of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier's wedding.[30]
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of her death €2 commemorative coins were issued on July 1, 2007 with the "national" side bearing the image of Princess Grace. In Monaco (at the Grimaldi Forum) and the United States (at Sotheby's) a large Princess Grace exhibition, coordinated by the Princely Family, called "Grace, Princess of Monaco: A Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Grace Kelly", celebrated her life and her contribution to the arts through her Foundation.
In 2008, Princess Stephanie opened the ”Epoch of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco” at the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation in Moscow. [31]
In October 2009, a plaque was placed on the "Rodeo Drive Walk of Style" in recognition of Princess Grace's contributions to style and fashion.[32]
In November 2009, to commemorate what would have been her 80th birthday TCM named her as star of the month which saw Prince Albert II pay a special tribute to his mother.[33]
In 2010, an exhibition of Grace Kelly's clothes was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum.[34] The exhibition was opened by Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock in April 2010.
In November 2011, the exhibition "Grace Kelly: from movie star to princess" at the Toronto International Film Festival was opened by Prince Albert and Princess Charlene.[35]
Titles held by the Princess of Monaco, in chronological order:
Princess Grace's official style and title was: Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, Marchioness of Baux, Countess of Carlades, Baroness of Saint-Lô, 101 times Dame. Upon her marriage to Prince Ranier III, she received 138 titles in all.[36][37]
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Co-stars |
| 1951 | Fourteen Hours | Louise Ann Fuller | Henry Hathaway | Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes |
| 1952 | High Noon | Amy Fowler Kane | Fred Zinnemann | Gary Cooper, Katy Jurado, Lloyd Bridges, Thomas Mitchell |
| 1953 | Mogambo | Linda Nordley | John Ford | Clark Gable, Ava Gardner |
| 1954 | Dial M for Murder | Margot Mary Wendice | Alfred Hitchcock | Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, John Williams |
| Rear Window | Lisa Carol Fremont | Alfred Hitchcock | James Stewart, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr | |
| The Country Girl | Georgie Elgin | George Seaton | Bing Crosby, William Holden | |
| Green Fire | Catherine Knowland | Andrew Marton | Stewart Granger | |
| The Bridges at Toko-Ri | Nancy Brubaker | Mark Robson | William Holden, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, Earl Holliman | |
| 1955 | To Catch a Thief | Frances Stevens | Alfred Hitchcock | Cary Grant |
| 1956 | The Swan | Princess Alexandra | Charles Vidor | Alec Guinness, Louis Jourdan |
| High Society | Tracy Samantha Lord | Charles Walters | Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm |
| Year | TV series and network | Date of broadcast and episode title | Episode sequence | Cast, writer, director and explanatory notes |
| 1948 | Kraft Television Theatre (NBC) |
November 3, 1948: "Old Lady Robbins" |
season 2 episode 7 | Ethel Owen, Grace Kelly |
| 1950 | The Philco Television Playhouse (NBC) |
January 8, 1950: "Bethel Merriday" |
season 2 episode 19 | Grace Kelly as Bethel Merriday, Oliver Thorndike, Warren Stevens, Katherine Meskill, Mary Patton, Frank Stephens, Mary K. Wells —————adapted from novel by Sinclair Lewis directed by Delbert Mann |
| Ripley's Believe It or Not (NBC) |
January 11, 1950: "The Voice of Obsession" |
season 2 episode 2 | John Hudson, Hildy Parks, Grace Kelly | |
| Westinghouse Studio One (CBS) |
January 23, 1950: "The Rockingham Tea Set" |
season 2 episode 20 | Starring Louise Allbritton as Celia Arden; Featuring Catherine Willard as Mrs. Arden, Judson Laire as Dr. Waller, Katherine Emmet as Mrs. Gregory; Introducing Grace Kelly as Sara Mappin, Richard McMurray as David Barr; Other players Cecil Scott and Nell Harrison —————by Virginia Douglas Dawson adapted by Worthington Miner and Matthew E. Harlib directed by Franklin Schaffner |
|
| The Philco Television Playhouse (NBC) |
February 12, 1950: "Ann Rutledge" |
season 2 episode 24 | Grace Kelly as Ann Rutledge, Stephen Courtleigh as Abraham Lincoln | |
| Actors Studio (CBS) |
March 3, 1950: "The Apple Tree" |
season 2 episode 22 | John Merivale, Patricia Kirkland, Grace Kelly host: Marc Connelly |
|
| Cads, Scoundrels and Ladies (NBC) |
April 25, 1950: "The Lovesick Robber" |
drama special | one-time hour-long live presentation replacing The Original Amateur Hour Grace Kelly appears in "The Lovesick Robber", one of the comedy-drama one-act plays |
|
| The Play's the Thing (CBS) |
May 26, 1950: "The Token" |
season 1 episode 7 | Mark Roberts, Grace Kelly host: Marc Connelly |
|
| The Play's the Thing (CBS) |
June 9, 1950: "The Swan" |
season 1 episode 8 | Grace Kelly as Princess Alexandra [the role she will play again in the 1956 film], George Keane as Nicholas Agi, Alfred Ryder as Prince Albert, Jane Hoffman as Princess Beatrix, Leopoldine Konstantin as Queen Maria Dominika, Dennis Hoey as Father Hyacinth —————adapted from play by Ferenc Molnár host: Marc Connelly; directed by David Pressman |
|
| Comedy Theater (CBS) |
July 9, 1950: "Summer Had Better Be Good" |
season 1 episode 1 | Grace Kelly —————by Ruth McKenney |
|
| Lights Out (NBC) |
July 17, 1950: "The Devil to Pay" | season 2 episode 45 | Jonathan Harris, Grace Kelly, Theodore Marcuse directed by William Corrigan |
|
| Big Town (CBS) |
October 5, 1950: "The Pay-Off" | season 1 episode 1 | Patrick McVey, Mary K. Wells, Grace Kelly directed by David Lowell Rich |
|
| The Clock (NBC) |
October 20, 1950: "Vengeance" |
season 2 episode 4 | Torin Thatcher, Grace Kelly —————adapted from novella by Balzac directed by Grey Lockwood |
|
| The Web (CBS) |
November 1, 1950: "Mirror of Delusion" | season 1 episode 18 | Hugh Franklin, Anna Lee, Grace Kelly, Mary Stuart host: Jonathan Blake |
|
| Somerset Maugham TV Theatre (CBS) |
November 15, 1950 | season 1 episode 5 | Leo Penn, Grace Kelly —————adapted from story by W. Somerset Maugham host: W. Somerset Maugham |
|
| Danger (CBS) |
December 19, 1950: "The Sergeant and the Doll" |
season 1 episode 13 | Laura Weber, Grace Kelly, James Westerfield host: Richard Stark |
|
| The Philco Television Playhouse (NBC) |
December 31, 1950: "Leaf Out of a Book" |
season 3 episode 17 | Vicki Cummings, Lauren Gilbert, Grace Kelly, Claudia Morgan [restaged, again on NBC, with most of the same cast, on Goodyear Television Playhouse, broadcast July 6, 1952] | |
| 1951 | The Prudential Family Playhouse (CBS) |
February 13, 1951: "Berkeley Square" |
season 1 episode 10 | Richard Greene as Peter Standish, Grace Kelly as Helen Pettigrew, Rosalind Ivan as Lady Ann Pettigrew, Mary Scott as Kate Pettigrew —————adapted from play by John L. Balderston |
| Nash Airflyte Theater (CBS) |
February 22, 1951: "A Kiss for Mr. Lincoln" |
season 1 episode 23 | Richard Greene, Grace Kelly, Bruce Gordon, Sarah Cunningham, Sarah Floyd host: William Gaxton directed by David Pressman |
|
| Fourteen Hours (TCF) |
first screening: March 6, 1951 |
first feature film | Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes, Debra Paget, Agnes Moorehead, Robert Keith, Howard Da Silva, Jeffrey Hunter, Martin Gabel, Grace Kelly directed by Henry Hathaway |
|
| Armstrong Circle Theatre (NBC) |
June 5, 1951: "Lover's Leap" |
season 1 episode 53 | Leslie Nielsen, Grace Kelly, Don Murphy, Alan Abel, Larry Buchanan, Michael Keith, Charles Mendick | |
| Armstrong Circle Theatre (NBC) |
November 27, 1951: "Brand from the Burning" | season 2 episode 11 | Thomas Coley, Grace Kelly host: Nelson Case |
|
| The Philco Television Playhouse (NBC) |
December 30, 1951: "The Sisters" | season 4 episode 6 | Leslie Nielsen, Grace Kelly, Dorothy Peterson, Natalie Schafer —————by Robert Alan Aurthur directed by Gordon Duff |
|
| 1952 | CBS Television Workshop (CBS) |
January 13, 1952: "Don Quixote" |
season 1 episode 4 | Boris Karloff as Don Quixote, Jimmy Savo as Sancho Panza, Grace Kelly as Dulcinea —————adapted from the Cervantes classic directed by Sidney Lumet |
| Hallmark Television Playhouse (NBC) |
January 20, 1952: "The Big Build Up" |
season 1 episode 4 | Grace Kelly as Claire, Richard Derr, Vinton Hayworth, Parker McCormick, Harry Mehaffey, Elinor Randel —————adapted from novel by Michael Foster host: Sarah Churchill; directed by William Corrigan |
|
| Danger (CBS) |
February 5, 1952: "Prelude to Death" |
season 2 episode 21 | Grace Kelly, Carmen Mathews host: Richard Stark |
|
| The Philco Television Playhouse (NBC) |
February 10, 1952: "Rich Boy" |
season 4 episode 9 | Gene Lyons as Anson Hunter, Grace Kelly as Paula Legendre, Phyllis Kirk as Dolly Karger, Kathleen Comegys as Aunt Edna, Mary Jackson, Henry Hart, Robert McQueeney, Tom Pedi, Geoffrey Lumb, David White, Eric Sinclair —————adapted by Walter Bernstein from short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald; directed by Delbert Mann |
|
| Lux Video Theatre (CBS) |
February 18, 1952: "Life, Liberty and Orrin Dudley" |
season 2 episode 26 | Jackie Cooper as Orrin Dudley, Grace Kelly as Beth —————teleplay by John Whedon directed by Richard Goode |
|
| Lights Out (NBC) |
March 17, 1952: "The Borgia Lamp" |
season 4 episode 30 | Robert Sterling, Grace Kelly, Hugh Griffith | |
| Robert Montgomery Presents (NBC) |
June 2, 1952: "Candles for Theresa" |
season 3 episode 31 | Robert Sterling, Grace Kelly host: Robert Montgomery |
|
| Kraft Television Theatre (NBC) |
June 11, 1952: "The Cricket on the Hearth" | season 5 episode 40 | Russell Hardie as Edward Plummer, Grace Kelly as May Fielding —————adaptation of the Dickens classic |
|
| Suspense (CBS) |
Tuesday, July 1, 1952, 9:30–10pm: "Fifty Beautiful Girls" |
season 4 episode 41 | Joseph Anthony, Grace Kelly, Rusty Lane, Robert Keith, Jr.; host: Rex Marshall [since this episode and the one below were both broadcast live, research has not yet determined how Grace Kelly could have simultaneously performed in both productions] |
|
| Armstrong Circle Theatre (NBC) |
Tuesday, July 1, 1952, 9:30–10pm: "City Editor" |
season 2 episode 41 | Louise Allbritton, Shepperd Strudwick, Grace Kelly host: Joe Ripley [since this episode was apparently broadcast simultaneously with the one above, it is inexplicable how Grace Kelly could have appeared on both] |
|
| Goodyear Television Playhouse (NBC) |
July 6, 1952: "Leaf Out of a Book" |
season 1 episode 20 | Lauren Gilbert, Grace Kelly, Claudia Morgan [restaged production, again on NBC, with most of the same cast, of December 31, 1950 episode of Philco Television Playhouse] |
|
| High Noon (Stanley Kramer Productions) |
first screening: July 7, 1952 |
second feature film | Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado, Grace Kelly directed by Fred Zinnemann |
|
| Kraft Television Theatre (NBC) |
August 29, 1952: "The Small Hours" |
season 5 episode 49 | Lauren Gilbert as Henry Mitchell, Katherine Meskill as Laura Mitchell, Grace Kelly as Dorothy Mitchell —————adapted from play by George S. Kaufman and Leueen MacGrath |
|
| Armstrong Circle Theatre (NBC) |
September 2, 1952: "Recapture" |
season 2 episode 48 | Darren McGavin, Grace Kelly, Barbara Baxley host: Joe Ripley directed by Garry Simpson |
|
| Westinghouse Studio One (CBS) |
September 22, 1952: "The Kill" |
season 5 episode 1 | Starring Dick Foran as Jeff, Nina Foch as Carrie, Grace Kelly as Freda, Paul Langton as Marsh, Harry Townes as Dave, Don Hanmer as Al, Carl Frank as Link, George Mitchell as Abner, Joe Maross as Nebro, Alan Devitt as Cap Manny, Frank Marth as Bub, James Coots as Sheriff, Arthur Junaleska as Billy, Lynn Loring as Carol —————based on The Mountains Have No Shadow by Owen Cameron; written for television by Reginald Rose; directed by Franklin Schaffner |
|
| Lux Video Theatre (CBS) |
September 29, 1952: "A Message for Janice" | season 3 episode 6 | Jackie Cooper, Grace Kelly as Janice, George Hall —————by S. H. Barnett from story by Walter C. Brown directed by Richard Goode |
|
| 1953 | Lux Video Theatre (CBS) |
May 14, 1953: "The Betrayer" | season 3 episode 37 | Robert Preston, Grace Kelly as Meg —————written by Charles L. Emmons directed by Fielder Cook |
| The Philco Television Playhouse (NBC) |
June 7, 1953: "The Way of the Eagle" |
season 5 episode 24 | Jean-Pierre Aumont, Grace Kelly | |
| Kraft Television Theatre (NBC) |
June 17, 1953: "Boy of Mine" |
season 6 episode 37 | Henry Jones, Grace Kelly, Martin Newman | |
| Mogambo (MGM) |
first screening: October 9, 1953 |
third feature film | Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly directed by John Ford |
|
| Toast of the Town (CBS) |
October 18, 1953 | season 7 episode 6 | nine days after release of Mogambo, Grace Kelly performed on America's top-rated star-driven variety program; in other segments: David Wayne, Ralph Meeker, John Forsythe; host: Ed Sullivan | |
| 1954 | Kraft Television Theatre (NBC) |
January 6, 1954: "The Thankful Heart" |
season 7 episode 19 | Florenz Ames, John Stephen [nearly seven months after appearing in her previous live TV drama (on the same anthology series) and, on the brink of movie stardom, with full schedule of film starring roles, Grace Kelly here gives her final performance for the Golden Age of Television] |
| 26th Academy Awards (NBC) |
March 25, 1954 | second televised Academy Awards | host in Hollywood: Donald O'Connor host in New York: Fredric March Grace Kelly as presenter and also nominee for Best Supporting Actress in Mogambo |
|
| The Country Girl (Paramount) |
first screening: May 17, 1954 |
fourth feature film | Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, William Holden directed by George Seaton |
|
| Dial M for Murder (Warner) |
first screening: May 29, 1954 |
fifth feature film | Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
|
| Rear Window (Paramount) |
first screening: August 1, 1954 |
sixth feature film | James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
|
| Miss America Pageant (ABC) |
September 11, 1954 | first Miss America Pageant televised | host for the pageant: Bob Russell commentator for ABC network: John Daly co-host for ABC network: Bess Myerson Grace Kelly as one of the judges |
|
| The Bridges at Toko-Ri (Paramount) |
Los Angeles preview: September 25, 1954 |
seventh feature film | William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March directed by Mark Robson |
|
| Green Fire (MGM) |
first screening: December 24, 1954 |
eighth feature film | Stewart Granger, Grace Kelly, Paul Douglas directed by Andrew Marton |
|
| 1955 | Toast of the Town (CBS) |
January 9, 1955: | season 8 episode 18 | Grace Kelly's second performance on the top-rated variety program; in other segments: José Greco, Forrest Tucker, Guy Mitchell, James Michener, The Shipstad & Johnson Ice Follies with Werner Groebli, The U.S.O. Hollywood Troupe, The Kermond Brothers, Richard Dwyer, Marie Crimmins; host: Ed Sullivan |
| 27th Academy Awards (NBC) |
March 30, 1955 | third televised Academy Awards | host in Hollywood: Bob Hope host in New York: Thelma Ritter Grace Kelly as presenter and also nominee (and eventual winner) for Best Actress in The Country Girl |
|
| To Catch a Thief (Paramount) |
first screening: August 3, 1955 |
ninth feature film | Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis directed by Alfred Hitchcock |
|
| 1956 | 28th Academy Awards (NBC) |
March 21, 1956 | fourth televised Academy Awards | host in Hollywood: Jerry Lewis co-hosts in Hollywood: Claudette Colbert and Joseph L. Mankiewicz Grace Kelly as presenter |
| The Swan (MGM) |
first screening: April 26, 1956 |
tenth feature film | Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness, Louis Jourdan directed by Charles Vidor |
|
| The Wedding in Monaco (MGM) |
first screening: May 17, 1956 |
short film | 31-minute widescreen filmed record of the wedding of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier directed by Jean Masson |
|
| High Society (MGM) |
first screening: July 17, 1956 |
eleventh feature film | Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra directed by Charles Walters |
|
| The Perry Como Show (NBC) |
September 15, 1956 | season 7 episode 6 | live musical variety program features a segment filmed in the Monaco Royal Palace with Princess Grace and Prince Rainier; in other segments: Irene Dunne, Sal Mineo; host: Perry Como | |
| 1958 | The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) |
July 6, 1958 | season 11 episode 41 | third appearance of Grace Kelly, now Princess Grace, on the top-rated variety program, which was officially titled Toast of the Town until September 11, 1955; the live show presents a segment filmed in Monaco in which Princess Grace and Prince Rainier describe the two years of their marriage, mention 4-month-old Prince Albert and introduce 18-month-old Princess Caroline; in other segments: William Bendix, Carol Burnett, Esther Williams, Harold Lloyd and Duke Lloyd, Sally Blair, Professor Backwards, The Kirby Stone Four, Robert Q. Lewis, The Moridor Trio, Jumpin Joe Monahan, Wilbert Clark, Joe Cook, Jr., Jacqueline Dubeiffe, Elaine Herndon; host: Ed Sullivan |
| Monegasque royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vacant
Title last held by
Ghislaine Dommanget |
Princess consort of Monaco 1956–1982 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Charlene Wittstock |
|
|||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||