GRACE KELLY

Actress and Princess

Grace Kelly was an actress, an idol, a princess, and a true modern fairy tale. It seems she accomplished everything she could have hoped for, including fame, an acting career, true love, children, a loving family, and life as a member of royalty.

Grace Patricia Kelly was born to a recently wealthy family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 12, 1929. Her parents were John and Margaret Kelly. He was one of the largest contractors in the city, and Grace had a fairly normal childhood in very comfortable circumstances. She attended private schools and graduated from Stevens School in Germantown, PA, in 1947. Her ambition was to become an actress, and so she soon departed for New York City and acting school at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. Her professional debut was in a revival of her famous uncle George Kelly's play, "The Torch Bearers" in 1949. She also debuted on Broadway that year in "The Father". She appeared on a variety of television shows before going to Hollywood to begin her movie career.

Kelly's first movie was a small part in the 1951 film, "Fourteen Hours". This led to a breakthrough role with Gary Cooper in the 1952 hit "High Noon". In 1953 she was with super stars Clark Gable and Ava Gardner in "Mogambo", which won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. 1954 was a huge year for Kelly. She made "Green Fire" and "The Bridges at Toko-Ri", but it was her starring roles in two Alfred Hitchcock movies that sent her from star to super star. "Dial M for Murder" and "Rear Window" with Jimmy Stewart cast her in Hitchcock's vision of what he called Kelly's "sexual elegance". Also in 1954 she played a very different role in "Country Girl" with Bing Crosby, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress.

In 1955, she co-starred with Cary Grant in another Hitchcock film, "To Catch a Thief". Ironically, this film was shot in the French Riviera near Monaco. Kelly would soon meet and marry its Prince. 1956 brought the last film of her professional career. In "High Society" she starred with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby

While attending the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, she met Prince Ranier of Monaco. Her true "high society" would begin in 1956, when she married him and became Princess Grace of Monaco. As such, she gave up her soaring acting career to serve the people of her adopted country and work with a variety of charities. They had three children: Princess Caroline, Prince Albert, and Princess Stephanie.

On September 13, 1982, Princess Grace and her daughter, Princess Stephanie, were driving on one of the area's winding roads when Grace had a mild stroke, causing her to lose control of the car and crash. She died of injuries from that crash the next day.