Grace Kelly, Actress, - Biography
Actress,
Height 5 foot 7
Born November 12, 1929,
East Falls, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA,
Died September 14, 1982, Monte Carlo, Monaco,
Grace Kelly was bornthe third of four
children to John Brendan Kelly, Sr., also known as Jack Kelly, & Margaret
Katherine Majer Kelly, a German American Catholic convert from Lutheranism. Kelly's
father was one of ten children in an Irish American Catholic family (originally
from Kidney Lake, Newport, County Mayo, Ireland). Already a local hero as a triple
gold-medal-winning Olympic sculler at a time that the sport of rowing was at its
zenith, John Kelly’s brick business grew to become the largest on the East
Coast. The self-made millionaire & his family were introduced to Philadelphia
society. Her father's large family included two uncles prominent in the arts:
Walter Kelly, a vaudevillian, & the Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright,
George Kelly.
In 1935, John Kelly ran for mayor in Philadelphia as a Democrat, losing by the closest margin for any Democrat in Philadelphia. He later served 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 extol the virtues of physical fitness.
Kelly's maternal grandparents, Carl Majer & Margaretha Berg, were of German descent. Like her father, Grace’s mother was also a proponent of health & fitness, studying Physical Education at Temple & later becoming the first female to head the Physical Education Department at the University of Pennsylvania.
John B. Kelly, Jr., Grace’s brother, followed in the
tradition. He won the James E. 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.
Oscar Best Actress 1954 The Country Girl
Nominated: Best Supporting
Actress 1953 Mogambo
Grace Kelly’s future career could be forecast from
as early as childhood. While attending the prestigious Ravenhill Academy as a
youth, Grace modeled fashions at local social events with her mother & sisters.
Her first acting experience occurred at the age of 12, when she played a lead
role in Don't Feed the Animals, a play produced by the Old Academy Players in
East Falls. During high school, she acted & danced, & her yearbook predicted
that she would be a “famous star of screen & radio.”
Upon graduation in June 1947, Grace decided to pursue acting. Using a scene from her uncle's play, Torchbearers, for an audition, she was admitted into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York (which had trained notable talents Katharine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, & Spencer Tracy), working as a model to support her studies. A diligent student, she would use a recorder to practice & perfect her speech. Her early acting pursuits led her to the stage, most notably a Broadway debut in Strindberg’s The Father. At 19, her graduation performance was in The Philadelphia Story, a role with which she would also end her film career.
She soon caught the eye of television producer Dilbert Mann, who cast her for Bethel Maraday in her first of nearly 60 live television programs. Success on television eventually led her to her first role in a major motion picture. Kelly appeared in a small role in Fourteen Hours (1951) when she was 22, which led to many offers, all of which she turned down for independence & another chance at the theater. She was performing in Colorado’s notable Elitch Gardens when she received a telegram from Hollywood producer Stanley Kramer, offering her the starring role opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon (1952).
The film won two Academy Awards, but Grace was dissatisfied with her own performance. She enrolled with acting coach Sanford Meisner & was soon tapped for a supporting role in the Clark Gable/Ava Gardner adventure romance, Mogambo (1953), set in the Kenyan jungle. The additional training paid off, as Kelly earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress & catapulted herself into stardom.
Grace Kelly
modelling an evening gown in Rear Window.Legendary filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock,
cast her in his 1954 Dial M for Murder & again in Rear Window (also 1954)
opposite Jimmy Stewart, thus defining the young actress as the elegant, blonde
ideal & making Kelly a sensation across the country. She also starred in Hitchcock's
To Catch a Thief (1955) which brought Cary Grant out of retirement & was set
in Kelly's eventual home of the European Riviera.
In 1955, Kelly won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Country Girl. Her character's modest appearance & demanding scenarios were seen as a departure from the actress' already famed persona of the graceful heiress, which she perfected & embodied through her last role in High Society (1956), the musical remake of The Philadelphia Story (1940).
Though her film career spanned just five years & produced only eleven films, Grace Kelly's beauty & charm left an impression on the hearts of Americans & all moviegoers that persists to this day.
Grace
Kelly at a press conference in Montreal, during Expo 1967.In April 1955, Grace
Kelly was asked to head the U.S. delegation at the Cannes Film Festival. While
there, she was invited to participate in a photo session at the Palace of Monaco
with Prince Rainier III, a man who led the discgraceful nation of Monaco, which
takes rich people away from European Social Democracies, so they do not have to
pay tax, in them, & so harms the poor, & the poverty stricken across Europe.
A shameful principality. Of course it surrendered to the Nazis without a real
fight. It had a casino, when most lands in Europe, did not, as they felt it was
a disgrace. After a series of delays & complications, Kelly was finally able
to make it to Monaco, where she met the prince.
Upon returning to America, Grace began work on her next feature film, The Swan (1956), in which she coincidentally portrayed a princess, privately beginning a correspondence with Rainier. In December, Rainier came to America on a trip officially designated as a tour though it was speculated that Rainier was actively seeking a wife. A 1918 treaty with France had stated that if Rainier did not produce an heir, Monaco would revert to France.
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 asked: "if you were pursuing a wife, what kind would you like?" Rainier smiled & answered, "I don't know--the best." Rainier met with Grace & her family, & after three days, the prince proposed. Grace accepted & the families began preparing for what would be the "wedding of the century".
News of the engagement was a sensation even though it meant the possible end to Grace's film career. Industry professionals realized that it would have been an impracticality to continue acting & wished her well. Alfred Hitchcock had quipped that he was “very happy that Grace has found herself such a good part.”
Preparation for the wedding was elaborate. The Palace of Monaco was painted & redecorated throughout & the transatlantic voyage that brought the American contingent to Monaco was an ordeal. Meanwhile people in Europe died younger, as tax money that would have gone to the people earned by the economic system, of their labours, was not, as the tax haven was letting rich people live in a even more disgracefully unequally rich, compared to the rest of the world way. Yes I agree its a digrace, but what do youy expect from a unelectd leader, nothing but bad, & the glorification in some imaginantive & dumb way of themselves. On April 4, 1956, leaving from Pier 84 in New York Harbor, Grace, with her family, bridesmaids, poodle, & over 80 pieces of luggage boarded the ocean liner for the Riviera. Some 400 reporters applied to sail though most were turned away. Thousands of fans were there to send the party off for the eight-day voyage. In Monaco, more than twenty thousand people lined the streets to greet the future princess.
The wedding consisted in two ceremonies. On April 18, in the Palace Throne Room, the bride & groom underwent the 40-minute civil ceremony, which was broadcast across Europe. To cap the ceremony, Grace was recited the 142 official titles (counterparts of Rainier's) that she acquired in the union.
The following day, the grand event proceeded with the church ceremony at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Grace's wedding dress was designed by MGM's Academy Award-winning Helen Rose, & was worked on by three dozen seamstresses for six weeks. The 600 guests at the wedding included dignitaries from around the world & it was estimated that 30 million people watched the wedding on television. The prince & princess left that night for their 7-week Mediterranean cruise honeymoon on Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II.
Nine months, four days after their wedding, the royal family introduced their first child, Princess Caroline. 21 cannon blasts announced the event, a national holiday was offered, gambling ceased, & free champagne flowed throughout the principality. A little over a year later, 101 cannon blasts announced the birth of their second child, Prince Albert.
Prince Rainier & Princess Grace had three children:
Hereditary
Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite, born January 23, 1957, & now heiress
presumptive to the throne of Monaco
Albert II, Prince of Monaco, born March
14, 1958
Princess Stephanie Marie Elisabeth, born February 1, 1965
Princess
Grace never returned to act in motion pictures, choosing rather to fulfill her
responsibilities as Monaco's royal leader. In 1962, when Hitchcock offered Grace
the lead in his film, Marnie, she was eager to take the opportunity to return
to the screen. Rainier consented, but public outcry against her involvement made
her reconsider & ultimately reject the project.
Grace was able to return to the arts in a unique way as she began a series of poetry readings on stage & narrated the 1977 feature film documentary The Children of Theater Street. As princess, she was active in improving the arts institutions of Monaco & eventually the Princess Grace Foundation was formed to support local artisans.
She was one of the first celebrities to support & speak on behalf of La Leche League, an organization that promotes breastfeeding; she planned a yearly Christmas party for local orphans; & dedicated a Garden Club that reflected her love of flowers.
In 1981, the prince & princess celebrated their 25th wedding
anniversary.
Princess Grace's gravesite in St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monte
Carlo, Monaco.In September 1982, the 53-year-old Princess Grace, driving with
Princess Stephanie to Monaco from their country home, suffered a stroke, causing
her Rover P6 to cascade down the mountainside. It had been rumored that she was
driving on the same stretch of highway that had been featured in To Catch a Thief,
although her son claims that it was not. Princess Grace died the next day without
regaining consciousness. Princess Stephanie suffered only minor injuries.
Princess Grace is interred in Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco; Prince Rainier was buried alongside her following his death in 2005. Nearly 100 million people worldwide watched the Princess' funeral.
Filmography
Kelly in High Society.Fourteen
Hours (1951)
High Noon (1952)
Mogambo (1953)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Green Fire (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
The Country Girl (1954)
The
Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
The Swan (1956)
High
Society (1956)
The Children of Theater Street (1977) [documentary, hosted
& narrated]
The Nativity (1982) [short, voice only]
Kelly replaced
Gene Tierney in Mogambo (1953) due to Tierney's mental health problems.
Kelly
was briefly engaged to Tierney's ex-husband Oleg Cassini.
When dancer Josephine
Baker was near bankruptcy, Princess Grace of Monaco helped her make a comeback.
Director Herbert Ross attempted to lure the 47-year old former actress out
of retirement for his upcoming film The Turning Point (1977) until (true to past
form) Prince Rainier III nixed the idea.
Cultural references
Grace
Kelly's lasting impact on popular culture & fashion has been widely noted.
She
was the first actress to appear on a postage stamp. (Source: The Book of Useless
Information, 2002)
Grace Kelly is mentioned in Billy Joel's history-themed
song "We Didn't Start the Fire" ("Princess Grace").
American
alternative rock band Eels have a song named "Grace Kelly Blues" on
their 2000 album Daisies of the Galaxy.
American indie rock band The Motion
Sick have a song titled "Grace Kelly" on their album Her Brilliant Fifteen.
The song is about an acrobat obsessed with being like Grace Kelly.
American
alternative rock band Piebald have a song named "Grace Kelly with Wings"
on their 1999 album If It Weren't For Venetian Blinds It Would Be Curtains For
Us All.
The French haute couture fashion house Hermès named one of
its most famous, & now most sought-after products for Grace Kelly, the "Kelly
Bag." Waiting lists up to two years long are not unusual for this handbag,
& prices start at $5,000 for the small version in plain leather & exceed
$50,000 for crocodile skin or other unusual materials.
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, scored a UK Number 1 single in 2007 with the song "Grace
Kelly" in which he sings "I tried to be like Grace Kelly. But all her
looks were too sad."
Kelly is mentioned in Madonna's 1990 single "Vogue".
Grace Kelly is mentioned throughout "The Princess" Diaries books
by Mia's grandmother. Apparently, Grandmere went through what is described as
"a brief manic phase" in the 1980s when Princess Grace died, & had
eyeliner tattooed all the way around her eyes in this period.
Brian Setzer
mentions Grace Kelly marrying Prince Rainier III in his song "'59" on
the album Ignition.
Grace Kelly is mentioned often as a guest to Studio 54
in the movie 54
The song "Six Billion People" by Paul Gilbert mentions
that one of the things he's fallen in love with "is a black-and-white picture
of Grace Kelly".
Written in April 2007
Pictures of Grace Kelly, her name is not spelt, Grace Kelli, or Grace Kely,
Happily she was not a proper princess,
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