Grace Kelly was an American film actress who, after starring in several significant films in the
early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Grace Patricia Kelly was born on November 12, 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an
influential family. Her father, Irish-American John B. Kelly had won three Olympic medals for
sculling and owned a successful brickwork contracting company that was famous in the East
Coast. Grace’s mother, Margaret, was of German descent and taught physical education at the
University of Pennsylvania, being the first women to coach women’s athletics at that University.
Grace had two older siblings, Margaret and John Jr. and a younger sister, Elizabeth. They were
all raised in the Catholic faith.
Early Years:
Grace expressed a deep love for acting as a child. She participated in school plays and
community productions and occasionally she modeled with her mother and sister. While she was
attending Stevens School, a small private high school in Philadelphia, she continued to dream
about acting.
Right after high school, Kelly decided to pursue an acting career in New York City. Her parents
were not very happy about this, but Grace ignored her parent’s concerns and enrolled at the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts. While being a student there, she modeled part-time and
appeared in ads for Old Gold Cigarettes and on magazine covers like Cosmopolitan and
Redbook.
Kelly’s final performance at the academy was in “A Philadelphia Story,” a role she would later
repeat in the 1956 big-screen adaptation, High Society (1956). She graduated the academy at the
age of 19 and sought a career in Broadway, but she found it tough going. Thoroughly, she soon
found that film was more amenable to her talents. The film and television industries were
booming after World War II and Kelly decided to move to Hollywood. Grace would feature in
11 films and star in over 60 television productions.
With that being said, Kelly gained a lot of fame and her acting career was successful and that
made her won an Oscar in 1954.
Marriage to Prince Rainier III:
In 1955, she was asked to join the United States Delegation Committee at the Cannes Film Festival in France. She was doing a photo shoot, when she met Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who at that time was looking for a bride.
Grace married Prince Rainier on April 19, 1956 in a very public ceremony. After her marriage, she abandoned her acting career in order to become princess consort of Monaco. As a requirement for her new life, she had to give up her American citizenship and Prince Rainier banned her films in Monaco. The couple had three children.
Death:
Princess Grace died on September 13, 1982 at the age of 52. She suffered a stroke while driving and that made her lose control of the car. She spent 24 hours on coma before being taken off life support.
Princess Grace was very beautiful and talented. She will always be remembered.
To read more about her, visit the website: www.biography.com
*By Caroline Picard / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
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