This woman said that she never considered herself a Cinderella, but simply always wanted a miracle. In her words, if the real story of her life is ever told, people will realize that she was a living being, not a character from a fairy tale. The American actress, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco was admired and envied. Many people would not refuse such a life story, but hardly anyone would want to relive its most tragic pages, philadelphianka writes.
She lacked attention in her family
Grace Patricia Kelly was born on November 12, 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the USA. She lived in the luxurious mansion of her millionaire father, wealthy industrialist John Kelly Sr. He was a former 1920 Olympic champion in rowing. Her mother, Margaret Kelly, was the first woman to teach physical education at the University of Pennsylvania. Later Margaret was a fashion model and then a housewife. Grace Kelly had a brother and two sisters. Of all the four children in the family, she received the least attention. It was understandable. Her sister Peggy and brother John were encouragingly athletic. Sports were treated like something sacred in the family. But Grace, unfortunately for her parents, liked acting and reading books, not any kind of training.
Grace received a strict Catholic education. At the age of 6, the girl was happy to play on stage for the first time. It was a Christmas play. She personified the Mother of God. When she was 12, she had another leading role in a play. Then, she had other roles in various productions while studying at the private Stevens School.
Grace’s uncle, George Kelly, was a famous playwright and winner of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Nevertheless, her parents were not at all inspired by their daughter’s creative impulses. Her father generally equated her behavior with… that of street prostitutes. After graduating from high school, she disappointed her parents even more by failing the exams at Bennington College for Women because she failed math. However, the determined Grace was not upset. Despite the lack of support, she went to New York to pursue her dream.
Oscar-winning shine on the air
In 1949, 19-year-old Grace successfully auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She decided to perform a fragment of her uncle’s work. Her performance and the influence of his personality ensured her success. She was accepted into the Academy, even though enrollment was closed at the time. To pay the huge tuition fees, Grace successfully worked as a fashion and photo model, but that was not her dream. The young actress tried out for many roles. At first, she was only lucky enough to get contracts to advertise clothes, alcohol, cigarettes and the like.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Grace’s fortunes got better. She starred in a play on Broadway. She was later invited for episodic roles in movies. Then, Kelly successfully played in the western film High Noon with Gary Cooper. In 1953, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Mogambo. She starred alongside Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. But Grace Kelly didn’t win Best Supporting Actress then. She won an Oscar (and a Critics’ Choice Award for her performance) the following year for her role in The Country Girl. That was the first time in the history of the film awards that the star shone live. A 50 million audience watched the first ceremony broadcast. Most people expected Judy Garland to win the golden statuette for Best Actress. But G. Kelly received 6 more votes!
Among many other directors, the great Alfred Hitchcock became interested in Grace Kelly. Their collaboration resulted in several wonderful films (Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief). She gained fame as the most beautiful and sought-after actress of the time. G. Kelly became Hitchcock’s favorite actress thanks to her talent, golden hair and other charming features that won over many fans and male colleagues alike.
Meeting the prince
The beauty met her prince in 1955 while filming the movie To Catch a Thief on the French Riviera. He was indeed a titled nobleman, Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Their first meeting was supposedly planned. The Oscar-winning actress was heading the U.S. delegation to the Cannes Film Festival. She got to know many famous people. It is said that she did not really want to meet the prince. Pierre Gallant, a photographer for Paris Match magazine, was supposed to capture the couple for the original cover. When the 32-year-old nobleman suddenly saw the actress rehearsing a curtsy for him in front of a mirror, he was fascinated. Rainier himself was looking for a future wife. He was advised to find a chosen one, probably an actress, who would become the face of Monaco and help attract investment to the country. One of the candidates could have been Marilyn Monroe… But Rainier met Grace. After the photo shoot, they began to correspond. Their romance lasted six months. On Christmas Day 1956, they celebrated at the home of the future princess’s parents. Rainier proposed to Grace.
The couple received the blessing of John Kelly’s daughter, who was picky about suitors. To begin with, Grace received a modest engagement ring with diamonds and rubies in the Monaco flag’s colors from the prince. Later, he gave her a diamond ring weighing almost 10.5 carats. Grace was very pleased with it. She didn’t take the ring off even on the set of her latest movie, High Society. It was the last one as she gave up her dream career on her husband’s terms. But she didn’t regret it at the time.
Wedding of the century
They got married on April 18, 1956. The day after the civil ceremony, they were married in St. Nicholas Cathedral. The press called this event, which cost $50 million, the wedding of the century. The prince wore a military uniform of his own design. Grace chose a lace dress by Helen Rose. The latter also designed the dress for the civil ceremony. An incredible dress, almost 25 yards of silk taffeta, up to 100 yards of silk tulle and long lace from the museum. The lace had more than a century of history. It was embroidered with thousands of pearls. More than 30 people worked on the outfit for more than 6 weeks. It was a gift from Helen Rose. She repeatedly created G. Kelly’s clothes for filming. The bride’s outfit had many perfectly thought-out elements like the headpiece and shoes by David Evans. Grace was holding a bouquet of her favorite lilies of the valley.
An audience of 300 million watched all this luxury on television. Hollywood stars and other famous influential people attended the event. MGM was granted the right to broadcast the wedding in exchange for terminating the contract with the actress. The couple honeymooned in the Mediterranean on the prince’s yacht. Grace was tired of journalists’ attention. She had been avoiding them ever since. The media disliked her for this. The people of the Principality, on the other hand, loved her.
Silence and respect
Grace changed her career to social affairs and family life. She gave birth to three offspring (son Albert II, who later became Prince of Monaco, and daughters Caroline and Stephanie).
But like herself, Grace’s children did not become too close to their parents. Within a few years of their marriage, the couple themselves felt the coldness between them. At first, Grace got perfectly used to her new leading role. She was an impeccable beauty, a responsible princess and tried to be the same kind of mother. But then it became apparent that the royal couple’s marriage was based only on respect for status. Grace wanted to feel independent and happy. She experienced none of these underneath the “shiny packaging” of her life. She had many lovers (she called them “teddy bears”) and her husband was jealous. Rainier and Grace grew more and more distant. Who knows how long this would have lasted and whether it would have ended in a breakup as a tragic accident decided everything…
The media reported that when Grace’s daughter Stephanie was 17, she fell in love with Jean-Paul Belmondo’s son Paul. The mother did not like the fact that her daughter, under the influence of a fellow racing driver, exchanged the institute for car racing. On September 13, 1982, allegedly to avoid the vigilant paparazzi, Grace got behind the wheel and invited her daughter to talk. On a mountain serpentine road, Grace lost control. The car fell from a considerable height. Stephanie was injured but survived. Grace was taken out of the car alive, but with a broken neck. A day later, doctors concluded that her brain was dead. The family, in despair, agreed to disconnect the ventilator. There is a version that G. Kelly had a stroke before the accident.
She was buried on September 18, 1982, in the family crypt of the royal family in Monaco. This time, hundreds of millions of viewers watched her funeral. Rainier III never married again. He was ill for a long time and died in 2005. The inscription Silence and Respect is above their graves.