State of Grace

Grace Patricia Kelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to John and Margaret Kelly on November 12, 1929. At a young age, Grace decided she wanted to become an actress, and studied acting (primarily theater) at New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Art and worked as a stage actress and model. She moved to Hollywood for a while but soon moved back to New York. In New York, Grace promoted Old Gold cigarettes and appeared on the covers of magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Redbook. In 1952 she landed the role of Amy Kane in High Noon, a western starring Gary Cooper and Lloyd Bridges. In 1953, Grace appeared in Mogambo where she played Linda Nordley. The film was a jungle drama in which fellow cast members, Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. It was also one of the best films ever released by MGM. After watching her performance in High Noon, director Alfred Hitchcock cast Grace in his films Dial M for Murder (1954) and Rear Window (1954) making her a star. Her standout performance in Rear Window as Lisa Fremont, she was cast opposite James Stewart, who played a crippled photographer who witnesses a murder in the next apartment from his wheelchair. Grace stayed busy in 1954 appearing in five films. Grace won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Georgie Elgin opposite Bing Crosby in The Country Girl (1954). In 1955, Grace once again teamed with Hitchcock in To Catch a Thief (1955) co-starring Cary Grant. In 1956, she played Tracy Lord in High Society (1956) which also starred Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. The whimsical tale ended with her re-marrying her former husband, played by Crosby. The film turned out to be her final acting performance. She retired from acting at 26 to enter upon her duties in Monaco. Grace had recently met and married Prince Rainier of Monaco. By becoming a princess, she gave up her career. She and Prince Rainier had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie. She died on September 14, 1982, two months before her 53rd birthday in a car accident in Monaco.