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Biography
Both literally and metaphorically, Grace Kelly
was the cinema's
fairy-tale princess; beautiful, elegant, and impossibly glamorous, she
transcended the limits of Hollywood aristocracy to attain the power and
glory of true royalty. Born November 12, 1929, in Philadelphia, PA, her
father was a wealthy industrialist while her mother was a onetime cover
girl. Her uncle, George Kelly, was the Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist
behind the plays The Show-Off and Craig's Wife. At the age of ten, she
made her own theatrical debut in a Philadelphia-area production, and in
her late teens she moved to New York, where she worked as a model while
attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After turning down a
Hollywood contract for fear of being typecast as a starlet, Kelly began
to work in television, and in 1949 she made her Broadway debut in a
revival of August Strindberg's The Father. When Hollywood again came
calling, she accepted and was soon cast in a bit part in 1951's Fourteen
Hours.
In just her second screen appearance, Kelly co-starred in a
certifiable classic, the 1952 Western High Noon. Curiously, however,
she did not benefit from the film's success, and no other offers were
immediately forthcoming. She agreed to a screen test for a role in
Taxi! but was rejected in favor of Constance Smith. However, the screen
test found its way to director John Ford,
who tapped her for 1953's Mogambo. The result was a seven-year contract
with MGM, as well as a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Alfred
Hitchcock then enlisted Kelly's services for a pair of 1954 films, Dial M
for Murder and the brilliant Rear Window;
it was said that she was the perfect blonde the master director had
been seeking throughout his career. She was now a major star, and when
actress Jennifer Jones
became unexpectedly pregnant, Paramount begged MGM to allow Kelly to
take her place in 1954's The Country Girl. The studio initially
refused, but she successfully battled for the role. The result was a
Best Actress Oscar.
After starring in MGM's Green Fire, Kelly teamed with Hitchcock
for the third and final time on 1955's To Catch a Thief. While filming
on the French Riviera, she met Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and the
two began a romance which was soon making international headlines.
After starring in 1956's High Society, a musical update of The
Philadelphia Story, and a remake of the onetime Lillian Gish
vehicle The Swan, Kelly announced her pending marriage to Rainier. She
also announced her retirement from filmmaking to devote her full
energies to her new duties as Princess of Monaco. A lavish wedding soon
followed, and although it was announced in 1962 that she was to return
to Hollywood to star in Hitchcock's Marnie, she later withdrew from the
project and never acted again. Grace Kelly died September 14, 1982, in
an auto accident after suffering a heart attack while driving. ~ Jason
Ankeny, All Movie Guide |
Movie
Fourteen Hours (1951)
High Noon (1952)
Mogambo (1953)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
Green Fire (1954)
Country Girl, The (1954)
Bridges at Toko-Ri, The (1954)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Swan, The (1956)
High Society (1956)
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