Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from their marriage on April 18, 1956, until her death in 1982. Prior to her marriage, she achieved stardom in several significant Hollywood films in the early to mid-1950s. She received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards, and was ranked 13th on the American Film Institute’s 25 Greatest Female Stars list.
Kelly began as a theater actress and television performer in New York after studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After her film debut in a minor role in Fourteen Hours (1951), Kelly’s career quickly took off. Her major break came with the female lead role opposite Gary Cooper in the Western classic High Noon (1952). In 1953, her performance in Mogambo alongside Clark Gable earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and her first Academy Award nomination.
1954 was a pivotal year, where she starred in five films, including three for director Alfred Hitchcock: Dial M for Murder, Rear Window (opposite James Stewart), and The Country Girl. Her “deglamorized” portrayal of Georgie Elgin in The Country Girl (1954) won her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1955. Her collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock, which also included To Catch a Thief (1955) with Cary Grant, solidified her image as the sophisticated and “icy blonde” leading lady.
At the peak of her fame, Kelly’s life took a dramatic turn. While attending the Cannes Film Festival in 1955, she met Prince Rainier III of Monaco. A whirlwind romance ensued, leading to her engagement in January 1956.
On April 19, 1956, Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier in a highly publicized “fairy-tale” wedding that was broadcast globally. At the age of 26, she retired from her acting career to assume her duties as Princess Grace of Monaco. Her final feature film, the musical comedy High Society (1956), was released after her marriage.
Her career in the 1950s, though brief, left an indelible mark on Hollywood, and her transition to royalty only enhanced her enduring legacy as an icon of style, beauty, and grace.
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