I have always found Grace Kelly’s beauty, style and poise very inspiring. When I was a child when we lived in Europe for five years, at some point we went to Monaco. Perhaps this is why I have always liked Kelly, and remembered her. I thought the French Rivera was absolutely stunning and so I was not likely to forget such a beautiful place, and the woman within the Palace of Monaco.

Grace Kelly was known for her natural beauty, her use of very little makeup, and her wholesome appeal.   She has remained a fashion icon through the years with museums displaying her wedding dress and wardrobe. The Victoria and Albert Museum of London, in 2010, held an exhibit referred to as: “Grace Kelly Style Icon.” They had fifty of her outfits on display. In this post I intend to share my inspiration from Grace’s elegance, as well as show how basic, classic clothing is timeless. It looked great on Grace  sixty years ago and will also look great on us today. Trends come and go, classics are a large part of slow fashion and appreciating what will last.

Born into an affluent family in 1929, Grace Kelly grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father was from an Irish family and won three gold medals in the Olympics for sculling. Years later he was appointed to the title of National Director of Fitness by President Roosevelt.   Her mother, who was of German descent was also interested in athletics and taught physical education at the University of Pennsylvania. Her mother was also active as a model and there were times that Grace posed with her in modeling sessions. When Grace was growing up she did some acting and dancing. She held a lead role in the play Don’t Feed the Animals, in 1942, which was produced by East Falls Old Academy (1). She was only twelve at that time. She continued acting and dancing into her high school years. Grace had two older sisters and a brother.

Grace had two uncles who were involved in the theater. Her Uncle George was a playwright, and it was his encouragement, despite her father’s disapproval, that helped her to follow her heart into an acting career (2).

Prior to moving to Hollywood she worked as a model and in the theater. She attended acting school at New York City’s Academy of Dramatic Arts. (3) One of her teachers and directors made a derogatory remark about her voice. This drove Grace to practice her speech diligently and despite what he had said she achieved fame and had a blossoming career in acting, particularly in film.

In 1951 she was in her first film, Fourteen Hours and met Gary Cooper. The following year he decided he wanted her to play his wife in High Noon, a Western film. This film set Kelly on her path to fame. A year later she landed another role in Mambo, filmed in Africa, with Clark Cable and Ava Gardner. While there she had a brief romance with Clark Gable.   For this film she won the Best Supporting Actress Award, which is a Golden Globe Award.

In the 1950’s Kelly was in three Alfred Hitchcock films. One was ‘Dial M for Murder’, the others were Rear Window and to Catch A Thief. Her costars were men such as Cary Cooper, Bing Crosby, James Stewart, Ray Milland, and Frank Sinatra. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Country Girl, in which she played the wife of an alcoholic.

“Kelly headed the U.S. delegation at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1955 (4).” While in Monaco, she was invited by Prince Rainer III to participate in a photo shoot at his palace. There were numerous delays to their meeting, however, they began writing each other letters after their brief meeting and their romance blossomed despite the distance. She had been dating different men; there was a romance with Oleg Cassini, but her parents did not approve due to his being divorced. Prince Rainer came to America in 1955, and while here he met with Grace and her family. Her family approved of him, and three days later he proposed. When Alfred Hitchcock heard of her engagement he was quoted as saying “I am very happy that Grace has found such a good part.”

Their wedding was elaborate. Grace sailed to the French Rivera in April of 1956, aboard the SS Constitution. They had both a civil and religious ceremony (5). Their civil ceremony, in the Palace of Monaco was followed by a reception in which 3,000 citizens of Monaco attended (6). The newlyweds enjoyed a seven- week Mediterranean honeymoon upon Prince Rainer’s yacht Deo Juanvete II (7). Their wedding was a televised sensation, attracting an estimated 30 million viewers. Throughout their marriage it is said that they held a deep love for one another, despite the fact that their work and interest often kept them apart.

Grace seems to have had a wonderful knack for dealing with change. She went from being a leading actress, to a bride, princess and then a mother within a couple of years. Her first child, Princess Caroline was born just a little over nine months after her parents’ wedding. Her son, Prince Albert was born the following year and Princess Stephanie seven years later. Princess Grace maintained dual citizenship for the rest of her life.

After her wedding in 1956 Grace began focusing her efforts on philanthropic work, since as Princess of Monaco she could no longer continue acting. She founded AMADE, a non- profit that is recognized by the UN for its Non-Governmental work in protecting “moral and physical integrity” and “spiritual well-being of children throughout the world, without distinction of race, nationality or religion and in a spirit of complete political independence.” (8) The organization remains active today and is currently run by Grace’s daughter, Princess Caroline. She also was an active voice in support of breast feeding for the La Leche League.

Grace also formed the Princess Grace Foundation in 1964, to support local artisans in Monaco. “In 1983, following her death, Princess Caroline assumed the duties of President of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. Prince Albert is Vice-President (9).”^”

During her lifetime Grace anonymously continued to fund and assist artists, throughout the various arts of film, dance and theater in the United States. “The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) was established following the death of Kelly to continue the work that she had done (10).” This Foundation remains active today and thus far has “has awarded nearly 500 artists at more than 100 institutions in the U.S. with more than $7 million to date (11).”

In the fall of 1982 Grace was driving home to Monaco, from her country home in Roc Agel when she had a stroke. Her car went off a cliff, and down a steep embankment. Her daughter Stephanie had unsuccessfully tried to regain control of the car (11). Grace was unconscious when the paramedic arrived, however her injuries were “irreparable” and the next day Prince Rainer decided to take her off of life support (12). Her daughter, Princess Stephanie had suffered a mild concussion “and a hairline fracture on the seventh cervical vertebra. She was unable to attend her mother’s funeral due to her injuries (13).” She was buried on September 18, 1982 at the Saint Nichols Cathedral in Monaco (14). In 2005, Prince Rainer, “who never remarried, was buried alongside her following his death in 2005(15).”

Grace Kelly was “inaugurated into the Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1960(16).”   “Modern designers Tommy Hilfiger and Zac Posen have citied her as a fashion inspiration (17).” When she was married her dress was designed by Helen Rose, a MGM Academy Award winner (18). “Her wedding dress was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses (19).”

I hoped you enjoyed this post about Grace Kelly and find some inspiration in it. I also hope all the mothers out there had a nice Mother’s Day!

1. Leigh, Wendy (2007). True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN0-312-34236-5.
2. http://www.gracekellyonline.com/biography/
3. http://www.gracekellyonline.com/biography/
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
5. The Big Week in Monaco: Movies’ Pretty Princess Assumes a Real Life Title. Life 40 (18) (Time Inc.). 30 April 1956. p. 37. ISSN0024-3019. She had to go through two weddings, separately required by the Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the laws of the Roman Catholic Church. ‘I’m halfway married,’ she exclaimed after the first wedding, a 16-minute civil ceremony in his crimson-damasked throne …”
6. Hintz, Martin (2004). Monaco. Children’s Press. ISBN978-0-516-24251-4 & Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-618-74658-3
7. Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN978-0-618-74658-3 & Taraborrelli 2003, p. 149
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO
9. Princess Grace Foundation^{[dead link]}
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
12. Werner, Jennifer (2014). Grace Kelly of Monaco: The Inspiring Story of How An American Film Star Became a Princess. BookCaps Study Guides. pp. 40–44. ISBN9781629172484.
13. Leigh, Wendy (2007). True Grace: The Life and Death of an American Princess. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 245. ISBN978-0-312-34236-4.
14. “BBC On This Day September 14th 1982”. BBC News. September 14, 1985. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
15. “Death of Princess Grace – history – central”. British Council. Retrieved March 13, 2010.^{[dead link]}
16. “The International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame”. Vanity Fair. June 7, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
17. Jacobs, Laura (May 2010). “Grace Kelly’s Forever Look”. Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
18. Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN978-0-618-74658-3.
19. Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN978-0-618-74658-3.

  All written material by: © Marilyn Lavender, 2015.  “All Rights Reserved.”

All photos from Flickr,  they link to their source.

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