How a controversial movie star became the princess of Monaco: Grace Kelly's success secrets

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Grace Kelly is an American movie star who shone not only on the screen, but also on a very real throne in the principality of Monaco. Her life was full of adventures, exciting events and, of course, mysteries, many of which have not been solved to this day. Who was she, the famous princess-actress, and what interesting facts about her still disturb the minds of her fans?

1. She had to pay $ 2 million

Marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco meant, to put it mildly, the observance of some eccentric and outdated traditions. In 1956, for example, not giving birth to an heir was not an option, so Kelly had to take a fertility test. In addition, she had to give up her American citizenship, while the Kelly family had to pay a dowry in the amount of two million dollars. Kelly's father was outraged by this demand and at first refused to pay, allegedly saying, "My daughter does not have to pay any man to marry her." However, Kelly finally insisted on her own, forced her father to pay the dowry: making every effort to this, she paid about half from her side. It is also rumored that a family friend, Rainier Aristotle Onassis, presumably also contributed to a certain amount in order to facilitate the task set for the friend's family.

2. She comes from a family of Olympians and artists

The Kelly family was very athletic. Grace's father, Jack Kelly, won three Olympic gold medals with the U. S. rowing team, and her mother coached women's teams at the University of Pennsylvania. The Grace family also had their share of mental and artistic talent: Uncle George Kelly (with whom she is believed, was especially close) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, and Uncle Walter K. Kelly was a vaudeville performer who encouraged and mentored his niece throughout her career.

3. In the early years, she was an ugly duckling

Throughout her adult life, Kelly was often cited as one of the most beautiful women in the world, but in her younger years, she was not considered particularly attractive, even after getting some work as a model. According to A&E's biography, her family and friends, who never thought she would choose the path of the film industry, were stunned when they first saw her on the big screen.

As one of her childhood friends recalled: “We had no idea that she was so beautiful. Grace was always in a bandana, glasses and a sweater - nothing special and feminine. And when she left for New York, and we began to see her on TV and in magazines, it was: “My God! Is this our grace?"

4. She rebelled against her parents

Despite her aristocratic on-screen behavior, Kelly possessed a rebellious spirit, something that would later hypnotize audiences with her dichotomy of fire and ice. She moved to New York to pursue her dream of an acting career and, at the request of her parents, moved to the Barbizon Women's Hotel, where the young ladies were supposedly protected from the temptations of the big city. However, she soon got tired of living within the constraints of her upbringing. According to biographer James Spud, “Grace's rebellious vein did show up in Barbizon. She broke a lot of rules."

Her parents didn't take it very well. For example, when Kelly had an affair with one of her teachers at the New York American Academy of Dramatic Arts and brought her new lover home to meet her family, it was "a disaster," as Spada put it. And no matter how the girl tried to build her relationship, her parents always stood in her way. They simply did not give her any freedom as to which man she could romance with, unless he was exactly what they wanted for her.

5. For the sake of her husband, she quit her career and regretted it

According to various sources - including J. Randy Taraborrelli in his book The Tale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier - Kelly struggled with aspects of her royal marriage. In particular, she lacked the opportunity to continue her acting career, especially after Prince Rainier went so far as to ban her films in Monaco. (However, she continued to support art in various other fields.)

6. She had a stormy youth and a love life

Kelly was kind of an early flower when it came to romance, her legendary love life beginning as a teenager. Back in acting school, she had her first serious relationship with Don Richardson. Her parents were shocked by her choice of a mate - Richardson was older, lived separately, but did not divorce his wife, and was Jewish. What's more, he carried condoms with him. After she started working in the film industry, Kelly reportedly had a number of romances with her usually older fellow stars. She fell in love with married Gary Cooper on the set of Noon, had fun with Clark Gable on the set of Mogambo, slept with Ray Miller on the set of Dial M for Murder - and much more after that. Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper called Kelly a heartbreaker and nymphomaniac, but even such a bright stigma did not prevent Grace from continuing to date her famous men.

One of Kelly's most serious connections was with designer Oleg Cassini. According to rumors, they were engaged, and Kelly, having become pregnant with him, had an abortion. However, she apparently ended up looking for a husband who did not feel overwhelmed by her fame. And Prince Rainier, whom she will meet at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, will meet these criteria.

7. She was always considered by her father to be the worst of his children

Kelly's dreams of becoming an actress were met with disapproval by her father, who had a decidedly old-fashioned view of the vulgarity of the stage and screen. When she decided to enroll in the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, her father stated that being an actress was just a cut above being a street prostitute. Even Kelly's ultimate success never brought Jack Kelly to life. After Grace won an Oscar for Country Girl, her father allegedly said:"

8. She liked dirty jokes

Rumor has it that Kelly wasn't all that regal and reserved behind closed doors. According to Luisetta Levi-Susan Azzoaglio, who served as her personal assistant for many years, the princess was clearly bawdy in nature: “She was not humble at all. She had a mischievous sense of humor, sparkle in her eyes, and a huge passion for limericks - even cocky ones. Actor David Niven shared her love for jokes. Every time he visited the palace, bursts of laughter were heard."

Azzoaglio says Kelly also preferred a more casual look at home, swapping her glamorous dresses for simple pants.

9. She turned down the lead role

Kelly once said "No" to an amazing role: Edie Doyle in Elia Kazan's 1954 film On the Waterfront. (She turned down to play Carol Fremont's enigmatic Lisa instead in Backyard Window.)The choice turned out to be successful for everyone: the role of "At the Port" went to Eve Marie Saint, and "Window" became one of Kelly's most famous films.

10. She was the black sheep of her family

Kelly's parents and brothers may have been avid athletes, extroverts, and social climbers, but Kelly herself was none of the above. As biographer Gwen Robins writes:.

However, Kelly was much more determined and determined than her timidity had anticipated. As Robins explains, very early in her life, she decided to move away from this bunch of wonderful, healthy, German-inspired people and find a way to live within herself.

11. She was supposed to play Marnie

Although the terms of her marriage to Prince Rainier had effectively ended her film career, Alfred Hitchcock nevertheless offered Kelly the lead role in Marnie, a tale of a beautiful kleptomaniac with a troubled past. Although Rainier himself apparently had no problem getting his wife to take on the role, the citizens of Monaco protested against having their princess play the "obsessive thief," and Tippi Hedren took the role. "Marnie" was not the only film that Kelly had to give up. Hitchcock also wanted her for 1963's Birds, another role that Tippi got.

12. She took vocal lessons to get rid of her peculiar way of speaking

After she entered acting school in 1947, Kelly's instructors began working to "fix" what they called her "Philadelphia dialect." As biographer James Spada explains, one of the first things she was told by professors at the Academy of Dramatic Arts was that she had to work on her speech. So Grace developed this almost British way of speaking.

13. Her last film project never took place

Despite the fact that most people considered her to be practically gone from the cinema, Kelly actually planned some kind of comeback shortly before her death. She was talking about a documentary about a Russian ballet school and was going to play herself in a film called Changed. (The film was conceived as a comedy of morals and was staged at the Flowers Exhibition in Monaco.) However, the project was never completed due to her untimely death, and her husband (who was also involved in its creation) decided not to release the existing footage.

14. She died in a tragic accident

On September 13, 1982, 52-year-old Grace suffered a stroke while driving on the rocky roads of Monaco. Losing control, she drove off the slope with her seventeen-year-old daughter Stephanie. Unfortunately, Kelly's injuries turned out to be serious, and the next day, Prince Rainier decided to disconnect her from the life support system. Stephanie suffered relatively minor injuries and fully recovered.

Kelly was buried in the crypt of the royal family. Sources say her car was crushed into a small cube and taken to the Mediterranean, where it was sunk.

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