Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly Facts
| Sign | Scorpio |
| Born |
Nov 12, 1929 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died |
Sep 14, 1982 Monaco |
| Age | Died at 52 |
| Total Facts | 56 |
Hedda Hopper reported that Judy Garland's loss of the Academy Award to Grace for The Country Girl (1954) was the result of the closest Oscar vote up till that time that didn't end in a tie, with just six votes separating the two. In any event, it was a heartbreak from which Judy Garland never really recovered and which has remained a matter of some controversy ever since.
Cary Grant named her as his favorite co-star. His friends and family said Kelly's death hit him much harder than the deaths of Louis Mountbatten, Alfred Hitchcock and even Ingrid Bergman.
The Country Girl (1954), the film that won Kelly an Oscar, was first offered to Jennifer Jones, who had to turn it down due to pregnancy.
Actress Rita Gam was among her bridesmaids.
All of her leading men were old enough to be her father (with the exception of William Holden, who was only 11 years older than her).
Assisted in the pre-production status of Grace Kelly (1983) (TV) starring Cheryl Ladd as Grace Kelly.
Attended and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York.
Became pregnant twice by her husband Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1962; on both occasions she suffered miscarriages.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 447-450. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.
Born at 5:31 AM EST.
Born to John Brendan Kelly, Sr. (1889-1960), son of Irish immigrants, and his wife Margaret Katherine Majer, who was of German descent, she had three siblings: Peggy, John Jr. and Lizzane.
Bought a silver frame as a wedding gift to Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981.
Broke off her engagement to Oleg Cassini to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#5). [1995]
Former mother-in-law of Stefano Casiraghi (1983-1990) and mother-in-law of Daniel Ducruet (1995-1996). She is also the future mother-in- law of Princess Charlene of Monaco.
Graduated from Stevens School in Germantown, Philadelphia (1947).
Grandmother of: Andrea, Charlotte, and Pierre Casiraghi, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Hanover, Louis and Pauline Ducruet,Camille Gottlieb, Jazmin Grace Grimaldi & Alexandre Coste.
Had three children with Prince Rainier of Monaco: Princess Caroline of Monaco (1957), Prince Albert of Monaco (1958) and Princess Stéphanie of Monaco (1965).
Her father built a beach house at the corner of 26th and Wesley in Ocean City N.J. in 1929. It became a popular family vacation destination, and hosted celebrity guests such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Grace's sister, Lizanne, lived in the house until it was sold in 2001.
Her favorite flowers were roses. After her death, Prince Rainier of Monaco opened a public rose garden in Monaco.
Her movies were banned in Monaco by order of Prince Rainier of Monaco.
Her wedding's church ceremony at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral was exclusively filmed by MGM and made into the documentary The Wedding in Monaco (1956). The 600 guests included David Niven, Gloria Swanson, Ava Gardner and Conrad Hilton (19 April 1956).
Hoped to return to acting in Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie (1964), but the people of Monaco didn't want their princess playing a thief and romancing Sean Connery.
In 1993, the USA and Monaco simultaneously released a commemorative postage stamp honoring her. However, USA federal law forbids postage stamps depicting foreign heads of state, so the USA stamp listed her as "Grace Kelly", while the Monaco stamp listed her as "Princess Grace".
In her youth, her favorite actors were Joseph Cotten and Ingrid Bergman.
In Italy, a vast number of her films were dubbed by Fiorella Betti. She was also dubbed by Miranda Bonansea, Dhia Cristiani and Rina Morelli, respectively in High Noon (1952), Dial M for Murder (1954) and To Catch a Thief (1955).
Interred at the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Monaco.
Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue".
Is portrayed by Christina Applegate and Cheryl Ladd in Grace Kelly (1983) (TV).
Kelly's wedding gown was the most expensive garment that MGM designer Helen Rose had ever made. It used twenty-five yards of silk taffeta and one hundred yards of silk net. Its 125-year-old rose point lace was purchased from a museum and thousands of tiny pearls were sewn on the veil.
Measurements: 34-24-35 (1955 pin-up), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Niece of playwright George Kelly.
On January 1959, the Austrian government awarded her a medal of merit for aid to Hungarian refugees escaping Russian invasion, given through Monaco's Red Cross.
On the day she perished in a car accident, she was allegedly driving a British Rover 3500.
Part of Prince Rainier of Monaco's attraction to marrying a movie star was to increase tourism in his tiny, cash-poor principality, and the Kelly family was turned off by his demands that a substantial dowry accompany Grace to Monaco. A figure of $2,000,000 was finally agreed upon, which was diverted from Grace's inheritance so that her brother and two sisters wouldn't be shortchanged.
Ranked #51 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Ranked #86 in Men's Health 100 Hottest Women of all Time (2011).
Referenced in the songs "Grace Kelly", by Die Ärzte; "Grace Kelly Blues" by Eels (Mark Everett),"Grace Kelly with Wings" by Piebald; and "Grace Kelly" by Mika.
She and her husband Prince Rainier of Monaco, were at the opening of Expo '58 in Brussels.
She was one of many famous tenants of the Barbizon Hotel for Women when she lived in New York. Other tenants included Candice Bergen, Liza Minnelli, Cloris Leachman, Ali MacGraw, and Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale.
She was voted the 12th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
She was voted the 27th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Summoned Sydney Guilaroff, the chief hairstylist at MGM Studios, to style her hair for her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956.
The inscription at her burial site in Monaco's cathedral does not refer to her as a princess. It uses the title "uxor principis" (prince's wife), which is traditional in the House of Grimaldi.
The road accident which led to her death was apparently caused by a stroke she suffered while driving.
The so-called "wealthy" family Grace was born into was actually an immigrant family of bricklayers who had barely a generation of new-found business success. Grace's father and brother were both Olympic gold-medal scullers. Grace's cousin, former US Secy of Navy John Lehman, Jr. now chairs the Princess Grace Foundation, which supports young performing talent.
The very first actress to appear on a postage stamp, in 1993.
Was allegedly romantically involved with all of her leading men apart from James Stewart.
Was considered for the role of Maggie the Cat in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) that was eventually played by Elizabeth Taylor.
Was considered for the role of Sarah in Guys and Dolls (1955/I), however Jean Simmons was cast instead.