Princess Grace of Monaco

Who is Princess Grace of Monaco?

Grace Kelly was an American film actress who became Princess of Monaco through her 1956 marriage to Prince Rainier III, one of the most widely covered royal weddings of the twentieth century. Before her marriage, she built a celebrated Hollywood career in the early-to-mid 1950s, starring in films such as "High Noon," "Dial M for Murder," "Rear Window," and "To Catch a Thief," and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in "The Country Girl" (1954). After becoming Princess Grace, she largely stepped back from acting and devoted herself to Monaco's civic and cultural life, founding the Princess Grace Foundation to support local arts, crafts, and charitable causes, and championing Monaco's hospitals and cultural institutions. She raised international awareness of the small principality and helped shape its modern image as a cultural and social capital on the Mediterranean. Princess Grace died in 1982 following a car accident on a road above Monaco. Her legacy is preserved today through the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, the Princess Grace Academy for dance, and continued public interest in her life and style.

Sources: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy Award records (Best Actress, 1954) · Princess Grace Foundation-USA, official history · Government of Monaco (gouv.mc), History and Heritage — Personalities