Grace Kelly, 40 years without the princess of Hollywood: Hitchcock’s muse with fame of ‘eating-men’

On September 14, 40 years ago, Grace Kelly died. She was returning to Monaco from her mansion in Roc Agel and had an accident. The Rover P6B 3500 S in which she was traveling went off the road. Traveling with her was her daughter Estefania de Ella, then a minor, who saved her life. Grace was 52 years old and already a legend of cinema, fashion and royalty. She was an artist, an icon and a royal. A great character 360.

It is the 40th anniversary of the death of Princess Grace. A beacon of style and ultimate glamour, Grace Patricia Kelly forged a stellar film career before Prince Rainier of Monaco crossed her path. Admired and revered, she conquered the world with the image of her from Dior, Givenchy, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent; and with her short-handle Hermès bag forever baptized with her last name.

Kelly was born in Philadelphia, into a wealthy family. His father, John Kelly, an Olympian, was a well-known businessman; and her mother, a successful gymnast.

Her attraction to film and theater led her to study at the School of Dramatic Art. She settled in New York, where she walked the runway as a model. Her first step in the cinema was in Fourteen hours. John Ford signed her to Mogambo, along with Clark Gable and Ava Garder. For this film, Ella Kelly was awarded a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. Other jewels in the crown of her filmography are Perfect Crime, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief or High Society. Kelly had a reputation as a man-eater.

At the height of stardom, the actress left everything to become a princess. On April 18, 1956, she married Rainier of Monaco. The bride, with a tiara, wore a dress with a puffed skirt and bodice by Helen Rose. Shortly after her three children were born: Alberto, Carolina and Estefania.