Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.

After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of 20, Grace Kelly appeared in New York City theatrical productions as well as in more than forty episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s Golden Age of Television. In October 1953, with the release of Mogambo, she became a movie star, a status confirmed in 1954 with a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination as well as leading roles in five films, including The Country Girl, in which she gave a deglamorized, Academy Award-winning performance. She retired from acting at 26 to enter upon her duties in Monaco. She and Prince Rainier had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie. She also retained her American roots, maintaining dual US and Monégasque citizenships.

She died after suffering a stroke on September 14, 1982, when she lost control of her automobile and crashed. Her daughter, Princess Stéphanie, was in the car with her, and survived the accident.

In June 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her No.13 in their list of top female stars of American cinema.

Family

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Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia to John Brendan "Jack" Kelly, and his wife, Margaret Katherine Majer. The newborn was named after her father's sister, who had died at a young age. She was raised Catholic, and was of Irish and German descent. Before her marriage, Majer studied physical education at Temple University and later became the first woman to head the Physical Education Department at the University of Pennsylvania. Jack Kelly was a local hero as a triple Olympic-gold-medal-winning sculler, and became wealthy as his construction company became the largest such enterprise on the East Coast. Registering as a Democrat, he obtained the party's nomination for mayor in the 1935 election and lost by the closest margin for any Democrat in the city's history. In later years, he served on the Fairmount Park Commission and, during World War II, was appointed by President Roosevelt as National Director of Physical Fitness.

When Grace was born, the Kellys already had two children, Margaret Katherine, known as Peggy (June 13, 1925 – November 23, 1991) and John Brendan, Jr., known as Kell (May 24, 1927 – May 2, 1985). Another daughter, Elizabeth Anne, known as Lizanne (June 25, 1933 – November 24, 2009), was born three and a half years after Grace.

At Margaret's baptism in 1925, Jack Kelly's mother, Mary Costello Kelly, expressed her disappointment that the baby was not named Grace in memory of her last daughter, who had died young. Upon his mother's death the following year, Jack Kelly resolved that his next daughter would bear the name and, three years later, with the arrival of Grace Patricia in November 1929, his late mother's wish was honored.

Following in his father's athletic footsteps, John Jr. won in 1947 the James E. Sullivan Award as the country's top amateur athlete. Also, similar to his father's gold medals in rowing at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics, he competed in the sport at the 1948, 1952 and the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne where, on November 27, seven months after his sister's Monaco wedding, he won a bronze medal, which he gave to her as a gift of the occasion. He also served as a city councilman, and Philadelphia's Kelly Drive is named for him.

Two of Grace Kelly's uncles were prominent in the arts; her father's eldest brother, Walter C. Kelly (1873–1939), was a vaudeville star whose nationally known act The Virginia Judge was filmed as a 1930 MGM short and a 1935 Paramount feature, and another older brother, George Kelly (1887–1974), estranged from the family due to his homosexuality, became renowned in the 1920s as a dramatist, screenwriter and director with a hit comedy-drama, The Show Off in 1924–25, and was awarded the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his next play, Craig's Wife.

Acting career

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While attending Ravenhill Academy, a prestigious Catholic girls' school, Kelly modeled fashions at local social events with her mother and sisters. In 1942, at the age of twelve, she played a lead in Don't Feed the Animals, a play produced by the East Falls Old Academy Players. During high school, she acted and danced, graduating in May 1947 from Stevens School, a small private institution in a mansion on Walnut Lane in the Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood of Germantown. Her graduation yearbook listed her favorite actress as Ingrid Bergman and her favorite actor as Joseph Cotten. Written in the "Stevens' Prophecy" section was, “Miss Grace P. Kelly – a famous star of stage and screen.”

Theater and television

Because of low mathematics scores, Kelly was rejected by Bennington College in July 1947. To the dismay of her parents—despite his brothers' occupations, her father viewed acting as "a slim cut above streetwalker"—Kelly decided to pursue her dreams of a career in the theater. For an audition into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York she used a scene from her uncle's 1923 play The Torch-Bearers. Although the school had already selected its semester quota, Kelly obtained an interview with the school's admission officer, Emile Diestel, and was admitted due to her uncle George. Living in Manhattan's Barbizon Hotel for Women, a prestigious establishment which barred men from entering after 10 pm, and working as a model to support her studies, Kelly began her first term the following October. A diligent student, she would use a tape recorder to practice and perfect her speech. Her early acting pursuits led her to the stage, most notably a Broadway debut in Strindberg's The Father alongside Raymond Massey. At 19, her graduation performance was as Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story.

Television producer Delbert Mann cast Kelly as Bethel Merriday, an adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name, in her first of nearly sixty live television programs. Success on television eventually brought her a role in a major motion picture. Kelly made her film debut in a small role in the 1951 film Fourteen Hours. She was noticed during a visit to the set by Gary Cooper, who subsequently starred with her in High Noon. Cooper was charmed by Kelly and said that she was "different from all these actresses we've been seeing so much of." However, her performance in Fourteen Hours was not noticed by critics, and did not lead to her receiving other film acting roles. She continued her work in the theater and on television, although she lacked "vocal horsepower" and would likely not have had a lengthy stage career. Kelly was performing in Colorado’s Elitch Gardens when she received a telegram from Hollywood producer Stanley Kramer, offering her a co-starring role opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon.

Actress for MGM

Kelly's role as Linda Nordley in MGM's production of Mogambo garnered her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Although High Noon increased Kelly's prominence in Hollywood, director John Ford noticed her by seeing a 1950 screen test which showed, he said, that Kelly had "breeding, quality and class". Gene Tierney was initially cast in the role, but due to emotional problems dropped out at the last minute, and the studio flew Kelly to Los Angeles to audition in September 1952. She won the role, along with a 7-year contract at the relatively low salary of $850 a week. Kelly signed the deal under two conditions: First that, one out of every two years, she have time off to work in the theater and second, that she be able to live in New York City, at the now-landmarked Manhattan House, at 200 E. 66th Street. Just two months later, in November, the cast arrived in Nairobi to begin production. She later told Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, "Mogambo had three things that interested me. John Ford, Clark Gable, and a trip to Africa with expenses paid. If Mogambo had been made in Arizona, I wouldn't have done it." The filming timetable afforded her opportunity to indulge in types of activities that undoubtedly would not have been broadcast to the likes of Hedda Hopper or her reading public. Kelly and Mogambo co-star Ava Gardner enjoyed a break in the production schedule to journey to Rome and supposedly spent time there "brothel-hopping."
After the success of Mogambo, Kelly starred in a TV play The Way of an Eagle, with Jean-Pierre Aumont before being cast in the film adaptation of Frederick Knott's Broadway hit Dial M for Murder. Director Alfred Hitchcock also saw the 1950 screen test and would become one of Kelly's last mentors. He took full advantage of Kelly's virginal beauty on-camera. In a scene in which her character Margot Wendice is nearly murdered, a struggle breaks out between her and her would-be-killer Tony Dawson as she kicks her legs and flails her arms attempting to fight off her killer. Dial M for Murder opened in theaters in May 1954 to both positive reviews and box-office triumph.
Kelly began filming scenes for her next film, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, in January 1954 with William Holden. The role of Nancy, the wife of naval officer Harry (Holden), proved to be a minor but pivotal part of the story. Released in January 1955, The New Yorker wrote of Kelly and Holden's unbridled on-screen chemistry, taking note of Kelly's performance of the part "with quiet confidence."

In committing to the role of Lisa Fremont in Rear Window, Kelly unhesitatingly turned down the opportunity to star alongside Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, which won her replacement, Eva Marie Saint, an Academy Award. "All through the making of Dial M for Murder, he [Hitchcock] sat and talked to me about Rear Window all the time, even before we had discussed my being in it." Much like the shooting of Dial M for Murder, Kelly and Hitchcock shared a close bond of humor and admiration. Sometimes, however, minor strife would emerge on set concerning the wardrobe:

At the rehearsal for the scene in Rear Window when I wore a sheer nightgown, Hitchcock called for Edith Head. He came over here and said, 'Look, the bosom is not right, we're going to have to put something in there.' He was very sweet about it; he didn't want to upset me, so he spoke quietly to Edith. When we went into my dressing room and Edith said, 'Mr. Hitchcock is worried because there's a false pleat here. He wants me to put in falsies.' Well, I said, 'You can't put falsies in this, it's going to show and I'm not going to wear them.' And she said, 'What are we going to do?' So we quickly took it up here, made some adjustments there, and I just did what I could and stood as straight as possible – without falsies. When I walked out onto the set Hitchcock looked at me and at Edith and said, 'See what a difference they make?'

Kelly's new co-star, James Stewart, was highly enthusiastic about working with her. The role of Lisa Fremont, a wealthy Manhattan socialite and model, was unlike any of the previous women which she had played. For the very first time, she was an independent career woman. Stewart played a speculative photographer with a broken leg, bound to a wheelchair and so reduced to curiously observing the happenings outside his window. Kelly is not seen until twenty-two minutes into the movie. Just as he had done earlier, Hitchcock provided the camera with a slow-sequenced silhouette of Kelly, along with a close-up of the two stars kissing and finally lingering closely on her profile. With the film's opening in October 1954, Kelly was again praised. Variety's film critic remarked on the casting, commenting about the "earthy quality to the relationship between Stewart and Miss Kelly. Both do a fine job of the picture's acting demands."

Kelly won the role of Bing Crosby's long-suffering wife, Georgie Elgin, in The Country Girl, after a pregnant Jennifer Jones bowed out. Already familiar with the play, Kelly was desperate for the part. This meant that, to MGM's dismay, she would have to be loaned out to Paramount. Kelly threatened the studio that she would pack her bags and leave for New York for good. The vanquished studio caved in, and the part was hers.

The film also paired Kelly again with William Holden. The wife of a washed-up alcoholic singer, played by Crosby, Kelly's character is emotionally torn between two lovers. Holden willfully begs Kelly to leave her husband and be with him. A piece of frail tenderness manages to cloak itself inside of her, even after having been demonized by Crosby, describing "a pathetic hint of frailty in a wonderful glowing man. That appeals a lot to us. It did to me. I was so young. His weaknesses seemed touching and sweet, they made me love him more."

As a result of her performance in The Country Girl, Kelly was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her main competitor for the prize was Judy Garland's much heralded comeback performance in A Star Is Born; playing not only the part of an up and coming actress-singer, but also ironically, the wife of an alcoholic movie star. Although Kelly won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for best actress for her performances in her three big movie roles of 1954 (Rear Window, Dial M For Murder, and The Country Girl), she and Garland both received Golden Globe Awards for their respective performances.

By the following March, the race between Kelly and Garland for the Oscar was very close. On the night of the Academy Awards telecast, March 30, 1955, Garland was unable to attend because she was in the hospital having just given birth to her son, Joseph Luft. However, she was rumored to be the odds-on favorite, and NBC Television cameras were set up in her hospital room so that if she was announced as the winner, Garland could make her acceptance speech live from her hospital bed. However, when William Holden announced Kelly as the winner, the technicians immediately dismantled the cameras without saying one word to Garland. Garland was reported not to have been very gracious about Kelly's win, saying in later years, "I didn't appreciate Grace Kelly taking off her makeup and walking away with my Oscar."

In April 1954, Kelly flew to Colombia for a 10-day shoot on her next project, Green Fire, with Stewart Granger. Kelly played Catherine Knowland, a coffee plantation owner. In Granger's autobiography he writes of his distaste for the film's script, while Kelly later confided to Hedda Hopper, "It wasn't pleasant. We worked at a pathetic village – miserable huts and dirty. Part of the crew got shipwrecked ... It was awful." Green Fire was a critical and box-office failure.

After the back-to-back filming of Rear Window, Toko-Ri, Country Girl and Green Fire, Kelly flew to France, along with department store heir Bernard "Barney" Strauss, to begin work on her third and last film for Alfred Hitchcock, To Catch a Thief. Kelly and her co-star, Cary Grant, developed a mutual admiration. The two cherished their time together for the rest of their lives. Years later, when asked to name his all-time favorite actress, Grant replied without hesitation: "Well, with all due respect to dear Ingrid Bergman, I much preferred Grace. She had serenity." The fireworks scene has been the subject of much commentary, as Hitchcock peppers an undertone of sexual innuendo during the sequence.

Marriage

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Kelly headed the US delegation at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1955. While there, she was invited to participate in a photo session at the Palace of Monaco with Prince Rainier III, the sovereign of the principality. After a series of delays and complications, Kelly met the prince in Monaco.

Upon returning to America, Kelly began work on The Swan, in which she coincidentally portrayed a princess. Meanwhile, she was privately beginning a correspondence with Rainier. In December, Rainier came to America on a trip officially designated as a tour, although it was speculated that Rainier was actively seeking a wife. A 1918 treaty with France stated that if Rainier did not produce an heir, Monaco would revert to France as a result of the Monaco Succession Crisis of 1918. At a press conference in the United States, Rainier was asked if he was pursuing a wife, to which he answered, "No." A second question was posed, asking, "If you were pursuing a wife, what kind would you like?" Rainier smiled and answered, "I don't know – the best." Rainier met Kelly and her family, and after three days, the prince proposed. Kelly accepted and the families began preparing for what the press called "The Wedding of the Century." Kelly and her family had to provide Prince Rainier with a dowry of 2 million USD in order for the marriage to go ahead. The religious wedding was set for April 19, 1956. News of the engagement was a sensation even though it meant the possible end to Kelly's film career. Industry professionals realized that it would have been impractical for her to continue acting and wished her well, and Kelly was uninterested in remaining an actress as she aged. Alfred Hitchcock had quipped that he was "very happy that Grace has found herself such a good part."

Preparations for the wedding were elaborate. The Palace of Monaco was painted and redecorated throughout. On April 4, 1956, leaving from Pier 84 in New York Harbor, Kelly, with her family, bridesmaids, poodle, and over eighty pieces of luggage boarded the ocean liner SS Constitution for the French Riviera. Some 400 reporters applied to sail, though most were turned away. Thousands of fans sent the party off for the eight-day voyage. In Monaco, more than 20,000 people lined the streets to greet the future princess consort.

That same year, MGM released Kelly's last film, the musical comedy High Society (based on the studio's 1940 comedy Philadelphia Story). One highlight of the film was Kelly's duet with Bing Crosby, singing "True Love," with words and music by Cole Porter.

Princess of Monaco

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Kelly and Rainier had both civil and religious weddings. The 40-minute civil ceremony took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956, and was broadcast across Europe. To cap the ceremony, the 142 official titles (counterparts of Rainier's) that Kelly acquired in the union were formally recited. The following day the church ceremony took place at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Kelly's wedding dress, designed by MGM's Academy Award–winning Helen Rose, was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses. The bridesmaid's gowns were designed by Joe Allen Hong at Neiman Marcus after Lawrence Marcus visited Monaco. The 600 guests included Hollywood stars David Niven and his wife Hjördis, Gloria Swanson, Ava Gardner, the crowned head Aga Khan, Gloria Guinness, Daisy Fellowes, Etti Plesch, Lady Diana Cooper and Conrad Hilton. Frank Sinatra initially accepted an invitation but at the last minute decided otherwise, afraid of upstaging the bride on her wedding day. The ceremony was watched by an estimated 30 million people on television. The prince and princess left that night for their seven-week Mediterranean honeymoon cruise on Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II.

As Princess of Monaco, she founded AMADE Mondiale, a Monaco-based non-profit organization eventually recognized by the UN as a Non-Governmental Organization. According to UNESCO's website, AMADE promotes and protects the "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." Her daughter Princess Caroline carries the torch for AMADE today in her role as President.

Children and family

Princess Grace gave birth to the couple's first child, Princess Caroline, nine months and four days after the wedding. Twenty-one guns announced the event, a national holiday was called, gambling ceased, and free champagne flowed throughout the principality. A little over a year later, 101 guns announced the birth of their second child, Prince Albert. Prince Rainier and Princess Grace had three children:

    * Caroline Louise Marguerite, Princess of Hanover, born January 23, 1957, and now heiress presumptive to the throne of Monaco
    * Albert II, Prince of Monaco, born March 14, 1958, current ruler of the Principality of Monaco
    * Princess Stéphanie Marie Elisabeth, born February 1, 1965.

Later years

After the wedding, Prince Rainier banned the screening of Kelly's films. Hitchcock offered Kelly the lead in his film Marnie in 1962. She was eager, but public outcry in Monaco against her involvement in a film that portrayed her as a kleptomaniac made her reconsider and ultimately reject the project. Director Herbert Ross attempted to lure Princess Grace for his 1977 film The Turning Point, but Prince Rainier quashed the idea. Later that year, Kelly returned to the arts in a series of poetry readings on stage and the narration of the documentary The Children of Theater Street. She also narrated ABC's made-for-television film The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966).

As princess, Kelly was active in improving the arts institutions of Monaco, and eventually the Princess Grace Foundation was formed to support local artisans. She was one of the first celebrities to support and speak on behalf of La Leche League, an organization that advocates breastfeeding; she planned a yearly Christmas party for local orphans, and dedicated a Garden Club that reflected her love of flowers.

Kelly was also a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1960.

In 1981, the Prince and Princess celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

Personal life

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Kelly was the object of the tabloids and gossip throughout her life. Her love life was a particular focus of speculation. Stories of affairs circulated from her first major role in motion pictures and eventually included the names of almost every major actor at the time. It is likely that many of the stories are exaggerated, although she is believed to have had affairs with all of her leading men apart from James Stewart.

During the making of Dial M for Murder, it is rumored that her co-star, Ray Milland, probably seduced her. Milland was 22 years older than she. Milland assured Kelly that he had left his wife, which she would later find out to have been a lie. Muriel Milland was one of the most popular wives in Hollywood and had the support of many friends, including gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. After Muriel Milland found out about the alleged affair, Kelly was branded a homewrecker. After Kelly gave a press interview explaining her side of the story the town seemed to lose interest in the scandal. It was never proven that Kelly actually succumbed to Milland's advances; in fact, her friends at the time, such as Rita Gam, believed she had little interest in him.

Russian fashion designer, Oleg Cassini, having just seen Mogambo earlier that evening, encountered Grace Kelly having dinner at Le Veau d'Or. Formerly married to actress Gene Tierney, the original choice to play Mogambo's Linda Nordley, Cassini was raised in Florence and had a cultured air with an abundance of charm and courtliness. He became just as captivated by Kelly in person as he had been while watching her in the film and soon piqued her curiosity by sending her a daily bouquet of red roses. His persistence paid off when she accepted his invitation to lunch, with the provision that her eldest sister, Peggy, join them. Although Kelly and Cassini almost married, their relationship ended with her parents' refusal to accept a divorced non-Catholic as a future son-in-law.

As a princess, Prince Rainier laid down a list of strict rules when it came to the encounters with the Princess at the palace, which included no autographs, no photographs, no audio recording devices. And no one was allowed to leave the room for anything, unless, and until, the Princess left the room first, so that she would avoid being trapped by a mob of fans. This observation was reported in 1963. Whether either the Prince or Princess had extramarital affairs is unclear, but the couple had become closer just before Kelly's death.

In a 1960s interview Kelly explained how she had grown to accept the scrutiny as a part of being in the public eye, but expressed concern for her children’s exposure to such relentless "scandal-mongering". After her death celebrity biographers chronicled the rumors with renewed enthusiasm.

Friendship with Josephine Baker

In 1951, the newly famous Kelly took a bold stand against a racist incident involving Black American expatriate singer/dancer Josephine Baker, when Sherman Billingsley's Stork Club in New York refused Baker as a customer. Kelly, who was dining at the club when this happened, was so disgusted that she rushed over to Baker (whom she had never met), took her by the arm, and stormed out with her entire party, vowing never to return (and she never did). The two women became close friends after that night. A significant testament to their close friendship was made evident when Baker was near bankruptcy, and was offered a villa and financial assistance by Kelly (who by that time had become The Princess of Monaco) and her husband Rainier III of Monaco. The princess also encouraged Baker to return to performing and financed Baker's triumphant comeback in 1975, attending the opening night's performance. When Baker died, the Princess secured her burial in Monaco.

Death

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On September 13, 1982, while driving with her daughter, Stéphanie, to Monaco from their country home, Roc Agel, on the French side of the border, Princess Grace suffered a stroke, which caused her to drive her Rover P6 off the serpentine road down a mountainside. The accident site is located at 43°43′35″N 7°24′10″E / 43.72639°N 7.40278°E / 43.72639; 7.40278. Grace was pulled alive from the wreckage, but had suffered serious injuries and was unconscious. She died the following day at the Monaco Hospital (renamed Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace – "The Princess Grace Hospital Centre" in English—in 1985), having never regained consciousness; she was 52 years old. It was initially reported that Princess Stéphanie suffered only minor bruising, although it later emerged that she had suffered a serious cervical fracture. Grace was overweight at the time of her death and a postmortem examination revealed that she had extensive arteriosclerosis and accumulation of fatty plaques in her circulatory system. The medical examiner listed this as a contributing factor in the stroke she had suffered.

Grace was buried in the Grimaldi family vault on September 18, 1982, after a requiem mass in Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco. The 400 guests at the service included representatives of foreign governments and of present and past European royal houses. Diana, Princess of Wales represented the British royal family. Cary Grant was among the members of the film community in attendance. Prince Rainier, who did not remarry, was buried alongside her following his death in 2005.

In his eulogy, James Stewart said:
“    You know, I just love Grace Kelly. Not because she was a princess, not because she was an actress, not because she was my friend, but because she was just about the nicest lady I ever met. Grace brought into my life as she brought into yours, a soft, warm light every time I saw her, and every time I saw her was a holiday of its own. No question, I'll miss her, we'll all miss her, God bless you, Princess Grace."

Titles and styles

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Titles held by the Princess of Monaco, in chronological order:

    * Miss Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – April 18, 1956)
    * Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco (April 18, 1956 – September 14, 1982)

Princess Grace's official style and title was: Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, Marchioness of Baux, Countess of Carlades, Baroness of Saint-Lô, 101 times Dame. Upon her marriage to Prince Ranier III, she received 138 titles in all.

Izvor: Wikipedia

Filmography

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1950    Believe It or Not (TV series)
1950    Actor's Studio (TV series)
1950    Big Town (TV series)
1950    The Clock (TV series)
1950    Somerset Maugham TV Theatre (TV series)
1951    The Prudential Family Playhouse (TV series)
1951    Nash Airflyte Theatre (TV series)
1951    Fourteen Hours
1952    CBS Television Workshop (TV series)
1952    Hallmark Hall of Fame (TV series)
1950-1952    Danger (TV series)
1950-1952    Lights Out (TV series)
1952    Robert Montgomery Presents (TV series)
1952    Suspense (TV series)
1952    Goodyear Playhouse (TV series)
1952    High Noon
1951-1952    Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV series)
1950-1952    Studio One in Hollywood (TV series)
1950-1953    Lux Video Theatre (TV series)
1950-1953    The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse (TV series)
1953    Mogambo
1948-1954    Kraft Theatre (TV series)
1954    Dial M for Murder
1954    Rear Window
1954    The Country Girl
1954    Green Fire
1954    The Bridges at Toko-Ri
1955    To Catch a Thief
1956    The Swan
1956    High Society

Životna priča - Grejs Keli: Najlepša plavuša svog doba

Gluma je bila samo deo snova koje je prelepa Grejs Keli ostvarila pre nego što je udajom postala princeza od Monaka, a savršen život zavodnice iznenada je iznenadna pogibija

Ikona stila i žena koja je postavši glumica i princeza neodoljive lepote i harizme uspela da ostvari san svake devojčice, Grejs Keli, dokazala je kako bajke zaista postoje. Iako je od njene smrti prošlo tri decenije, njen lik i dalje sija podsećajući na one dame koje su kroz istoriju definisale kako treba da izgleda, čemu da teži i šta da voli savremena žena. O tome kako se Grejs Keli od malog ružnog  pačeta razvila u prelepog labuda ispričani su mitovi, a njena lepota više od svih inspirisala je slavnog Hičkoka, zavela najveće zavodnike 20. veka i naterala princa jednog malog kraljevstva da se njome oženi.

Legendarna glumica Grejs Patriša Keli rođena je 12. novembra 1929. godine u Filadelfiji kao treće dete Margaret i Džona Kelija. Njena porodica bila je veoma imućna, a otac joj je stekao bogatstvo kao građevinski poduzimač. Detinjstvo su joj obeležile dve stvari - vera i sport. Porodica koja je sa očeve strane poticala iz Irske bila je strogo katolička i negovala devizu: U zdravom telu, zdrav duh.

Gospodin Keli bio je ponosan na svu svoju decu, osim na Grejs koja je bila bledunjavo dete i nije se uklapala u njegovu spartansku viziju zdravog sveta. Sa 17 godina, nakon završene srednje škole, Grejs je napustila Filadelfiju i preselila se u Njujork gde je 1947. upisala American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Tokom studija sama se izdržavala baveći se manekenstvom i snimajući reklame za televiziju.

Njene kolege su je opisivale kao studentkinju koja je uporno radila na sebi, tako da je na kraju fakulteta uspela da govori čistim britanskim akcentom. Svoj scenski debi Keli je dobila na Brodveju 1949. u komadu Avgusta Spilberga Otac. Međutim, ubrzo nakon prvog angažmana odlučila je da se preseli u južnu Kaliforniju kako bi se oprobala u filmskoj umetnosti. Prvu rolu dobila je sa dvadeset dve godine u filmu Četrnaest sati, a iako epizodna, ova uloga joj je otvorila vrata Holivuda.

Na početku njen veliki film bio je Tačno u podne gde je igrala rame uz rame sa zvezdama vesterna Garijem Kuperom i Lojdom Bridžisom. Posle njega postala je izuzetno popularna. Dve godine kasnije igrala je u megahitu Mogambo, najuspešnijem projektu koji je producentska kuća MGM ikada snimila. Dočarala je lik Linde Nordli, a radila je zajedno sa Klarkom Gejblom i Avom Gardner. Ova sporedna uloga donela joj je Zlatni globus za najbolju epizodu, ali i nominaciju za Oskara.

Ipak, Grejs je prava zvezda postala ulogom u Hičkokovom filmu Pozovi M radi ubistva, gde je pokazala koliko je dobra glumica. Sav svoj glumački potencijal prezentovala je i u Devojci sa sela. U toku 1954. godine, Grejs je snimila pet filmova, a jedan od njih je bio i Provincijalka za koji je dobila Oskara za najbolju glavnu glumicu i Zlatni globus za najbolju glavnu glumicu u drami.

Ipak, ono što su svi smatrali njenim ogromnim poslovnim uspehom nije zadivilo i njenu porodicu. Nakon ceremonije otac glumice koja je punila bioskope izjavio je novinarima: Ne mogu da verujem da je Grejs uspela. Sve što je ikad mogla da uradi, moja starija ćerka mogla je bolje.

Paralelno sa karijerom cvetale su i njene romanse. Zbog nje se od tadašnje supruge razveo partner u filmu Nazovi M radi ubistva, Rej Miland. Na snimanju Provincijalke Grejs je igrala pored svoja dva bivša ljubavnika: Binga Krosbja i Vilijama Holdena koji je takođe bio oženjen.

Pričalo se o njenoj romansi sa Kerijem Grantom, o nezasitosti u krevetu, a tračevi su otišli u krajnost pa je MGM morao da plati tabloidima da prestanu sa pisanjem pikanterija iz njenog privatnog života.

Godine 1954. Grejs je ponovo radila sa Hičkokom na filmu Drž'te lopova, zajedno baš sa Kerijem Grantom koji je o njoj rekao: Uz sve poštovanje prema dragoj Ingrid Bergman, mnogo više volim Grejsi. Ona u sebi nosi neku vedrinu, mir i svetlost. Film je sniman na Francuskoj rivijeri, a kao scenografija u pozadini pojavio se Monako.

- Čije su to bašte? - pitala je Grejs na setu pisca scenarija Džona Mišela. Princa Grimaldija - odgovorio joj je. Paralelno sa snimanjem, trač rubrike pisale su o tome kako je osvojila srce najvećeg zavodnika Holivuda Klarka Gejbla, a navodno su se zaljubili još na snimanju Mogamba, međutim ovi navodi nikada nisu potvrđeni.

Ipak, 1955. godine na Kanskom festivalu Grejs je upoznala princa Renijea od Monaka. Tada je bio u dugoj vezi sa jednom francuskom glumicom koja nije mogla da mu podari dugo priželjkivano dete. Tolika čežnja za naslednikom proistekla je iz saznanja da bi u slučaju da se ne rodi potomak njegove loze Monako potpao pod vlast Francuske zbog čega je princ ozbiljno tražio princezu koja će biti majka njegove dece.

Kada je sreo Grejs, ljubav se među njima rodila, navodno, na prvi pogled. Ubrzo su počeli vezu, a princ je glumicu zaprosio tri dana nakon što ju je upoznao sa ostatkom porodice. Za Božić 1955. godine princ Renije je posetio glumicu i njenu porodicu u Filadelfiji. Odluka da se vere celom svetu ličila je na romantičnu bajku: princ i holivudska kraljica. Međutim, malo je onih koji su znali da je ova romantična poseta prošla u pogađanju oko miraza koji je Grejs trebalo da donese osiromašenom princu. Na kraju su se dogovorili za dva miliona dolara, a osim toga, da bi se udala, Grejs je morala da prođe inkviziciju prinčevog sveštenika, kako bi se utvrdilo koliko je buduća princeza verski podobna da vlada kneževinom kocke, ali čekalo ju je i niz fizičkih testova koji bi potvrdili da je u stanju da rodi naslednika. Do zvanične veridbe došlo je 5. februara 1956, međutim, Grejs je morala da snimi još jedan film za MGM zbog ugovora koji je sklopila na početku karijere.

Posljednji film bio je Visoko društvo gde je igrala sa Frenkom Sinatrom, ali ni to nije zadovoljilo MGM, tako da je, da bi se oslobodila ugovora s njima, morala da dozvoli da se snimi venčanje u Monaku koje se emitovao u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama kao tridesetjednominutni dokumentarni film.

Dobro upućeni tvrde da je Grejs mrzela svaku sekundu svog venčanja koje se oteglo na dva dana, a počelo je 9. aprila 1956. Na njemu je bilo prisutno preko šest stotina zvanica u crkvi, sedam stotina u opštini, a oko tri miliona gledalaca širom sveta gledalo je snimak. Uprkos nelagodnosti koju je mlada osećala na svom venčanju, ono je proteklo u najboljem redu. Među zvanicama bili su Keri Grant, Aga Kan, Glorija Svanson, Ava Gardner i Aristotel Onazis. Nevesta je plenila svojom lepotom u raskošnoj venčanici od čipke, svile i tila kreatorke Helen Ros, a koju je dobila na dar od filmskog studija MGM. Mladoženja je ponosno mahao podanicima iz plavo-belog rols-rojsa, u odelu nalik Napoleonovoj uniformi. Idila je nastavljena krstarenjem na jahti Deo Huvante Drugi, koju je Renije poklonio Grejs kada je iz Amerike doputovala u Monako. Slika nasmejanih supružnika obišla je svet, a njihova zemlja ubrzo je postala raj za kockare i bogataše.

Da bi zaštitio privatni život od očiju radoznale javnosti, princ je zabranio snimanje filmova u Monaku o životu njegove supruge. Ipak, dozvolio je pripadnicima sedme sile da zavire u palatu 23. januara 1957, nakon rođenja njihovog prvog deteta, princeze Karoline. Naredne godine stanovnici Monaka proslavili su rođenje i princa Alberta, potonjeg vladara. Treće dete Grejs i Renijea, princeza Stefani, rođena je 1. februara 1965. godine. Za razliku od povučenog života slavnih vladara, njihovi naslednici Karolina, Albert i Stefani već u ranom detinjstvu izazivali su pažnju medija. Kada su postali tinejdžeri, stekli su reputaciju najglamuroznijih naslednika krune na Starom kontinentu, a roditelji su im ispunjavali sve prohteve.

Javnost je s posebnim uživanjem pratila zbivanja u Monaku, centru luksuza, a život mladih Grimaldijevih ličio je na sapunsku operu. Ono što je osim skandala fasciniralo svet svakako je i činjenica da je Grejs Keli bila svetska modna ikona. Jednostavna i elegantna frizura, kao i odeća pastelnih boja bili su sinonim za prefinjenost koju je Grejs posedovala. Njene večernje haljine nosile su etikete najpoznatijih modnih marki: Dior, Balensiaga, Yves Saint Laurent... Francuska modna kuća Hermes je jednu od svojih torbica nazvala po glumici - Kelly Bag i to nakon što je princeza viđena kako nosi tu tašnu od krokodilske kože.

- Niko ne može da izgleda kao Grejs Keli - ona je bila najlepša plavuša svog doba. Siguran sam da bi, da je živa, i danas bila neodoljiva. Ta vrsta savršenosti mora čak i da stari prelepo, izjavio je pre nekoliko godina kreator Karl Lagerfeld. I zaista, život čuvene Grejs odlikovao se skladom, druženjem sa slavnim prijateljima i organizovanjem dobrotvornih akcija za pomoć unesrećenima. Među mnogobrojnim prijateljima koje je imala bili su Frenk Sinatra, Ela Ficdžerald, kraljica Elizabeta, Kenedijevi, Onazis i Marija Kalas... Grejs se veoma trudila da njeni naslednici rastu normalno baš kao i sva ostala deca. Slobodno vreme provodili su u Filadelfiji, a nekoliko godina princ Albert je pohađao letnje kampove sa rođacima iz Amerike. Ni na koji način nije dozvoljavala da se izdvajaju od ostalih, ali je njihova sudbina ipak bila predodređena činjenicom da njihovim venama teče plava krv.

Sklad i harmonija koja je vladala oko ove kraljevske porodice do korena je sasečena kada je Keli 13. septembra 1982. doživela tešku saobraćajnu nesreću, vraćajući se sa ćerkom Stefani sa putovanja Francuskom rivijerom. Od zadobijenih povreda glumica je preminula sutradan, 14. septembra 1982. godine, u bolnici. Prema jednoj priči Grejs je doživela udes upravo na mestu gde je snimana scena piknika iz filma Drž'te lopova. Sahranjena je u porodičnoj grobnici Grimaldijevih, u katedrali Svetog Nikole 18. septembra 1982. godine. Posle njene smrti Renije se nije ponovo oženio, a u javnosti se pojavljivao uvek sa svojom decom. Grejsinoj sahrani prisustvovale su istaknute političke ličnosti iz celog sveta, nekadašnje kolege iz Holivuda, kao i krunisane glave. Renije je preminuo 6. aprila 2005, a njegovi najbliži prijatelji tvrdili su da nikada nije preboleo gubitak supruge za kojom svet i danas tuguje i čezne.

Izvor: Story