Grace Kelly

From the exhibit-a statue of Grace
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polfoto
 
pr newswire
This Fall, Monaco Takes New York

This fall, Sotheby's New York is the setting for Grace, Princess of Monaco - A Tribute Exhibit, planned for October 15 - 25, 2007. This open-to-the- public glimpse into the world of the American-born Princess will showcase the many facets of Her persona through photographs and a selection of personal items.
 
pr newswire

In its 25th year, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, will hold its annual Awards Gala in New York on October 25. The Foundation, established to continue Princess Grace's deep commitment to the performing arts, bestows grants to emerging theater, dance and film artists in America, carrying on the tradition of supporting excellence in many forms of artistry. This year's Gala, with the support of the Princely Palace, will feature a very special auction to be conducted by renowned Sotheby's auctioneers, with proceeds to benefit the Princess Grace Awards Program.
 
India Times

WHY NOT sing about Audrey Hepburn?" a reporter asked the pop star Mika, as his single Grace Kelly topped the UK charts earlier this year. No one, the singer replied, could resist the blonde superstar who managed to seduce the lead actor on almost ...


every film she made - a roll call that reportedly included Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Ray Milland, Bing Crosby and William Holden.

Mika also confessed that he penned Grace Kelly's provocative lyrics – ‘Am I too dirty? Am I too flirty?’ - after enduring an hour-long meeting with record company executives "telling me how I should change to be more commercial."

Twenty-five years after Kelly's death, no fashion legend - not effortlessly chic Hepburn, sultry Elizabeth Taylor or glamorous Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis - can rival her pulling power. Half a century after she used a Hermes saddlebag to shield her pregnancy bump from a Life magazine photographer, the ‘Kelly’ - as the accessory became known - remains an international bestseller.

The Princess Grace aura also bolstered Gucci's flagging fortunes when in 2005, the brand's incoming creative director, Frida Giannini, resurrected ‘Flora’ - a perky floral pattern created in 1966 for her Royal Highness as the motif adorning a handbag range and a cruise-wear line. Both became must-haves. And 53 years after Life proclaimed 1954 the ‘year of Grace’ - because of the release of five of her hit films, including Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers Dial M for Murder and Rear Window - the fashion scene is dominated by looks inspired by her glacial glamour.-

Next month, Louis Vuitton will debut its autumn 2007 campaign, featuring an ice-cool Scarlett Johansson emulating Kelly as the expertly groomed 50s Hollywood debutante. And Calvin Klein will launch designer Francisco Costa's autumn/winter collection with curvy dresses inspired by Helen Rose, the MGM costumer for the 1955 fairytale High Society.

The preppy, elegant wardrobe for the film so pleased Kelly that it became part of the extensive trousseau she sported in 1956 during her wedding to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. The Prada turban - 2007's most controversial accessory - owes a lot to Kelly too. In her decadent ‘turban period’ - when freewheeling, forty-something Princess Grace, reportedly separated from Rainier, divided her time between Paris and Monaco in the "company of younger men" - she proved women could look cool on a bad-hair day.

The Grace Kelly Years, a grand exhibition that runs at Monte Carlo's Grimaldi Forum until September 23 and is set to travel to London, attempts to put Kelly the icon into some sort of context.

Tracing, chronologically, the origin and impact of her classic style, it presents for the first time a stunning array of screen costumes, lavish Paris couture and luxury accessories in tandem with personal memorabilia, film and sound recordings.

The personal finery makes particularly fascinating viewing because Kelly was a power shopper who fastidiously preserved her possessions in a personal archive at the Monte Carlo palace. After her death, a devoted aide fulfilled the duty for a quarter of a century.

But by dividing Kelly's life into neat stages, the show glazes over the struggles that she faced. Growing up in Ravenhill, a salubrious part of Philadelphia, Kelly strove to earn the approval of Jack Kelly, her cold-hearted property tycoon father. Kelly's formidable mother, Margaret, who headed the physical education department at the University of Pennsylvania, can take much of the credit for her daughter's commitment and her lithe, dancer's frame.

The scope of Kelly's fashion legacy is undercored in the exhibition by the ice-blue satin ensemble in which Kelly claimed her Oscar for her part in Country Girl. In its sweep and innocent pastel shade, it can claim to be the forerunner of the ceremonial attire created by Prada, Gucci and Ralph Lauren for modern stars as Uma Thurman, Helen Hunt and Gwyneth Paltrow.

But the true heart of the exhibition is the Hitchcock room. "Hitchcock was the first director to realise Grace Kelly's talent and make her feel like she was a great actress," exhibition's curator, Frederic Mitterrand, a former actor and nephew of former French president Francois Mitterrand explains.

The portly master-craftsman, whose movie contracts included a clause stipulating that he controlled the look of his films - including the costumes - dispatched Kelly and Paramount's expert designer, Edith Head, to the Hermes flagship shop at 24 rue du Faubourg Saint Honore in Paris. There, the pair would acquire accessories for Kelly's star turn as Frances Stevens, the oil heiress vacationing in Cannes at the Hotel Carlton in To Catch a Thief. "People dress here," explained Hitchcock to his location chief on the film. "It's the place where style is created. So do it."

And at some point as Kelly peeled off her trademark white cloth gloves, and slipped in and out of the butter-soft suede models and hand-embroidered leathers offered up to her on a silver tray at Hermes, she became hooked on the label. Meanwhile, Head discovered Kelly as a perfect muse. In 1954, Head spent $4,000, a then-astronomical sum, acquiring French satin for Kelly's Oscar dress. Like a fond picture postcard, the cloak and dress recalled the fun they had in Paris prepping To Catch a Thief. Its light aquamarine satin dusted with mother-of-pearl beads matched the colour of Kelly's eyes. It was the sort of sugar- spun shade Hitchcock felt best suited his ideal blonde and also evoked the imperious spirit he asked Head to capture while making Kelly's Rear Window wardrobe. "Make her look like a princess," Hitchcock told her.
 
Princess Grace Foundation

The Princess Grace of Monaco Foundation



Created in 1964 by Princess Grace with the following aims:


to support local artisans through the « boutiques du rocher »
to assist aspiring professional young local dancers and musicians.
In November 1984 Prince Rainier wanted to follow and foster his wife's work and he created the Irish Library. Its aim is to promote Irish culture so dear to Princess Grace.

The same year, He appointed H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover to the Presidency of the Foundation. She began to develop humanitarian aid. Preference was given to fast and efficient action in the following areas:


Help for the families in need, with children hospitalised in France, during their stay in "parents houses";
Improve medical equipment and general hospital conditions for young patients;
Support for four medical research laboratories whose work is to improve treatments of children's illness;
General support for other associations particularly at Christmas time.
 
BBC

1956: Prince Rainier marries Grace Kelly
Prince Rainier III of Monaco has married the American film actress Grace Kelly.
The religious ceremony follows yesterday's civil ceremony held in the throne room in the Palace of Monaco.

The celebration of the Nuptial Mass was held in the Cathedral of Monaco. Miss Kelly looked every bit the film star in her ivory gown made of silk taffeta and lace.

The couple did not look at each other during the ceremony, but sat, stood and knelt facing the high altar as instructed by Monsignor Marella, the Papal Legate from Paris.

They spoke their vows so quietly that it was hard to tell whether they made them in English or French, the national language of Monaco.

At the end of the ceremony, a message was read out from the Pope. Then the couple drove through the streets of Monte Carlo in an open-top car, waving to thousands of well-wishers.

The couple, who announced their engagement in January, are spending their honeymoon cruising around the Mediterranean aboard Prince Rainier's yacht, Deo Juvante II - out of the public eye for the first time in months.

Nervous bride

Yesterday's civil ceremony, conducted by the president of the Monaco Supreme Court, was attended by the couple's close family and friends.

In Monaco, as in France, a civil marriage must take place before a religious ceremony.

Miss Kelly, wearing a beige, lace dress with a close-fitting hat, was noticeably nervous throughout the proceedings.

Following the legal formalities the couple made a short appearance on the balcony of the palace where approximately 500 members of the public waited below.

The newly-married couple, surrounded by an abundance of red and white flowers, waved to the crowds for a few minutes before going back inside.



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Watch/Listen

Prince Rainier and his bride toured the streets of Monte Carlo in an open-top car



Footage from the wedding




In Context
Grace Patricia Kelly was born on 12 November 1929 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1951, she appeared in her first film entitled Fourteen Hours.

The following year her career took off when she landed the role of Amy Kane in High Noon.

After her marriage, when she become Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco, she gave up her acting career, having made 11 films.

She and Prince Rainier went on to have three children - Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie.

Princess Grace was killed in a car crash on September 14, 1982 after her car went off a road over a cliff in Monaco.

Prince Rainier III - or Rainer Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand de Grimaldi - was born in 1923 and was educated in Britain, Switzerland and France.

The Prince succeeded his grandfather Louis II in 1949 to become Monaco's 31st ruler. He died in April 2005.
 
New York Social Diary

by James de Vries (jewelry consultant)

From October 15 through 26, 2007, Sotheby's New York will be hosting 'Grace, Princess of Monaco: A Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Grace Kelly' in aid of the foundation named after Her. An exhibition of Her wardrobe, personal belongings, accessories and jewels will be on view. HSH Prince Albert ll and TRH The Prince and Princess of Hanover will honor the 25th anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala with their Presence to be held at Sotheby's on October 25th.


In 1956 after marrying Prince Rainier, Princess Grace chose Luis Estevez' gown of imported white Chantilly lace for her first royal portrait by Ralph Cowan.
Monte Carlo seems to be synonymous with the late princess. The princely marriage took place in 1956 and threw this tiny principality into the world's limelight. Newsreels and TV screens exposed the yachts and narrow streets.

Before that Monaco was very much an exclusive domain sometimes made public by movies 'To Catch a Thief' or 'Rebecca' with the fat diamond laden Mrs Van Hopper lounging in the lobby of the Hotel de Paris puffing ''Most girls would give their eyes for the chance to see Monte.''

What was Monte like before Grace Kelly arrived? It had a reputation where the rich could squander shamelessly. After recovering from the war, my parents, joined by fellow Brits avoiding currency restrictions, went to Monte Carlo. A U.K. Inspector, Mr. Tarr, would follow travellers from the Paris Ritz on the Blue Train to the Riviera and make notes on who was spending more than the ten British Pounds limit. A diamond bracelet innocently worn on a wrist and then sold for cash could ensconce one in Monte Carlo comfortably that August 1950.
 
You are more than welcome.
Grace out with Bing-who did not wear his hairpiece.
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topfoto
 
Nmyngan, Grace and Bing were a couple at one point, but I think they were uncomfortable at being photographed together. You can see it in Grace's body language in the 2nd pic. Bing's wife, Kathryn, who he married after his affair with Grace, wrote about Bing's fling with Grace. According to Kathryn, Bing did not want Grace cast opposite him in "The Country Girl" for which she won an Oscar. Grace won him over and they had an affair. I think Bing postponed his wedding to Kathryn because of his relationship with Grace. According to Kathryn's book, when Grace found out Bing was engaged, she got hysterical and threatened suicide. Bing told Kathryn he stayed with Grace because he didn't want her to harm herself. Later, in the early 60s, Grace invited Bing and Kathryn to Monaco where Kathryn says she was very intimidated by Grace, whose children were very well behaved, in contrast to her kids with Bing. Kathryn says that she felt like a frump next to the impeccably dressed Grace and that at one point, Grace and Bing were whispering together and laughing like unusually close old friends.

Now make of that what you will. Whether that is all true, I don't know, but that is what Kathryn's book says. I also read that she once said that Grace was the only woman Bing ever loved.
 
^ Who is the gut in the photo with her ? He looks familiar but I cant come up with a name
 

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