Well, where to start with Grace Kelly!! Actually, I read a book on her in Waterstone's today (I know, I didn't buy it, it's cheaper on Amazon...I know, also terrible, but I was passing the time. Just making it worse, I'm stopping now), and I loved it. It really inspired me to think a bit more about her, rather than just her clothes. In truth, when I initially chose her, I didn't really know that much about her. I knew she was an actress who got famous, then married the Prince of Monaco, then died sometime later. But having read that book, I felt as though I knew her a bit more.
Grace Kelly was born in November 1929, to a fairly 'normal' family. Her father won Olympic golds as a sculler, and then became well off with his building business. Grace attended a theatre school, and became a model to help pay her way through education. After she graduated, she then starred in her first MGM film, Mogambo. This then led her to be in films directed by Alfred Hitchcock, with Dial M for Murder being her first working with this prolific director. After much success as an actress, she went to the Cannes film festival as part of the US delegation, where she met Prince Rainier of Monaco. It is said that within the first 24 hours of meeting each other, they knew that they would get married.
She got married in April 1956, and the ceremony was broadcast on television all over Europe, and together they had 3 children. On 13th September 1982, she died following a car accident. After her death, all the charitable work she did continued, under the names of different foundations: assisting emerging theatre companies, dancers and film artists, helping citizens of Monaco for whom there was no social services provision (eg. those with special needs), in her lifetime she even encouraged new mothers to breast feed.
It is clear after very little research that Grace Kelly was more than just her clothes, although she was known as a style icon in her time as well as today.
I hope you all enjoyed today's style icon post!
Currently listening to: Country House by Blur
those pictures! wow! you really found some great ones - i have never seen them before!
ReplyDeletei did a little reading about her life a while back and the research surprised me.
she really epitomized the classic look. It seems like angelina jolie has taken some style tips from grace in the last years. does anybody else see this?