By Frank Worth

Classic Grace Kelly Portrait circa 1954.

Grace, Princess of Monaco, born Grace Patricia Kelly (1929-1982) was an Academy Award-winning American film actress who, upon marriage to Rainier III, Prince of Monaco on April 19, 1956, became Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco. Princess Grace maintained dual American and Monegasque citizenship after her marriage. Her ‘fairy tale’ life made Grace one of the most popular and beloved celebrities of the 20th century.

She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1954 for The Country Girl, and a Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture Drama for Mogambo.

During her five year film career she captured the hearts of cinema goers with her beauty and charm. Her last film was High Society. Other films were Fourteen Hours, High Noon, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Green Fire, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, To Catch a Thief and The Swan.

Grace met Prince Rainier at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 and was married in Monaco the following year. Grace's wedding dress was designed by MGM's Academy Award-winning Helen Rose, and was worked on by three dozen seamstresses for six weeks. The 600 guests at the wedding included dignitaries from around the world and it was estimated that 30 million people watched the wedding on television.

On September 13, 1982, while driving with her daughter to Monaco from their country home, 52-year-old Princess Grace suffered a stroke, causing her car to plunge down the mountainside. Princess Grace died the next day without regaining consciousness. Her daughter, Princess Stephanie, suffered only minor injuries.

Princess Grace is interred in Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco; Prince Rainier was buried alongside her following his death in 2005. Nearly 100 million people worldwide watched the Princess's funeral.