Grace Kelly. Not A Fairytale Life

In the history of the American cinema, few stars are remembered so vividly although they appeared for so briefly as Grace Kelly. Robert Lacey in his bestseller book Grace makes a remark that although famous “American princess” had spent years cultivating her image of classic, white-gloved perfection, in real life, Grace was surprisingly often reckless young woman who had affairs with nearly all of her leading men” (Lacey 1996:i). A working actor for just five short years in the 1950s, known best for her roles as sparkling although moody partner and obviously for her work in multiple Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, Kelly outwardly came to embody her name with a seemingly effortless elegance and an almost unearthly aestheticism.

James Spada, the author of Grace - The Secret Lives of a Princess states that: “the public image of Grace Kelly – first as a movie star, then as a Princess - was a triumph of myth over reality” (Spada 1987: i). And consequently, one can assume, after a thorough research of her biographies that even though the public was presented with an image of a chaste young actress, often referred to as the “Ice Queen” (Ibid.), the truth about her real life is far more interesting and has much more hidden beneath.

In order to see the true Grace Kelly it is indeed necessary to read the opinions of her closest friends and family as quoted in the biographical sources. Without that, the only image one can obtain is that of thousands of Internet pages dully repeating the same statements about her being pretty and talented, reporting her fairy-tale life and quoting stereotypical phrases.