Grace Kelly carried herself with self-confidence and serenity and lived a fairy tale success story, resulting in her wildly romanticized marriage into royalty. Being from the same era as Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, I know very little about her personal life beyond her acting career. And yet, looking past her glamorous life, I recognize in her the sort of down-to-earth, gentle, beautiful personality that I hope to emulate in my life.
“My father had a very simple view of life: you don’t get anything for nothing. Everything has to be earned, through work, persistence, and honesty.”
Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia in November, 1929, to an Irish Catholic family. Her father was a gold-winning Olympic athlete on the rowing team. He was a self-made millionaire and owner of a prosperous brick company. Growing up with her family, Kelly would have witnessed her father’s work ethic firsthand; she knew that hard work was the key to success of any kind.
It was her uncle, an award-winning playwright, who encouraged her to pursue her love of acting. After finishing at boarding school in her late teens, Kelly moved to New York to study acting and worked as a model to pay for her tuition. These three traits—work, persistence, and honesty—were the keys that Grace Kelly used to reach her goals, both in the public eye and in her private life.
“Don’t be like the rest of them, darling.”
Shortly after the second World War, Grace Kelly moved across the country to Los Angeles and began acting professionally in Hollywood at age twenty-two. Within a year, her second film earned her several award nominations—the beginning of an illustrious film career that spanned six years and eight awards.
Being in the public eye for the rest of her life, Grace needed to learn how to be herself on stage, on the street, and on screen. She cultivated a serene and graceful elegance that would become her trademark for the rest of her career.
She was also very aware of her public image, saying that “Fairy tales tell imaginary stories. Me, I’m a living person. I exist. If the story of my life as a real woman were to be told one day, people would at last discover the real being that I am.”
Yet her elegance never meant that she didn’t show personality. I love these pictures of her throughout her life: her laughter was infectious; her happiness shining through even in chance moments. Grace embodied poise, yet she still laughed at herself and loved people and lived wild.
“I favor pearls on screen and in my private life.”
There’s no shame in loving beautiful things and wanting to surround yourself with loveliness; in fact, I think it’s one of the best parts of femininity. This quote from Grace Kelly inspires me because it demonstrates how, while she sought to help the world become a better place, she also believed in the importance of pretty dresses and pearls. Not just in front of audiences, but in solitude too. Isn’t that a wonderful idea? To seek beauty even when we are alone, to soften our souls to the wonder of the world, to embrace our femininity as part of who we are.
“I love walking in the woods, on the trails, along the beaches. I love being part of nature. I love walking alone. It is therapy. One needs to be alone, to recharge one’s batteries.”
As an actress—and eventually as Princess of Monaco—Grace Kelly spent most of her life in the public eye. Despite the constant pressure of society, Kelly knew that creating space to be alone was essential to her wellbeing.
Kelly created time to root herself in her true identity, to lose herself in the wonder of the world. Having a spring of solitude to draw upon, she kept the delight and kindness that we remember her. I think her search for quietness and time in nature are beautiful and important elements to incorporate into our own lives.
“I would like to be remembered as someone who accomplished useful deeds, and who was a kind and loving person. I would like to leave the memory of a human being with a correct attitude and who did her best to help others.”
In 1956, only six years after her debut film, Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco and retired from her acting career shortly afterwards. She dedicated the rest of her life to raising her three children and helping charity organizations. When she was fifty-two, she died from a stroke while driving in the south of France. She left behind the legacy that she wanted—someone who was kind, loving, helpful, and accomplished.
Grace Kelly didn’t aim to change the world, she just wanted to change her own little corner of it with kindness and love…and that in itself is a beautiful legacy to leave.
<3 Olivia Grace
