Grace Kelly Biography: Husband, Age, Movies, Net Worth, Height, Children, Parents, Awards

Grace Kelly was an American actress who rose to prominence with her portrayal of Amy Fowler Kane in the acclaimed Western High Noon, earning widespread recognition for her poised and nuanced performance.

Her turn as Linda Nordley in Mogambo secured her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and led to a Golden Globe win.

She achieved the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Country Girl, after which she starred in three Alfred Hitchcock thrillers—Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief—before retiring at age 26 to marry Prince Rainier III and assume the title Princess Grace of Monaco.

Profile

• Full name: Grace Patricia Kelly
• Nickname: Grace of Monaco
• Date of birth: November 12, 1929
• Age: Deceased
• Gender: Female
• Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
• State of origin: Pennsylvania
• Nationality: American (later Monégasque)
• Profession: Actress, Princess consort of Monaco
• Height: 5 ft 6½ in (1.69 m)
• Weight: 118 lbs (53.5 kg)
• Eye color: Blue
• Hair color: Blonde
• Parents: Jack Kelly Sr. and Margaret Majer
• Siblings: John Brendan Kelly Jr. and Margaret Katherine “Peggy” Kelly
• Spouse: Prince Rainier III of Monaco (m. April 18, 1956 – September 14, 1982)
• Children: Caroline, Princess of Hanover; Albert II, Prince of Monaco; Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
• Relationship status: Deceased
• Religion: Roman Catholic
• Ethnicity: Irish-German American
• Net worth: approximately $150 million (2025 estimate, adjusted from $50 million at her death in 1982)

Early Life and education

Grace Patricia Kelly is now posthumously 96 years old, and was born on November 12, 1929, at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

She was the second child of John B. Kelly Sr., an Olympic gold-medalist and successful contractor, and Margaret Majer, a former child gymnastics champion and head of a physical education department.

Raised in a devout Roman Catholic household among her elder brother John Jr. and younger sister Margaret, she spent her youth in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia, where her family’s prominence in both sports and politics was well known.

Kelly attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, graduating in 1949 with formal training in theatre and television.

Her education laid the foundation for her debut on the New York stage and early television anthology series, leading swiftly to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and her film debut in Fourteen Hours (1951).

Personal Life

Kelly met Prince Rainier III of Monaco in April 1955 during a photo session at the Cannes Film Festival.

After a year-long courtship, they married in both civil and religious ceremonies on April 18–19, 1956.

The union produced three children—Caroline in 1957, Albert in 1958, and Stéphanie in 1965—and marked her transition from Hollywood star to princess.

There are accounts of a close friendship with designer Oleg Cassini prior to her marriage, though no confirmed improprieties.

Her marriage remained stable until her death, with no public divorces or confirmed extramarital affairs.

Career

Grace Kelly’s film career spanned from 1949 to 1956.

After early roles on stage and television, she made her film debut in Fourteen Hours (1951), then achieved a breakthrough as Amy Fowler Kane in High Noon (1952).

Subsequent roles included Linda Nordley in Mogambo (1953), earning her both an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe, and Georgie Elgin in The Country Girl (1954), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

She starred in Hitchcock classics—Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief—before retiring at age 26 to assume her duties as Princess of Monaco.

Awards

• Academy Award for Best Actress – The Country Girl (1955)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Mogambo (1954)
• Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year (Actress) – Fourteen Hours (1952)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Mogambo (1953)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – The Country Girl (1954)

Net worth

Grace Kelly’s current net worth is estimated at approximately $150 million as of 2025, adjusted from an estimated $50 million at the time of her death.

This wealth derives from her earnings in Hollywood, lifetime residuals, and the ongoing management of her estate and legacy.

Death

Grace Kelly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while driving from her country home at Roc Agel to Monaco on September 13, 1982.

Losing control of her Rover, the car plunged down a mountainside.

Initially hospitalized with a fractured femur and head injuries, she succumbed to a second hemorrhage and was declared brain dead on the night of September 14, 1982, at age 52.

Controversy

Following her fatal crash, the palace press office initially attributed the accident to brake failure, a claim later retracted after engineers found no mechanical fault.

A documentary surfaced alleging a hidden third will in the Grimaldi archives, fueling speculation about undisclosed assets.

Rumors also persist about her near–return to acting in Hitchcock’s Marnie and unverified tales of a romance with designer Oleg Cassini.

Social Media

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Filmography

• Fourteen Hours (1951)
• High Noon (1952)
• Mogambo (1953)
• The Country Girl (1954)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• Rear Window (1954)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• High Society (1956)
• The Swan (1956)
• The Children of Theatre Street (1977)