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Episode 68
Gracie stood mesmerized at the reflection of herself in front of her mother’s full length mirror.
Dressed as a princess, from head to toe by her adoring mother for her birthday party, Gracie, age five, adjusted the plastic, gold-glittered tiara on her head as she beamed majestically from ear to ear.
Turning to her mother, little Gracie smiled demurely with a surprisingly
regal like tone saying, “Mommy, one day I just know I am going to be a real life princess.”
Her mother patted Gracie on the head affectionately, replying with
amusement, “Anything is possible Gracie, anything.”
Gracie had an idyllic childhood, one filled with scraped knees, ponytails, and the typical tomboy pursuits of a rambunctious, happy girl.
Piano lessons, etiquette classes, and debutante activities filled Gracie’s schedule as she emerged, like a majestic butterfly, from her tomboy cocoon to a stunningly beautiful young woman.
Raised in an Irish-Catholic family of social and financial prominence, Gracie, to her parents dismay, departed from the path of their expectations, foregoing college, aspiring to be a thespian.
Gracie’s parents, were strongly opposed with Gracie’s choice to be an actress, confident that it would lead to a dead end.
They were equally concerned that Gracie’s desire to be an actress would result in her forfeiting much of what they hoped and dreamed for their once little princess.
Gracie, as determined as she was beautiful, stuck to her convictions,
pursuing the theatre with full vigor despite her parents’ misgivings.
Balancing modeling opportunities with roles in New York Theatre productions, Gracie soon was adoring magazine covers and making a splash on the stage.
Her beauty and acting instincts enchanted directors far and wide.
In a New York minute, Gracie found herself transported from the stage of New York to Hollywood’s silver screen, landing roles she could have never imagined, leaving her childhood dream to be a princess a long forgotten memory.
Cinematic success came to Gracie in a flurry. Accolades and ovations became routine. She was a rising star in a city of stars, destined to shine the brightest.
Then, as suddenly as success had come to her, Gracie stunned all of Hollywood and her legion of fans
by abruptly leaving her golden path of fame and fortune for love.
Gracie left it all to raise a family and build her own Camelot with the prince of her dreams in a place far from her East Coast roots and West Coast spotlights.
Gracie embraced her new life, content in being a wife and mother of three.
The years melted into decades, but Gracie never looked back, never second-guessing or regretting her decision to walk away from the bright lights of Tinsel Town.
Gracie’s fairytale life ended tragically when she suffered a stroke while driving along a steep, treacherous road in the enchanted Isle she called home.
Philadelphia’s Grace Patricia Kelly, also known as Grace of Monaco, did indeed become a real life princess when she married Rainier Louis Henri Grimaldi, III, the sovereign Prince of Monaco.
Though her brief career as an actress ended when she married,
Grace Kelly is considered to be one the American Film Institute’s greatest female stars of all time.
All of Hollywood and Monaco mourned the death of their greatly loved - Princess Grace.
