High Society - The Life of Grace Kelly

Pin It

 

I recently finished High Society - The Life of Grace Kelly.  I guess I've been on a bit of a biography kick since I recently read one on Marilyn Monroe as well.  What's funny about the two reads is that these two women were the antithesis of each other; Marilyn Monroe was the sexy, alluring sex kitten and Grace Kelly was the down-home, girl-next-door type.  The two were actresses in overlapping time periods, but never really were what some might call competition because of their separate charisma-ta.  Unfortunately, the one thing the two hold in common is the fact that they both died tragically before their time.

I really didn't know a lot about Grace Kelly before I picked up this (audio)book.  To sum up my complete knowledge: I knew she was a very beautiful and popular actress in the 1950s, that she became the Princess of Monaco through marriage and that she died in a very nasty car accident on a winding road in Monaco.  That's it.  Needless to say, this book taught me a lot about the actress.

Some interesting facts that I learned include:

• She was a devout Catholic.
• She was never her father's favorite child simply because she was not athletic.  He also thought his older daughter, Margaret, was prettier than Grace.
• Her father, John "Jack" Kelly, was an Olympic gold-medal winner.
• She was Alfred Hitchcock's favorite actress and the movie Vertigo captures Hitchcock's obsession with a storyline that stems from Hitchcock always trying to model future actresses after Kelly.
• Grace and Rainier had two weddings (one civil and one religious).
• Her car accident was the result of Kelly experiencing a blood clot in her brain (stroke) that probably would have eventually killed her anyway without the added drama of a car accident.  Prior to this accident, Grace had been experiencing severe headaches (possibly migraines).

I really enjoyed this book and learning about Grace Kelly.  However, there were times when the author describes long dialogue plots about the movies Grace was in.  I was more interested in Grace's back story and what her real life was about.  While it was nice getting a little movie plot summary here and there, I just felt he went a little long in his descriptions. 

With that being said, I am more interested in seeing her movies that I haven't watched before.  I just love old movies, even if the special effects are bad and the actors tend to overact.  Plus, you know they're not photo-shopped, so the women really are that pretty and the men really are that dashing.  I definitely recommend this book and will leave you with a gorgeous picture of Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly Grimaldi.