Actress: Grace Kelly

There have been lots of beautiful women in Hollywood history who made great movie posters. Grace Kelly was a beautiful woman who actually made great movies.

She starred, and that’s the proper word, opposite such leading men as Jimmy Stewart, Bing Crosby, William Holden, Cary Grant, and Frank Sinatra. Her blockbuster films included Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, and High Society. And she won an Oscar for her role as Georgie Elgin in The Country Girl.

But what many people remember most about her life was that she lived “the dream” of marrying a handsome prince and becoming “Princess Grace” of Monaco. She had children by Prince Rainier – Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie. Reports differ as to whether the marriage was a happy one. Rainier prohibited his wife from continuing to act, and even banned her films from being shown in Monaco. The Princess accepted her new role, but never relinquished her American citizenship.

Like a later British princess, Grace Kelly’s death came in an auto accident. She apparently had a stroke while driving on Sept. 13, 1982, and her car went off the road and down a mountainside. She died the next day, never regaining consciousness. More than 100 million people worldwide watched her funeral.

Entertainment Weekly named her the 27th Greatest Movie Star of All Time. And the American Film Institute ranked her number 13 of America’s Greatest Female Legends in its 100 Years…100 Stars list. Here’s a fan’s tribute, showing the Princess in some of her most memorable roles.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v467iyl2Mc&hl=en&fs=1&]