A tribute to Philadelphia's princess
Grace Kelly, the East Falls native who won an Academy Award and later became princess of Monaco, was an international icon, revered around the world for her elegance and style.
Grace Kelly, the East Falls native who won an Academy Award and later became princess of Monaco, was an international icon, revered around the world for her elegance and style.
But in many ways, according to her nephew Christopher Le Vine, she was always a Philly girl who enjoyed childhood vacations at the Jersey Shore and later brought tinfoil-wrapped scrapple back to the Monegasque palace.
"She had her Philadelphia roots with her wherever she went, from Hollywood to Monaco," he said Thursday.
This fall, her unique life will be remembered and celebrated in an exhibit at the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown titled "From Philadelphia to Monaco: Grace Kelly - Beyond the Icon."
At an extravagant news conference Thursday at the Hotel Monaco in Center City, a variety of guests - including Le Vine - spoke about Princess Grace's legacy, her style, and how the exhibit will reflect those qualities when it opens in October.
"I am deeply touched by your interest in my mother and her rich legacy," Prince Albert II said in a recorded video message, adding, "I hope that through experiencing this exhibition you will be able to get a glimpse of the real Grace Kelly, the woman beyond the icon, my mother."
Grace Kelly was born in Philadelphia in 1929 and performed at the Bucks County Playhouse before becoming a Hollywood star in the 1950s, according to current Bucks County Playhouse director Jed Bernstein, who spoke at Thursday's event. An exhibit about the playhouse will run concurrently with the exhibit at the Michener.
In 1955, Kelly won the Academy Award for best actress in a leading role for her performance in The Country Girl. She gave up her acting career a year later, at 26, to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco, the tiny principality along the Riviera known for its opulent casino and wealthy inhabitants.
Following her crowning, Grace - by that point a global fashion icon - established the Princess Grace Foundation to benefit the arts and became an advocate for a variety of causes, including becoming president of the Monaco Red Cross.
She had three children: Princess Caroline; Albert, the current ruler of Monaco; and Princess Stephanie. Grace died after a car accident in 1982 in southern France; Stephanie, who was in the car, survived.
Albert is scheduled to attend the Michener exhibit's opening Oct. 26.
The exhibit will contain a variety of keepsakes, according to Lisa Tremper Hanover, director and chief executive officer of the Michener Museum, including the dress Kelly wore to accept her Academy Award and more personal items, such as love letters from her husband, and photos from her life.
"This exhibit brings to life her real story," Hanover said, calling it "intimate but spectacular."
The exhibit will be open to the public from Oct. 28 to Jan. 26. More information is available at