1949–1950: Beginnings To start her career, she auditioned for the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, using a scene from her uncle George Kelly's
The Torch-Bearers (1923). Although the school had already met its semester quota, she obtained an interview with the admissions department, and was admitted through George's influence. Kelly worked diligently, and practiced her speech by using a tape recorder. Her early acting pursuits led her to the stage, and she made her Broadway debut in
Strindberg's
The Father, alongside
Raymond Massey. At 19, her graduation performance was as Tracy Lord in
The Philadelphia Story. Her uncle continued to advise and mentor Kelly throughout her acting career. At her father's insistence, she lived at the
Barbizon Hotel for Women in
Manhattan. She was hired as a model by the
John Robert Powers agency, where some of her first modeling jobs were doing commercials for bug spray and cigarettes. Kelly was reportedly "fond of dancing to Hawaiian music down the hallways of the Barbizon, and given to shocking her fellow residents by performing topless". She later wrote that she had "wonderful memories of the three years I spent at the Barbizon". Television producer
Delbert Mann cast Kelly as the lead in an adaptation of the
Sinclair Lewis novel
Bethel Merriday; this was her first of nearly sixty live television programs. She was mentioned in
Theatre World magazine as "[a] most promising personality of the Broadway stage of 1950". Some of her well-known works as a theater actress were:
The Father,
The Rockingham Tea Set,
The Apple Tree,
The Mirror of Delusion,
Episode (for
Somerset Maugham's tele-serial), among others. Impressed by her work in
The Father,
Henry Hathaway, director of the
Twentieth Century-Fox film
Fourteen Hours (1951), offered her a small role in the film. Kelly had a minor role opposite
Paul Douglas,
Richard Basehart, and
Barbara Bel Geddes, as a young woman contemplating divorce. Douglas commented: "In two senses, she did not have a bad side – you could film her from any angle, and she was one of the most un-temperamental, cooperative people in the business." Following the release of the film, the "Grace Kelly Fan Club" was established, gaining popularity across the country with local chapters springing up and attracting many members. Kelly referred to her fan club as "terrifically amusing". Kelly was noticed during a visit to the set of
Fourteen Hours by
Gary Cooper. However, Kelly's performance in
Fourteen Hours went largely unnoticed by critics and did not contribute to her film career's momentum. She continued her work in the theater and on television, Biographer H. Haughland stated: "Miss Kelly's acting did not excite the critics, or live up to her own expectations." Some critics scoffed at the conclusion of the film in which Cooper's character has to be saved by Kelly's. One critic argued that her pacifist character, killing a man who is about to shoot her husband, was cold and abstract.
Alfred Hitchcock described her performance as "rather mousey", and stated that it lacked animation. He said that it was only in her later films that she "really blossomed" and showed her quality. After filming
High Noon, Kelly returned to New York City and took private acting lessons, wanting to be taken seriously as an actress. She performed in a few dramas in the theater, and in TV serials. She appeared in several television plays, In November 1952, Kelly and the cast arrived in
Nairobi to begin the production of the film
Mogambo, replacing
Gene Tierney, who dropped out at the last minute due to personal issues. Kelly later told Hollywood columnist
Hedda Hopper, "
Mogambo had three things that interested me: John Ford,
Clark Gable, and a trip to
Africa, with expenses paid. If
Mogambo had been made in Arizona, I wouldn't have done it." Kelly played Linda Nordley, a contemplative English wife with a romantic interest in Clark Gable's character. Filming took place over the course of three months. The costumes were designed by
Helen Rose. A break in the filming schedule afforded her and
Mogambo co-star
Ava Gardner a visit to Rome. The film was released in 1953, and had a successful run at the box office. Kelly won a
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, and received her first Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
1954–1956: Critical acclaim and final films '' (1954) After the success of
Mogambo, Kelly starred in the television play
The Way of an Eagle with
Jean-Pierre Aumont, before being cast in the film adaptation of
Frederick Knott's Broadway play
Dial M for Murder, opposite
Ray Milland and
Robert Cummings. Kelly played the role of the wealthy wife of a retired professional tennis player. Alfred Hitchcock became one of Kelly's mentors during the last years of her career. She was subsequently lent by MGM to work in several Hitchcock films, which would become some of her most critically acclaimed and recognized work. Kelly began filming scenes for her next film,
The Bridges at Toko-Ri, in early 1954, with
William Holden, for
Paramount Pictures. The story, based on the novel by
James Michener, is about American Navy jet fighters stationed to fight in Asia. Kelly played the role of Holden's wife.
Edith Head, with whom she had established a friendly relationship, did her costumes. Kelly unhesitatingly turned down the opportunity to star alongside
Marlon Brando in
On the Waterfront (1954).
Eva Marie Saint, who replaced her, went on to win an Academy Award for the role. Instead, Kelly played the role of Lisa Fremont in
Rear Window. Kelly stated, "All through the making of
Dial M for Murder, he (Hitchcock) sat and talked to me about
Rear Window all the time, even before we had discussed my being in it." Kelly's co-star,
James Stewart, was highly enthusiastic about working with her. The role of Lisa Fremont, a wealthy Manhattan socialite and fashion model who "never wore the same dress twice," was unlike any of the previous women she had played. This marked her first performance as an independent
career woman. In line with their previous collaborations, Hitchcock provided the camera with a slow-sequenced silhouette of Kelly, along with close-ups of the two stars kissing, finally lingering closely on her profile. Hitchcock brought her elegance to the foreground by changing her dresses many times, including: "glamorous evening short dresses, a sheer negligee over a sleek nightgown, a full-skirted floral dress, and a casual pair of jeans". Upon the film's opening in October 1954, Kelly was again praised.
Varietys film critic remarked on the casting, commenting on the "earthy quality to the relationship between Stewart and Miss Kelly", as "both do a fine job of the picture's acting demands". at the
27th Academy Awards in 1955 Kelly played the role of
Bing Crosby's long-suffering wife, Georgie Elgin, in
The Country Girl (1954), after a pregnant
Jennifer Jones bowed out. Already familiar with the play, Kelly was highly interested in the part. To do it, MGM once again would have to lend Kelly to Paramount Pictures. Kelly was adamant, and threatened the studio, saying that if they did not allow her to do the film she would pack her bags and leave for New York for good. MGM eventually relented. Kelly also negotiated a more lucrative contract in light of her recent success. In the film, Kelly played the wife of a washed-up, alcoholic singer, played by Crosby. Her character becomes torn emotionally between her two lovers, played by Crosby and
William Holden. She was again dressed by Edith Head to suit her role in the film, initially appearing in fashionable dresses, shifting to ordinary-looking cardigans toward the end of the film. As a result of her performance in
The Country Girl, Kelly won the
Academy Award for Best Actress. Her acceptance speech was brief: "The thrill of this moment keeps me from saying what I really feel. I can only say thank you with all my heart to all who made this possible for me. Thank you." Her main competitor was
Judy Garland for her performance in
A Star Is Born. After receiving the Oscar nomination, Kelly won the
New York Film Critics Circle Award for best actress for her performances in her three big movie roles of 1954:
Rear Window,
Dial M For Murder, and
The Country Girl. At the
Golden Globe Awards in 1955, Kelly won the
Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
The New York Times praised her performance in
The Country Girl as "excellent", and
Rear Window got her
marquee credits on par with, and beyond, those of Stewart and Hitchcock. In April 1954, Kelly flew to
Colombia for a 10-day shoot on her next project,
Green Fire, with
Stewart Granger. She played Catherine Knowland, a coffee plantation owner. Kelly told Hedda Hopper, "It wasn't pleasant. We worked at a pathetic village – miserable huts and dirty. Part of the crew got shipwrecked ... It was awful." In 1956, Kelly resided in a home rented from
Bill Lear in the
Pacific Palisades, California for the duration of her filming. She portrayed Princess Alexandra in the film
The Swan, directed by
Charles Vidor, opposite
Alec Guinness and
Louis Jourdan. Her final role was in
Charles Walters's musical film
High Society, a re-make of MGM's
The Philadelphia Story (1940). She portrayed Tracy Lord, opposite
Bing Crosby,
Frank Sinatra, and
Celeste Holm in the other leads. When it was released in July 1956,
Variety stated, "Miss Kelly impresses as the femme lead with pleasantly comedienne overtones," and that it was "possibly her most relaxed performance." == Marriage ==