Trivia About Grace Kelly’s Film & Acting Career

We also have general, fashion, and wedding trivia.

Early Career

Grace’s first television commercial featured her spraying insecticide around a room.
Admissions officers at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts characterized Grace’s voice as being “nasal” and “improperly placed.” Despite taking speech classes at the Academy, her distinct voice was considered unconventional by many Hollywood directors and casting agents.

In her auditions for stage roles, several casting directors thought Grace was too tall (5'9" as per her modeling zed card).
In her Broadway debut, Grace played Raymond Massey’s daughter in August Strindberg’s The Father. Reviewer Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times wrote, “Grace Kelly gives a charming, pliable performance of the bewildered and brokenhearted daughter.”
Grace’s performance in an off-Broadway production caught the attention of director Stanley Kramer, who subsequently cast her in High Noon.

Grace guest starred on Bob Hope’s radio program, The Bob Hope Show, on 14 May 1954, in an episode entitled “Kentucky Derby/African Safari.”
Grace hosted an episode of Family Theater entitled “Stopwatch Finale,” which was originally broadcast on 3 September 1952 and was rebroadcast on 1 September 1954.

MGM presented Grace with an offer to star in Mogambo opposite Clark Gable and Ava Gardner, contingent upon her signing a seven-year contract. This was Grace’s first major contract.
In To Catch a Thief, Grace is seen driving a Sunbeam Alpine Sports Roadster.
Although there are rumors that Grace’s singing voice in High Society “was dubbed by Niki Schenck, the 17-year-old daughter of Nick Schenck, the boss of MGM’s parent company,” biographer Donald Spoto in his book High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly refutes such claims:
On the contrary: the MGM archives are quite clear about the date (February 9, 1956) when Grace and Bing Crosby recorded the Cole Porter song in the studio—and the dates on which the playback accompanied the filming of that scene (March 13 and 14).
The rarely seen Nicola Schenck, who was 22 (not 17) in 1956, never sang or dubbed for anyone, in any movie.
Grace was not the only Best Actress Oscar winner to play Georgie Elgin in The Country Girl. Frances McDormand took on the role onstage in 2008, alongside Morgan Freeman and Peter Gallagher in the Bing Crosby and William Holden roles, respectively. Mike Nichols directed.

Grace lost the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Mogambo) to Donna Reed (From Here to Eternity).
According to Hedda Hopper, Grace’s Oscar win for The Country Girl over Judy Garland for A Star is Born was the narrowest Oscar race in history, with Grace winning by only six votes.
Upon winning the Best Actress Oscar for The Country Girl, Grace kept her acceptance speech 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!

The inscription on Grace’s Academy Award statuette reads:
Academy First Award
to
Grace Kelly
for her performance in
“The Country Girl”
During her lifetime, Grace’s Academy Award was kept on a simple table in a private living room. Later, it was kept in Prince Albert’s private rooms.

When Grace married Prince Rainier, she had not fulfilled the terms of her contract with MGM.
Princess Grace contributed the foreword to Donald Spoto’s book, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock.
Grace served on the board of directors of Fox.