Grace ceili..
Hollywood star who became a princess adored her Irish roots
SCREEN icon Grace Kelly gave up Hollywood to be a princess... but held a secret yearning to live the quiet life in Ireland.
The star of films like High Noon and Hitchcock’s Dial M For Murder had a small cottage near Cork.
Grace – or Princess Grace of Monaco as she became – was of Irish descent.
And one of her closest confidants, film director Robert Dornhelm, today reveals her wish was to live in her ancestral homeland.
Speaking after the 40th anniversary of her death, Robert said the star’s dream was to fade into obscurity.
Robert, who worked with Grace in the five years before her death in a car crash, added: “She wanted to be invisible and be with normal people, go to restaurants and pubs. We did it occasionally when she was living in Paris, which was when I knew her, and she was always very proud that she was not recognised and she could be normal.
DREAMED
“She dreamed a lot about Ireland, where she had a cottage near Cork.
“It is where she wanted to end up.
“She was a total romantic and dreamer. I think Ireland would have suited her quite well. But at the same time, the way her life developed was like a fairytale. It couldn’t have ended in some grey way, with her disappearing, not being noticed.
“It wouldn’t have fitted her whole life story. She was born to be special and to not have a normal life.”
Austrian Robert, 74, was the last
film director to work with Grace, and was with her just two days before her fatal car crash. They worked together on comedy of errors Rearranged.
It was shown only once after her death – at a gala premiere in Monte Carlo.
Her husband, Prince Rainier III, deemed it inappropriate to have the lighthearted film released.
Robert, who met Grace in 1977 when he was 30 and she was 48, said: “Grace was wonderful and simple, very straightforward.
“The first thing she said was, ‘Don’t call me Your Highness, call me Grace’.
“She was very easy going and uncomplicated. She was shining, you could not take your eyes off her. She filled the room. She was fun, the opposite of the description that followed her – the icy blonde. She was life-loving and funny.
Grace’s big break came opposite Gary Cooper in the 1952 western High Noon, followed by an Oscar-winning role in The Country Girl.
Her life changed after being introduced to Prince Rainier at the 1955 Cannes film festival, and they wed a year later.
Robert said: “I met her children many times. She was the perfect mother, a lioness who protected her children.
“She was the most humble person, very polite – especially with people serving her – very caring.”
She was born to be special and not have a normal life ROBERT DORNHELM ON HIS PAL GRACE KELLY