Grace Kelly Returns To Her Hometown; New Exhibit In Philadelphia

Grace Kelly is remembered by most people as a fashion icon, movie star, princess, wife and mother.

But in Philadelphia, she’s thought of first and foremost as a hometown girl who never forgot her roots.

That is why an exhibit on Kelly’s upbringing, Hollywood career and storybook ascent to royalty will make its only U.S. stop in Philadelphia, where grew up.

A news conference unveiling details of ‘Grace Kelly: Beyond the Icon’ was held, aptly, in the Hotel Monaco, in downtown Philadelphia on Thursday.

Christopher Le Vine, Kelly’s nephew said, “She never lost touch with her family and the Philadelphians that she grew up with.”

According to the Associated Press,the exhibit will open Oct. 28 at the Michener Art Museum in suburban Doylestown, not far from where Kelly made her professional stage debut at the Bucks County Playhouse in 1949.

The exhibition contains personal photos, love letters from Prince Rainier of Monaco, her 1954 best actress Academy Award for “The Country Girl,” film clips and home movies.Monaco’s ruling sovereign,

Prince Albert II, said in a video-recording that his mother “was indeed a talented woman who became an international fashion icon but that is just the surface of her life.”

He continued: “Those of us who were fortunate enough to know my mother, her family and friends, knew her to be a genuine, warm and loving woman — a woman who always put her family first.”

Monegasques appreciate their late princess, who died in 1982 in a car crash in Monaco, less as a screen legend and more as a humanitarian and philanthropist.

She helped create a vibrant arts center in Monaco and worked tirelessly to protect the rights of vulnerable children, said Maguy Maccario Doyle, consul general of Monaco in New York.

She said: “There are many places in Monaco that today remind us of her presence… Her memory endures, and certainly the principality of Monaco will forever bear the imprint of her presence and the heartache of her absence.

And so, the legend of Grace Kelly and her life can be seen for a short time where it all started – in Philadelphia.

Photo credit: seenheardknown.com