The Year of Grace

Grace Kelly by Philippe Halsman (1954)

Grace Kelly by Mark Shaw (1954)

Two very different portraits of Grace Kelly from 1954. Being a cool beauty and having an unquestionable acting ability were the basis for her success together with the combination of freshness, ladylike virtue and underlying sex appeal. Two of her directors compared her to the early Ingrid Bergman. 1954 is likely to be known as the year of Grace in Hollywood as she, at the age of 24, has suddenly become the most valuable actress of the industry with her five top-budget films in a single year, crowned by the 1954 New York Film Critics Awards in January of the following year.