Grace Kelly will go down in history as the actress who sacrificed her career for love, aged just 26. One thing she did not forsake, however, was the headlines. They, and the lenses of the world's press, followed her wherever she went, and while High Society, the last of her 11 movies, in 1956, brought down the curtain on her Hollywood career, the legend, lived on.

Her rapid rise through the Hollywood star firmament was assisted by the likes of director John Ford, who said her audition showed "breeding, quality and class." Actor Gary Cooper and thriller director Alfred Hitchcock were other supporters, while an Oscar for her role in 1954's The Country Girl proved Grace had arrived in the top rank of screen goddesses. Marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco stopped her ascent in its tracks, but the blonde bombshell proved a continuing trendsetter in the worlds of style and fashion until her shocking and unexpected death in 1982.

This publication charts her progress to silver screen success and looks at the private woman as well as the superstar who has inspired songs, exhibitions and even appeared on a US postage stamp. It is a tribute to a much-loved princess in words and pictures, capturing her enduring appeal and explaining how this actress of Irish/German descent became an American and international icon.