AFTER YOU, PRINCESS GRACE – Meghan Markle is being compared to Grace Kelly, who married Prince Rainier of Monaco in the ‘50s and turned her back on Hollywood. Like Grace, Meghan will quit acting when she marries Prince Harry of England next year.
As the headline puts it, “Meghan Markle does a Grace Kelly.”
Meghan, 36, Catholic and divorced, made a name in the legal drama “Suits” since 2011.
Instead of acting, she’ll focus her attention on charity works.
However, some people urge her to continue working, she’s a modern princess and there’s no reason why she’d give up her Hollywood career.
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NOT IN – A Hollywood branding expert, Jeetendr Schdev, however points out that Megham is not in the same league as Grace, who won an Oscar for “The Country Girl” in 1954.
Coming from an aristocratic family in Philadelphia, Grace also starred in three Alfred Hitchcock classics – “Dial M for Murder,” “Rear Window,” and “To Catch a Thief.” She also appeared in the acclaimed “High Society” and “High Noon.”
Princess Kelly died in a car accident in 1982, ironically on the road where she shot “To Catch the Thief.” She had three children: Caroline, Albert, and Stephanie.
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RITA HAYWORTH – But there’s another Hollywood actress who married into royalty: Rita Hayworth. She was Mrs. Aly Khan, even wealthier than Prince Rainier, and many noted handsomer, said to be a playboy. Aly was the son of the Indian potentate Aga Khan.
The marriage didn’t last but they had a daughter, Princess Yasmin.
Rita also married the so-called genius of Hollywood, Orson Welles of “Citizen Kane” fame. Her films included “Gilda,” “Affair in Trinidad,” “Separate Tables,” “The Lady from Shanghai,” “Pal Joey.”
She retired in 1972, a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. Rita Hayworth died in 1987.