Sweet Gracy

In terms of the movie business and celebrity, she was something of a low-key rebel. Although she signed a standard seven-year contract with MGM, she negotiated every other year off to return to the theatre. She didn’t snatch at every part she was offered and even threatened to retire unless she was given the opportunity to star in The Country Girl, for which she won an Oscar. In that film she insisted on wearing glasses and lacklustre apparel in keeping with the character, whereas other actresses would probably have wanted their appearance to be enhanced. Similarly, in a 1955 photo shoot for Collier’s magazine she took the bold decision to be photographed without make-up, wearing glasses, in an oversized shirt and emerging from a pool with wet hair. She always preferred New York to Hollywood and abandoned stardom to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco.