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Today is Cary Grant's 122nd birthday. Known for his distinctive mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanour, light-hearted approach to acting, and impeccable comic timing, he was one of the most iconic leading men of Hollywood's Golden Age. Renowned for his performances in romantic screwball comedies such as The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940) and The Philadelphia (1940), he also received acclaim for serious roles in films like Penny Serenade (1941) and None But the Lonely Heart (1944), and his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, which included Suspicious (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959). He was nominated for two Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and a BAFTA, received a Star on the Walk of Fame in 1960, and remained a top box-office attraction for almost 30 years. To celebrate the man, the myth, the legend, this is his life in pictures.

Grace as an adorable eight-month-old baby in July 1930. Grace at the age of 12 in 1941. With her sister Elizabeth and their brother, Olympic medal-winning rower John B. Kelly Jr., at the Henley Royal Regatta in England in 1948. With Raymond Massey in The Father , Grace's Broadway debut. The play ran at the Colt Theatre for 69 performances between November 1949 and January 1950. With Clark Gable at the 26th Academy Awards on March 25, 1954. Grace was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Mogambo (1953), which co-starred Gable. With James Stewart during the making of Rear Window (1954). With William Holden on the set of The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954). With costume designer Edith Head on the set of To Catch a Thief (1955). With Marlon Brando at the 27th Academy Awards on March 30, 1955. Grace won for The Country Girl (1954), while Brando won for On the Waterfront (1954). Relaxing in the lobby of the Car...

This week on «Film Friday,» I am honouring Grace Kelly's 87th birthday, which is tomorrow, by telling you a little about what is arguably one of her most iconic films. This was also the picture that gave her a first glimpse at her future realm. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, To Catch a Thief (1955) concerns John Robie (Cary Grant), a former world-famous jewel thief known as «The Cat,» who now lives in the French Riviera. Although he insists he is retired, having repented for his crimes during World War II, he becomes the chief suspect when a series of robberies take place. Realizing that the only way to prove his innocence is by catching the thief himself, Robie seeks the help of his old friend, restauranteur Bertani (Charles Vanel), asking him for information about his wealthy customers. Spotted by police detectives as he is leaving the restaurant, Robie manages to escape with the help of Foussard (Jean Martinelli), one of Bertani's workers, and his flirtatious teenage daught...

Born into a wealthy and influential family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Grace Kelly became interested in acting at a very young age, appearing in a local play when she was 10 years old. After her education in elite private schools, she moved to New York City and got accepted into the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts, whose famous alumni included Spencer Tracy, William Powell and Rosalind Russell. In November 1949, Grace made her Broadway debut opposite Raymond Massey in a revival of August Strindberg's play The Father . The following year, director Delbert Mann cast Grace as the title character in a television adaptation of the novel Bethel Merriday by Sinclair Lewis, which led to further work on the small screen. Grace's success on television soon brought her her first two motion picture assignments: Henry Hathway's Fourteen Hours (1951) and Fred Zinnemann's High Noon (1952).   LEFT: Grace with Raymond Massey in the play The Father . MIDDLE: Publi...