State of Grace

Variety's latest celebration of its centennial is a weekly countdown of the Top 100 awards ceremony fashions. They've reached the final ten on Variety.com. In order, they are worn by: 10-Julia Roberts, 9-Diahann Carroll, 8-Charlize Theron, 7-Halle Berry, 6-Sophia Loren, 5-Nicole Kidman, 4-Elizabeth Taylor, 3-Marlon Brando (in 1955) and 2-Audrey Hepburn (1954). Number one in Variety's eye is Grace Kelly's pale blue silk Edith Head gown for the March 30, 1955 Oscar ceremony at the Pantages Theatre, accessorized with a wrap, long gloves and drop earrings. They of course invite you to agree or not. Kelly won the best actress award that year for The Country Girl (not for her roles in Hitchock's Rear Window and Dial M for Murder the same year) and she also presented on stage. Life magazine put her and the gown on the cover of the April 11 issue, and the following year she married Prince Rainier of Monaco and gave up acting. Princess Grace, as she came to be called, was killed in a 1982 car crash near Monte Carlo at the age of 52.