Kidman in talks to play icon Grace Kelly

Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman is reportedly in talks to play the late Grace Kelly, the actress who became a princess, in a new film.

According to industry magazine Variety, no deal has yet been signed but Kidman, 44, is in the running for the highly sought-after role.

The film, Grace of Monaco, will centre on a short period in the screen icon's life between December 1961 and November 1962.

At the time Kelly, an Oscar winner and mother of two, had been married to the Prince of Monaco for more than five years.

She was called upon to save Monaco from an escalating crisis with France over its status as a tax haven.

Frenchman Olivier Dahan will direct the film, which has been written by Arash Amel and produced by Pierre-Ange Le Pogam.

Dahan was behind the Edith Piaf biopic Le Vie En Rose which won Marion Cotillard an Oscar for her portrayal of the singer.

Kelly was one of Hollywood's leading stars in the 1950s, starring in High Society and the Alfred Hitchcock films Rear Window, To Catch A Thief and Dial M For Murder.

She won the Best Actress Academy Award for The Country Girl in 1955.

The following year Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco.

She died in 1982, aged 52, after suffering a stroke while driving.