Ava Gardner
Biography
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was a renowned American actress and one of the most iconic stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. Born on December 24, 1922, in Grabtown, North Carolina, she grew up in a rural setting before being discovered by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1941. Initially cast in minor roles, her breakthrough came with the film noir classic The Killers (1946), which established her as a leading lady. Gardner's career flourished in the 1950s with notable performances in films like Mogambo (1953), for which she received an Academy Award nomination, The Barefoot Contessa (1954), and The Night of the Iguana (1964). Known for her beauty and talent, she worked with some of the most celebrated directors and actors of her time. Off-screen, Gardner's personal life attracted significant attention, including her marriages to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra. She spent her later years in Spain and London, continuing to act until the mid-1980s. Ava Gardner passed away on January 25, 1990, in London, leaving behind a legacy as one of Hollywood's most enduring legends.
Known For
Self (archive footage)
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
Sarah
The Bible: In the Beginning...
Student (uncredited)
Calling Dr. Gillespie
Cynthia Green
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Remy Royce-Graff
Earthquake
Eleanor Holbrook
Seven Days in May
Nicole Dressler
The Cassandra Crossing
Eloise Y. Kelly
Mogambo
Lady Brett Ashley
The Sun Also Rises
Elizabeth Hintten
The Bribe
(in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Lily Langtry
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
55 Days at Peking
Maria Vargas
The Barefoot Contessa
Moira Davidson
On the Beach
Ava Gardner (uncredited)
The Band Wagon
Passerby at Racetrack (uncredited)
Shadow of the Thin Man
Kitty Collins
The Killers
Maxine Faulk
The Night of the Iguana
Venus
One Touch of Venus
Martha Ronda
Lone Star
Empress Elisabeth of Austria
Mayerling
Car Hop (uncredited)
Kid Glove Killer
Marie, Parisian shopgirl (uncredited)
Reunion in France
Pandora Reynolds
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
Cordelia Cameron
Ride, Vaquero!
Julie LaVerne
Show Boat
Lucretia Borgia (uncredited)
We Do It Because
Helen Logan
The Sentinel
Mabel Dodge Luhan
Priest of Love
Guinevere
Knights of the Round Table
Dream Girl (uncredited)
Two Girls and a Sailor
Victoria Jones
Bhowani Junction
Linda Grahame / Ann Van Leyden
Singapore
Betty
Ghosts on the Loose
Mary
Whistle Stop
Self (archive footage)
Chavela
Maria Teresa, duchess of Alba, nicknamed Cayetana
The Naked Maja
Luxury
The Blue Bird
Girl in Car Lighting Cigarette (uncredited)
This Time for Keeps
Jean Ogilvie
The Hucksters
Barbara Beaurevel
My Forbidden Past
Isabel Lorrison
East Side, West Side
Beth Richards
The Kidnapping of the President
Maggie Grayson
City on Fire
Michaela Cazaret
The Ballad of Tam Lin
Katina Petersen
Permission to Kill
Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean'
Legends of the West
Self (archive footage)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Pauline Ostrovsky
The Great Sinner
Lady Susan Ashlow
The Little Hut
Soledad
The Angel Wore Red
Jean Brown
3 Men in White
Mama
Regina Roma
Gloria Fullerton
Maisie Goes to Reno
Self (archive footage)
Ava Gardner, la vie est plus belle que le cinéma
Perfume Girl (uncredited)
Du Barry Was a Lady
Hilda Spotts
She Went to the Races
Young Socialite (uncredited)
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Self (archive footage)
Rat Pack
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
Self (archive footage)
La noche que no acaba
Self (archive footage)
Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
Kadin
Harem
Self (archive footage)
Fallout
Ringsider (uncredited)
Sunday Punch
Self (archive footage)
Frank Sinatra glömde aldrig Finspång
Franciska Pritric (uncredited)
Hitler's Madman
Co-ed (uncredited)
Young Ideas
(archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
Girl at Recital
Fancy Answers
Self (archive footage)
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
Self (archive footage)
De Madrid a la Luna
Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
Lost Angel
Self
On the Trail of the Iguana
Self (archive footage)
Ava Gardner, la gitane d'Hollywood
(archive footage)
Twenty Years After
Self (archive footage)
The Costume Designer
Waitress (uncredited)
Strange Testament
Dream Girl (uncredited)
I'm a Civilian Here Myself
Girl at Theatre Boxoffice
Mighty Lak a Goat
Self (archive footage)
La rabbia
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Joe Smith, American
Receptionist (uncredited)
Swing Fever
Minor Role (uncredited)
Blonde Fever
Self (uncredited)
Screen Actors
Pandora Reynolds / Maria Vargas (archive footage)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Self (archive)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
Self (archive footage)
Året var 1953
Self (archive footage)
Beautiful Like a Poem
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
90
Gender
Female
Birthday
1922-12-24
Place of Birth
Grabtown, North Carolina, USA
Also Known As
Ava Lavinia Gardner