Ava Gardner

Biography

Ava Lavinia Gardner (1922–1990) 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

Kid Glove Killer

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)

The Kid Stays in the Picture

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

Self (archive footage)

Hollywood, la vie rêvée de Lana Turner

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

Beautiful Like a Poem

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

92

Gender

Female

Birthday

1922-12-24

Place of Birth

Grabtown, North Carolina, USA

Also Known As

Ava Lavinia Gardner