Ava Gardner
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
Knots Landing
Ruth Sumner Galveston
Intimate Portrait
Self
Mayerling
Empress Elisabeth of Austria
What's My Line?
Self
The Hucksters
Jean Ogilvie
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)
The Sentinel
Helen Logan
Strange Testament
Waitress (uncredited)
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
Pandora Reynolds
On the Trail of the Iguana
Self
Lone Star
Martha Ronda
Maisie Goes to Reno
Gloria Fullerton
Harem
Kadin
Bhowani Junction
Victoria Jones
Regina Roma
Mama
Seven Days in May
Eleanor Holbrook
Singapore
Linda Grahame / Ann Van Leyden
The Night of the Iguana
Maxine Faulk
Chavela
Self (archive footage)
The Sun Also Rises
Lady Brett Ashley
The Ballad of Tam Lin
Michaela Cazaret
Mighty Lak a Goat
Girl at Theatre Boxoffice
The Little Hut
Lady Susan Ashlow
Ride, Vaquero!
Cordelia Cameron
The Band Wagon
Ava Gardner (uncredited)
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
Self (archive footage)
The Cassandra Crossing
Nicole Dressler
The Great Sinner
Pauline Ostrovsky
Earthquake
Remy Royce-Graff
Two Girls and a Sailor
Dream Girl (uncredited)
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
Self (archive footage)
La Rabbia
Self (archive footage)
One Touch of Venus
Venus
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
Lily Langtry
55 Days at Peking
Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
Knights of the Round Table
Guinevere
Priest of Love
Mabel Dodge Luhan
We Do It Because
Lucretia Borgia (uncredited)
Swing Fever
Receptionist (uncredited)
On the Beach
Moira Davidson
Show Boat
Julie LaVerne
A.D.
Agrippina
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
Rat Pack
Self (archive footage)
3 Men in White
Jean Brown
Reunion in France
Marie, Parisian shopgirl (uncredited)
Kid Glove Killer
Car Hop (uncredited)
The Barefoot Contessa
Maria Vargas
Du Barry Was a Lady
Perfume Girl (uncredited)
The Bible: In the Beginning...
Sarah
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Cynthia Green
The Naked Maja
Maria Teresa, duchess of Alba, nicknamed Cayetana
Joe Smith, American
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
The Angel Wore Red
Soledad
Calling Dr. Gillespie
Student (uncredited)
Shadow of the Thin Man
Passerby at Racetrack (uncredited)
East Side, West Side
Isabel Lorrison
Whistle Stop
Mary
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Pandora Reynolds / Maria Vargas (archive footage)
Legends of the West
Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean'
Hitler's Madman
Franciska Pritric (uncredited)
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Young Socialite (uncredited)
Lost Angel
Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
Young Ideas
Co-ed (uncredited)
City on Fire
Maggie Grayson
Screen Actors
Self (uncredited)
The Costume Designer
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
The Long Hot Summer
Minnie Littlejohn
The Kidnapping of the President
Beth Richards
The Killers
Kitty Collins
De Madrid a la Luna
Self (archive footage)
Ava Gardner, the Gypsy of Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
Blonde Fever
Minor Role (uncredited)
My Forbidden Past
Barbara Beaurevel
Ghosts on the Loose
Betty
Frank Sinatra glömde aldrig Finspång
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage)
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
Harem
Kadin
She Went to the Races
Hilda Spotts
Mogambo
Eloise Y. Kelly
Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
Self (archive footage)
Permission to Kill
Katina Petersen
The Blue Bird
Luxury
Ava Gardner: Life Is Bigger Than the Movies
Self (archive footage)
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
All Night Long
Self (archive footage)
This Time for Keeps
Girl in Car Lighting Cigarette (uncredited)
The Bribe
Elizabeth Hintten
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
Self (archive)
Fancy Answers
Girl at Recital
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
Self (archive footage)
Fallout
Self (archive footage)
I'm a Civilian Here Myself
Dream Girl (uncredited)
Sunday Punch
Ringsider (uncredited)
Beautiful Like a Poem
Året var 1953
Self (archive footage)