Ava Gardner
Acting
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Considered one of the most iconic stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, she was ranked as the 25th greatest female screen legend by the American Film Institute. Initially cast in minor roles, her breakthrough came with the classic film noir The Killers (1946), which established her as a leading lady. Her 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), which earned her a BAFTA nomination. Off-screen, Gardner's personal life and progressive politics attracted significant attention. Her marriages to Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw were gossiped about, but her tumultuous relationship with Frank Sinatra particularly headlined. Gardner was a strong supporter of racial equality and desegregation, and became a member of the NAACP in 1968. Gardner was a heavy smoker, which deteriorated her health as she grew older. She continued acting in minor roles in the 1980s before she suffered a stroke in 1986 and retired. Gardner moved to Spain and England, where she spent her final years before passing away from bronchopneumonia on January 25, 1990.
Known for
Acting101
movieKennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
2023
Self (archive footage)
tvPretty Baby: Brooke Shields
2023
Self (archive footage)
movieRat Pack
2022
Self (archive footage)
movieBeautiful Like a Poem
2020
Self (archive footage)
movieScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
Self (archive footage)
movieAva Gardner, the Gypsy of Hollywood
2018
Self (archive footage)
movieChavela
2017
Self (archive footage)
movieAva Gardner: Life Is Bigger Than the Movies
2017
Self (archive footage)
tvIconic Couples of Hollywood
2015
Self (archive footage)
movieFallout
2013
Self (archive footage)
movieAll Night Long
2010
Self (archive footage)
movieCameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010
Pandora Reynolds / Maria Vargas (archive footage)
movieHollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
2009
Self (archive)
movieDe Madrid a la Luna
2006
Self (archive footage)
movieFrank Sinatra glömde aldrig Finspång
2003
Self (archive footage)
movieÅret var 1953
2003
Self (archive footage)
movieHoward Hughes: His Women and His Movies
2000
archive footage
movieFrank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
1998
Self (archive footage)
movieThat's Entertainment! III
1994
(archive footage)
movieLegends of the West
1992
Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieJohn Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
1988
Self (archive footage)
movieMaggie
1986
Diane Webb
movieHarem
1986
Kadin
tvHarem
1986
Kadin
tvThe Long Hot Summer
1985
Minnie Littlejohn
tvA.D.
1985
Agrippina
movieDead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
(in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)
moviePriest of Love
1981
Mabel Dodge Luhan
movieThe Kidnapping of the President
1980
Beth Richards
tvKnots Landing
1979
Ruth Sumner Galveston
movieCity on Fire
1979
Maggie Grayson
movieThe Sentinel
1977
Helen Logan
movieKolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
1977
Self - Maria Cayetana, Duchess of Alba (archive footage)
movieThe Cassandra Crossing
1976
Nicole Dressler
movieThe Blue Bird
1976
Luxury
moviePermission to Kill
1975
Katina Petersen
movieEarthquake
1974
Remy Royce-Graff
movieThat's Entertainment!
1974
(archive footage) (uncredited)
movieThe Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
1972
Lily Langtry
movieThe Ballad of Tam Lin
1970
Michaela Cazaret
movieMayerling
1968
Empress Elisabeth of Austria
movieThe Night of the Iguana
1964
Maxine Faulk
movieSeven Days in May
1964
Eleanor Holbrook
movie55 Days at Peking
1963
Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
movieLa Rabbia
1963
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Angel Wore Red
1960
Soledad
movieOn the Beach
1959
Moira Davidson
movieThe Naked Maja
1958
Maria Teresa, duchess of Alba, nicknamed Cayetana
movieThe Sun Also Rises
1957
Lady Brett Ashley
movieThe Little Hut
1957
Lady Susan Ashlow
movieBhowani Junction
1956
Victoria Jones
movieThe Barefoot Contessa
1954
Maria Vargas
movieKnights of the Round Table
1953
Guinevere
movieMogambo
1953
Eloise Y. Kelly
movieThe Band Wagon
1953
Ava Gardner (uncredited)
movieRide, Vaquero!
1953
Cordelia Cameron
movieLone Star
1952
Martha Ronda
movieThe Snows of Kilimanjaro
1952
Cynthia Green
movieShow Boat
1951
Julie LaVerne
movieMy Forbidden Past
1951
Barbara Beaurevel
moviePandora and the Flying Dutchman
1951
Pandora Reynolds
movieThe Costume Designer
1950
Self (archive footage)
Screen Actors
1950
Self (uncredited)
movieEast Side, West Side
1949
Isabel Lorrison
movieThe Great Sinner
1949
Pauline Ostrovsky
movieThe Bribe
1949
Elizabeth Hintten
movieSingapore
1947
Linda Grahame / Ann Van Leyden
movieThe Hucksters
1947
Jean Ogilvie
movieThe Killers
1946
Kitty Collins
movieShe Went to the Races
1945
Hilda Spotts
movieI'm a Civilian Here Myself
1945
Dream Girl (uncredited)
movieBlonde Fever
1944
Minor Role (uncredited)
movieMaisie Goes to Reno
1944
Gloria Fullerton
movieTwo Girls and a Sailor
1944
Dream Girl (uncredited)
movie3 Men in White
1944
Jean Brown
movieTwenty Years After
1944
(archive footage)
movieLost Angel
1943
Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
movieSwing Fever
1943
Receptionist (uncredited)
movieDu Barry Was a Lady
1943
Perfume Girl (uncredited)
movieYoung Ideas
1943
Co-ed (uncredited)
movieHitler's Madman
1943
Franciska Pritric (uncredited)
movieReunion in France
1942
Marie, Parisian shopgirl (uncredited)
movieMighty Lak a Goat
1942
Girl at Theatre Boxoffice
movieCalling Dr. Gillespie
1942
Student (uncredited)
movieSunday Punch
1942
Ringsider (uncredited)
movieKid Glove Killer
1942
Car Hop (uncredited)
movieThis Time for Keeps
1942
Girl in Car Lighting Cigarette (uncredited)
movieJoe Smith, American
1942
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
movieWe Do It Because
1942
Lucretia Borgia (uncredited)
movieH.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941
Young Socialite (uncredited)
movieShadow of the Thin Man
1941
Passerby at Racetrack (uncredited)
movieStrange Testament
1941
Waitress (uncredited)
movieFancy Answers
1941
Girl at Recital