Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
December 24, 1922
Place of Birth:
Grabtown, North Carolina, USA
Social Media
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
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia | Self (Archive Footage) |
| 2022 | Rat Pack | Self (archive footage) |
| 2019 | Hollywood, The Dream Life of Lana Turner | Self (archive footage) |
| 2018 | Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) |
| 2018 | Ava Gardner, the Gypsy of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) |
| 2017 | Chavela | Self (archive footage) |
| 2017 | Ava Gardner: Life Is Bigger Than the Movies | Self (archive footage) |
| 2013 | Fallout | Self (archive footage) |
| 2010 | All Night Long | Self (archive footage) |
| 2010 | Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff | Pandora Reynolds / Maria Vargas (archive footage) |
| 2009 | Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical | Self (archive) |
| 2006 | De Madrid a la Luna | Self (archive footage) |
| 2003 | Frank Sinatra glömde aldrig Finspång | Self (archive footage) |
| 2003 | Året var 1953 | Self (archive footage) |
| 2002 | The Kid Stays in the Picture | Self (archive footage) |
| 1998 | Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century | Self (archive footage) |
| 1994 | That's Entertainment! III | (archive footage) |
| 1992 | Legends of the West | Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' |
| 1988 | John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick | Self (archive footage) |
| 1986 | Harem | Kadin |
| 1982 | Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | (in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage) |
| 1982 | Regina Roma | Mama |
| 1981 | Priest of Love | Mabel Dodge Luhan |
| 1980 | The Kidnapping of the President | Beth Richards |
| 1979 | City on Fire | Maggie Grayson |
| 1977 | The Sentinel | Helen Logan |
| 1976 | The Cassandra Crossing | Nicole Dressler |
| 1976 | The Blue Bird | Luxury |
| 1975 | Permission to Kill | Katina Petersen |
| 1974 | Earthquake | Remy Royce-Graff |
| 1974 | That's Entertainment! | (archive footage) |
| 1972 | The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean | Lily Langtry |
| 1970 | The Ballad of Tam Lin | Michaela Cazaret |
| 1968 | Mayerling | Empress Elisabeth of Austria |
| 1966 | The Bible: In the Beginning... | Sarah |
| 1964 | Seven Days in May | Eleanor Holbrook |
| 1964 | The Night of the Iguana | Maxine Faulk |
| 1964 | On the Trail of the Iguana | Self |
| 1963 | 55 Days at Peking | Baroness Natalie Ivanoff |
| 1963 | La Rabbia | Self (archive footage) |
| 1960 | The Angel Wore Red | Soledad |
| 1959 | On the Beach | Moira Davidson |
| 1958 | The Naked Maja | Maria Teresa, duchess of Alba, nicknamed Cayetana |
| 1957 | The Sun Also Rises | Lady Brett Ashley |
| 1957 | The Little Hut | Lady Susan Ashlow |
| 1956 | Bhowani Junction | Victoria Jones |
| 1954 | The Barefoot Contessa | Maria Vargas |
| 1953 | Mogambo | Eloise Y. Kelly |
| 1953 | The Band Wagon | Ava Gardner (uncredited) |
| 1953 | Ride, Vaquero! | Cordelia Cameron |
| 1953 | Knights of the Round Table | Guinevere |
| 1952 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Cynthia Green |
| 1952 | Lone Star | Martha Ronda |
| 1951 | Pandora and the Flying Dutchman | Pandora Reynolds |
| 1951 | Show Boat | Julie LaVerne |
| 1951 | My Forbidden Past | Barbara Beaurevel |
| 1950 | The Costume Designer | Self (archive footage) |
| 1950 | Screen Actors | Self (uncredited) |
| 1949 | The Bribe | Elizabeth Hintten |
| 1949 | East Side, West Side | Isabel Lorrison |
| 1949 | The Great Sinner | Pauline Ostrovsky |
| 1948 | One Touch of Venus | Venus |
| 1947 | Singapore | Linda Grahame / Ann Van Leyden |
| 1947 | The Hucksters | Jean Ogilvie |
| 1946 | The Killers | Kitty Collins |
| 1946 | Whistle Stop | Mary |
| 1945 | She Went to the Races | Hilda Spotts |
| 1945 | I'm a Civilian Here Myself | Dream Girl (uncredited) |
| 1944 | Two Girls and a Sailor | Dream Girl (uncredited) |
| 1944 | 3 Men in White | Jean Brown |
| 1944 | Maisie Goes to Reno | Gloria Fullerton |
| 1944 | Twenty Years After | (archive footage) |
| 1944 | Blonde Fever | Minor Role (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Ghosts on the Loose | Betty |
| 1943 | Du Barry Was a Lady | Perfume Girl (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Hitler's Madman | Franciska Pritric (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Young Ideas | Co-ed (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Lost Angel | Hat Check Girl (uncredited) |
| 1943 | Swing Fever | Receptionist (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Calling Dr. Gillespie | Student (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Kid Glove Killer | |
| 1942 | Reunion in France | |
| 1942 | We Do It Because | Lucretia Borgia (uncredited) |
| 1942 | This Time for Keeps | Girl in Car Lighting Cigarette (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Sunday Punch | Ringsider (uncredited) |
| 1942 | Mighty Lak a Goat | Girl at Theatre Boxoffice |
| 1942 | Joe Smith, American | Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited) |
| 1941 | Shadow of the Thin Man | Passerby at Racetrack (uncredited) |
| 1941 | H.M. Pulham, Esq. | Young Socialite (uncredited) |
| 1941 | Fancy Answers | Girl at Recital |
| 1941 | Strange Testament | Waitress (uncredited) |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields | Self (archive footage) |
| 2015 | Iconic Couples of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) |
| 1993 | Intimate Portrait | Self |
| 1990 | Star Life | Self (archive footage) |
| 1986 | Harem | Kadin |
| 1985 | The Long Hot Summer | Minnie Littlejohn |
| 1985 | A.D. | Agrippina |
| 1979 | Knots Landing | Ruth Sumner Galveston |
| 1950 | What's My Line? | Self |