Ava Gardner
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.
Filmography (101 titles)
7.7MovieKennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
Self (archive footage) · 2023
7.4ShowPretty Baby: Brooke Shields
Self (archive footage) · 2023
9.0MovieRat Pack
Self (archive footage) · 2022
MovieBeautiful Like a Poem
Self (archive footage) · 2020
5.9MovieScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Self (archive footage) · 2018
6.9MovieAva Gardner, the Gypsy of Hollywood
Self (archive footage) · 2018
6.9MovieChavela
Self (archive footage) · 2017
5.8MovieAva Gardner: Life Is Bigger Than the Movies
Self (archive footage) · 2017
8.0ShowIconic Couples of Hollywood
Self (archive footage) · 2015
7.0MovieFallout
Self (archive footage) · 2013
6.7MovieAll Night Long
Self (archive footage) · 2010
6.6MovieCameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Pandora Reynolds / Maria Vargas (archive footage) · 2010
MovieHollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
Self (archive) · 2009
6.0MovieDe Madrid a la Luna
Self (archive footage) · 2006
MovieFrank Sinatra glömde aldrig Finspång
Self (archive footage) · 2003
5.0MovieÅret var 1953
Self (archive footage) · 2003
9.0MovieHoward Hughes: His Women and His Movies
archive footage · 2000
7.7MovieFrank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
Self (archive footage) · 1998
7.0MovieThat's Entertainment! III
(archive footage) · 1994
4.5ShowIntimate Portrait
Self · 1993
MovieLegends of the West
Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' (archive footage) (uncredited) · 1992
6.0MovieJohn Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
Self (archive footage) · 1988
MovieMaggie
Diane Webb · 1986
5.4MovieHarem
Kadin · 1986
5.0ShowHarem
Kadin · 1986
5.5ShowThe Long Hot Summer
Minnie Littlejohn · 1985
5.4ShowA.D.
Agrippina · 1985
6.7MovieDead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage) · 1982
7.0MovieRegina Roma
Mama · 1982
5.0MoviePriest of Love
Mabel Dodge Luhan · 1981