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.
TV Shows(8)
Movies(91)
Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
Self (archive footage)
2023
Rat Pack
Self (archive footage)
2022
Beautiful Like a Poem
Self (archive footage)
2020
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
2018
Ava Gardner, the Gypsy of Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
2018
Chavela
Self (archive footage)
2017
Ava Gardner: Life Is Bigger Than the Movies
Self (archive footage)
2017
Fallout
Self (archive footage)
2013
All Night Long
Self (archive footage)
2010
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Pandora Reynolds / Maria Vargas (archive footage)
2010
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
Self (archive)
2009
De Madrid a la Luna
Self (archive footage)
2006
Frank Sinatra glömde aldrig Finspång
Self (archive footage)
2003
Året var 1953
Self (archive footage)
2003
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
Self (archive footage)
1998
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
1994
Legends of the West
Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' (archive footage) (uncredited)
1992
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
Self (archive footage)
1988
Harem
Kadin
1986
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)
1982
Regina Roma
Mama
1982
Priest of Love
Mabel Dodge Luhan
1981
The Kidnapping of the President
Beth Richards
1980
City on Fire
Maggie Grayson
1979
The Sentinel
Helen Logan
1977
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
Self - Maria Cayetana, Duchess of Alba (archive footage)
1977
The Cassandra Crossing
Nicole Dressler
1976
The Blue Bird
Luxury
1976
Permission to Kill
Katina Petersen
1975
Earthquake
Remy Royce-Graff
1974
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage)
1974
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
Lily Langtry
1972
The Ballad of Tam Lin
Michaela Cazaret
1970
Mayerling
Empress Elisabeth of Austria
1968
The Bible: In the Beginning...
Sarah
1966
The Night of the Iguana
Maxine Faulk
1964
On the Trail of the Iguana
Self
1964
Seven Days in May
Eleanor Holbrook
1964
55 Days at Peking
Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
1963
La Rabbia
Self (archive footage)
1963
The Angel Wore Red
Soledad
1960
On the Beach
Moira Davidson
1959
The Naked Maja
Maria Teresa, duchess of Alba, nicknamed Cayetana
1958
The Sun Also Rises
Lady Brett Ashley
1957
The Little Hut
Lady Susan Ashlow
1957
Bhowani Junction
Victoria Jones
1956
The Barefoot Contessa
Maria Vargas
1954
Knights of the Round Table
Guinevere
1953
Mogambo
Eloise Y. Kelly
1953
The Band Wagon
Ava Gardner (uncredited)
1953
Ride, Vaquero!
Cordelia Cameron
1953
Lone Star
Martha Ronda
1952
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Cynthia Green
1952
Show Boat
Julie LaVerne
1951
My Forbidden Past
Barbara Beaurevel
1951
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
Pandora Reynolds
1951
The Costume Designer
Self (archive footage)
1950
Screen Actors
Self (uncredited)
1950
East Side, West Side
Isabel Lorrison
1949
The Great Sinner
Pauline Ostrovsky
1949
The Bribe
Elizabeth Hintten
1949
One Touch of Venus
Venus
1948
Singapore
Linda Grahame / Ann Van Leyden
1947
The Hucksters
Jean Ogilvie
1947
The Killers
Kitty Collins
1946
Whistle Stop
Mary
1946
She Went to the Races
Hilda Spotts
1945
I'm a Civilian Here Myself
Dream Girl (uncredited)
1945
Blonde Fever
Minor Role (uncredited)
1944
Maisie Goes to Reno
Gloria Fullerton
1944
Two Girls and a Sailor
Dream Girl (uncredited)
1944
3 Men in White
Jean Brown
1944
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
1944
Lost Angel
Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
1943
Swing Fever
Receptionist (uncredited)
1943
Du Barry Was a Lady
Perfume Girl (uncredited)
1943
Young Ideas
Co-ed (uncredited)
1943
Ghosts on the Loose
Betty
1943
Hitler's Madman
Franciska Pritric (uncredited)
1943
Reunion in France
Marie, Parisian shopgirl (uncredited)
1942
Mighty Lak a Goat
Girl at Theatre Boxoffice
1942
Calling Dr. Gillespie
Student (uncredited)
1942
Sunday Punch
Ringsider (uncredited)
1942
Kid Glove Killer
Car Hop (uncredited)
1942
This Time for Keeps
Girl in Car Lighting Cigarette (uncredited)
1942
Joe Smith, American
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
1942
We Do It Because
Lucretia Borgia (uncredited)
1942
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
Young Socialite (uncredited)
1941
Shadow of the Thin Man
Passerby at Racetrack (uncredited)
1941
Strange Testament
Waitress (uncredited)
1941
Fancy Answers
Girl at Recital
1941