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.

Cast

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