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.
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' (archive footage) (uncredited))
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))
Strange Testament
(Waitress (uncredited))
I'm a Civilian Here Myself
(Dream Girl (uncredited))
Mighty Lak a Goat
(Girl at Theatre Boxoffice)
La Rabbia
(Self (archive footage))
Joe Smith, American
(Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited))
Swing Fever
(Receptionist (uncredited))
Blonde Fever
(Minor Role (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))
Knots Landing
(Ruth Sumner Galveston)
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
(Self (archive footage))
The Long Hot Summer
(Minnie Littlejohn)
Intimate Portrait
(Self)
Harem
(Kadin)
A.D.
(Agrippina)
What's My Line?
(Self)
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
(Self (archive footage))