Ava Gardner sitting on a diving board and holding a pair of siamese cats, circa 1945. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1945
Ava Gardner poses on a deckchair, circa 1945. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1950
Ava Gardner, circa 1950. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1952
Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1952
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner sign a pledge as good ciitzens on September 19, 1952 in New York, New york. (Photo courtesy of Library of Congress)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1953
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, circa 1953. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1955
Ava Gardner, 1955. (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1955
Ava Gardner, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1955
Ava Gardner, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1955
Ava Gardner, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1955
American actress Ava Gardner, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1955
Ava Gardner, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1955
Ava Gardner, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1960
6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA
Ava Gardner sits in her seat in the audience of the Academy Awards ceremony which her held at the RKO Pantages Theatre on April 4, 1960 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frank Worth, Courtesy of Capital Art)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1960
Ava Gardner, in a studio portrait, circa 1960. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1960
Ava Gardner, circa 1960. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1963
Ava Gardner in publicity portrait for the film '55 Days At Peking', 1963. (Photo by Allied Artists)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1963
Ava Gardner in period costume with an ornate necklace in a publicity portrait issued for the film, '55 Days at Peking'. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1964
Richard Burton with actresses (left to right) Sue Lyon, Deborah Kerr and Ava Gardner in a promotional portrait for 'The Night of the Iguana', directed by John Huston, 1964. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1970
Ava Gardner, circa 1970. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1973
Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner share a glass of wine at a cafe in Earls Court, London on 3rd July 1973. (Photo by Daily Express)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
1976
Ava Gardner sighted on October 17, 1976 in London, England. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd.)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner (Photo by Herbert Dorfman)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner with David Niven La Cabaña
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner in Paris
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner and Italian actor and comedian Walter Chiari. They're just arrived from Paris at the airport. Rome, 1950s (Photo by Mondadori via Getty Images)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner wrapped in a white fur stole, circa 1955. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner, circa 1945. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner, circa 1950. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner wearing pink evening gloves, circa 1950. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner in 1990, in London, England. (Photo by Georges De Keerle)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner, circa 1950. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
First public appearance for Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner since Sinatra's wife granted him a divorce.
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner pose for a wedding picture.
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Howard Hughes and Ava Gardner are shown at ringside during the title bout between Heavyweight champion Joe Louis and Tami Mauriello in Yankee Stadium.
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Portrait of Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Portrait of Ava Gardner
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner on the beach.
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Robert Evans, and Mel Ferrer on the set of The Sun Also Rises. (Photo by Genevieve Naylor)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Actress Ava Gardner (Photo by John Springer Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner poses in a leopard skin outfit with matching backdrop. (Photo by John Springer Collection)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner with Tulips (Photo by Herbert Dorfman)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner (Photo by Herbert Dorfman)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner (Photo by Herbert Dorfman)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner and actor Helmut Dantine attend an event in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by William Grimes)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
American actress Ava Gardner (Photo by Sunset Boulevard)
Gallery of Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner standing in a courtyard. (Photo by Luis Lemus)
Achievements
In the summer of 1998, a bronze sculpture of the actress was erected in her honor in the picturesque village of Tossa de Mar, Spain, where she filmed "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" in 1951.
Membership
Awards
Prize San Sebastián
Ava received the Prize San Sebastián in 1964.
Walk of Fame
Hollywood Boulevard, Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90028, USA
Ava Gardner sits in her seat in the audience of the Academy Awards ceremony which her held at the RKO Pantages Theatre on April 4, 1960 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frank Worth, Courtesy of Capital Art)
Ava Gardner in period costume with an ornate necklace in a publicity portrait issued for the film, '55 Days at Peking'. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
Richard Burton with actresses (left to right) Sue Lyon, Deborah Kerr and Ava Gardner in a promotional portrait for 'The Night of the Iguana', directed by John Huston, 1964. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)
In the summer of 1998, a bronze sculpture of the actress was erected in her honor in the picturesque village of Tossa de Mar, Spain, where she filmed "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" in 1951.
Ava Gardner and Italian actor and comedian Walter Chiari. They're just arrived from Paris at the airport. Rome, 1950s (Photo by Mondadori via Getty Images)
(Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest ...)
Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars during the 1940s and ’50s, an Oscar-nominated leading lady who co-starred with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart, among others. But this riveting account of her storied life, including her marriage to Frank Sinatra, and career had to wait for publication until after her death—because Gardner feared it was too revealing.
(This film noir finds sexy and beautiful Mary returning to...)
This film noir finds sexy and beautiful Mary returning to her small hometown wearing a mink coat, looking for new ways to get money. Soon after, she hooks back up with her old lover Kenny Veech (Raft), but finds he is still an unemployed, lazy drinker and gambler, whospends most of his days at the local nightclub. While at the nightclub, she meets owner Lew Lentz (Conway), and seeing an opportunity, starts an affair with him. Soon Mary has both Kenny and Lew jealous and competing for her, ending up in a couple of fistfights. Lew's bartender, Gitlo (McLaglen) recruits Kenny in a scene to rob Lew of the $15, 000 he raised in sponsoring a local carnival. However, Lew finds out about the plot, and has both men framed for murder.
(When an ex-fighter (Burt Lancaster) is assassinated witho...)
When an ex-fighter (Burt Lancaster) is assassinated without resistance, an insurance agent must uncoil his past and understand the apathy he displayed towards his life.
(When a long-lost statue of Venus turns out to be the love...)
When a long-lost statue of Venus turns out to be the lovely goddess herself on an earthly assignment, a hapless department store employee suddenly becomes the object of a furious employer and a jealous fiancée.
(The story of a writer of renown, lying injured on the slo...)
The story of a writer of renown, lying injured on the slope of Africa's famous mountain, coming to the end of his life in Africa and looking back to decide if his past had any meaning.
(Ex-President Andrew Jackson recruits cattleman Devereaux ...)
Ex-President Andrew Jackson recruits cattleman Devereaux Burke to travel through hostile Indian land, find Texas hero Sam Houston and persuade him to support annexation.
(This romantic pot-boiler adventure finds Clark Gable as a...)
This romantic pot-boiler adventure finds Clark Gable as a safari leader in the jungles of Kenya who becomes the target of affections of the boss' wife and a Broadway showgirl.
(With extraordinary beauty, talent and grace, Spanish danc...)
With extraordinary beauty, talent and grace, Spanish dancer Maria Vargas (Ava Gardner) was born to be a star. Aided by American movie director Harry Dawes (Humphrey Bogart), she attains great success and fortune in Hollywood's land of dreams. But, though she gives her all for stardom, there is one thing Maria will never compromise her soul. No matter what the cost, The Barefoot Contessa will dance to no one's music but her own.
(Ava Gardner and Tyrone Power head an all-star cast in thi...)
Ava Gardner and Tyrone Power head an all-star cast in this engaging film based on Ernest Hemingway’s novel about a group of hedonistic American expatriates in Europe in the 1920s.
(Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas star in this thriller abo...)
Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas star in this thriller about a Marine Corps colonel who accidentally discovers a plot to take over the government by a high-ranking general.
Ava Gardner, in full Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American film actress of the 1940s and ’50s who, despite her renowned beauty and sensuality, successfully resisted being typecast as a sex symbol.
Background
Ethnicity:
While there are varying accounts of her background, Gardner's only documented ancestry was English.
Ava Gardner was born on December 24, 1922 near the farming community of Grabtown, North Carolina; the youngest of seven children of Mary Elizabeth "Molly" (née Baker) and Jonas Bailey Gardner, poor cotton and tobacco farmers. She had two older brothers, Raymond and Melvin, and four older sisters, Beatrice, Elsie Mae, Inez, and Myra.
After the Gardners lost their property, Jonas Gardner began to work at a sawmill and Molly - as a cook and housekeeper at a dormitory for teachers at the nearby Brogden School. When Gardner was seven years old, the family moved to Newport News, Virginia, where Mollie Gardner found work managing a boarding house for the city's many shipworkers. Gardner's father became ill, and died from bronchitis in 1938, and the family moved to Rock Ridge near Wilson, North Carolina, where Mollie Gardner ran another boarding house for teachers.
Education
Ava Gardner attended high school in Rock Ridge, where she graduated in 1939 before attending Atlantic Christian College in Wilson to take secretarial classes.
Never book smart, Gardner was quite the tomboy as a young woman, choosing to run around barefoot through the fields with boys, over playing with dolls and experimenting with makeup. She discovered her inner glam goddess, however, during a trip to New York when she was 18. While visiting her beloved older sister Beatrice in the city, Gardner posed for a portrait for Larry Tarr, a professional photographer who also happened to be her sister's husband and who thought his sister-in-law possessed great natural beauty. The photo ended up in the front window of his studio on Fifth Avenue, marking the beginning of Gardner's career as a photographer's dream subject.
Gardner would have settled on working as a secretary back in her quiet Southern hometown, but the universe had a much different plan for her. In 1941, the photo displayed in her brother-in-law's studio caught the attention of Barnard "Barney" Duhan, a Loews Theaters legal clerk who often worked as a talent scout for MGM. After her sister and Tarr sent in her information to the studio, Gardner soon found herself doing a screen test for studio head Louis B. Mayer, after which he supposedly commented: "She can't act. She can't talk. She's terrific. Sign her." The dark-haired beauty promptly left school, heading to Hollywood that same year - with Beatrice en tow as chaperone - to jumpstart her acting career. Although her Southern accent was charming, the studio decided Gardner still needed a voice coach to diminish her Carolina drawl, giving the starlet the Dream Factory makeover others had undergone thousands of times before.
In no time at all, Gardner began appearing in a variety of films; most being unremarkable B-grade quality during her early years at the studio. MGM signed the actress to a seven-year contract and she made her film debut in "Fancy Answers" (1941). Despite her limited acting ability, there was no denying the camera loved her and she stood out like a klieg light just walking around the lot - home already to the likes of Lana Turner and Hedy Lamarr - no slouches in the beauty department.
Gardner began making small strides on screen, including bit parts in such forgettable fare as "Maisie Goes to Reno" (1944) and "She Went to the Races" (1945). MGM even gave her her first starring role in "Whistle Stop" (1946), but it made little impression on audiences.
Loaned out to Universal for the Ernest Hemingway-adapted noir film "The Killers," Gardner - breathtaking in her iconic black satin gown - purred and sparked with co-star Burt Lancaster, owning every scene she was in. Her onscreen presence was powerful, yet she also exuded a hint of vulnerability which caused men to fall head over heels for her and women to relate to her. Now a full-fledged star, she delighted audiences with her role as love interest to MGM's "King," Clark Gable, in "The Hucksters" (1947), as a goddess come to life in "One Touch of Venus" (1948) and the exquisite Julie LaVerne in the musical "Show Boat" (1951).
Despite, the off-screen drama, Gardner maintained a solid acting career and pursued roles that attempted to vanquish the notion of her as a "femme fatale" - ironic, since she appeared to be just such a woman off-screen. Her performance opposite Clark Gable in the 1953 film "Mogambo" earned Gardner an Academy Award nomination, followed by a pivotal role in "The Barefoot Contessa," where her real life habit of walking around barefoot mirrored that of the character she played, opposite a miscast Humphrey Bogart. She also received critical praise for the films "Bhowani Junction" (1956), "On the Beach" (1959) and "The Night of the Iguana" (1964). In fact, it was her work on "Iguana" which garnered the often critically dismissed actress the best reviews of her career, as she washed off the makeup and allowed her true, vulnerable self to shine through. A longtime friend of author Ernest Hemingway - who could match him drink for drink - she acted in two more Hemingway films outside of "The Killers" - "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1952) and "The Sun Also Rises" (1957).
Gardner became fed up with Hollywood and moved to Spain. After 10 years in Spain, Gardner moved to London, England where she was able to slow things down. Her life had been a rollercoaster ever since she was discovered by MGM, and she continued acting up until her health weakened - no doubt brought about by living fast and hard for decades. In fact it was her bad habits more than anything else which contributed to her increasingly haggard appearance in which she looked much older than her age. Because of this fact, as well as her displeasure with an industry which turned its back on older screen sirens, she had smaller roles during the 1970s and 1980s. Despite the size and quality of the parts, she still had an undeniable onscreen presence. Gardner even appeared in five episodes of the TV show "Knots Landing" (CBS, 1979-1993) as Ruth Galveston. Her final film was the TV movie "Harem" (ABC, 1986); that same year, she suffered two strokes that left the actress partially paralyzed and bedridden. She would, in fact tell old friends like Gregory Peck and ex-husband Mickey Rooney that she often contemplated suicide post-stroke, frustrated at the loss of independence which had defined her all of her life.
In 1990, an unrepentant Gardner wrote an autobiography titled Ava, My Story before dying of pneumonia - a result of having smoked all her life - on January 25, 1990. Sinatra - who had quietly paid for Gardner's medical expenses while she was alive - also paid for her funeral, despite being married at the time to wife, Barbara Sinatra. It was a final tribute to the woman who had inspired his song "I Am a Fool to Want You." She was buried in the Sunset Memorial Park in Smithfield, North Carolina, next to her parents and other family members.
Although Gardner was exposed to Christianity throughout her early years - she was raised in the Baptist faith of her mother - she identified herself as an atheist later in life. Religion never played a positive role in her life, according to biographers and Gardner herself, in her autobiography Ava: My Story. Her friend Zoe Sallis, who met her on the set of The Bible: In the Beginning... when Gardner was living with John Huston in Puerto Vallarta, said Gardner always seemed unconcerned about religion. When Sallis asked her about religion once, Gardner replied, "It doesn't exist." Another factor that attributed to this was the death of Gardner's father in her younger days, stating, "Nobody wanted to know Daddy when he was dying. He was so alone. He was scared. I could see the fear in his eyes when he was smiling. I went to see the preacher, the guy who'd baptized me. I begged him to come and visit Daddy, just to talk to him, you know? Give him a blessing or something. But he never did. He never came. God, I hated him. Cold-ass bastards like that ought to ... I don't know ... they should be in some other racket, I know that. I had no time for religion after that. I never prayed. I never said another prayer."
Politics
Concerning politics, Gardner was a life-long Democrat.
Views
Ava’s modern attitude predated Women’s Lib. Nearly two decades before second wave feminism and Betty Friedan’s The Feminist Mystique, Ava demonstrated a liberated attitude to women’s issues. Following her divorces from Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw, she would break with conventions by going out to restaurants and nightclubs unescorted. She also had a brave attitude towards marriage, family planning and motherhood, believing in a woman’s right to choose long before it became acceptable.
Quotations:
"Deep down, I'm pretty superficial."
"I have only one rule in acting - trust the director and give him heart and soul."
"I think the main reason my marriages failed is that I always loved too well but never wisely."
"What's the point? My face, shall we say, looks lived in."
Personality
Ava Gardner was famous as a beauty before she was famous as an actress. Her best films both celebrate her appearance and respond to it as a problem, almost a fate.
Ava Gardner might not have been a domestic goddess but she was a great cook. She favoured Southern cuisine, and her southern fried chicken was legendary among friends. While she maintained her famous figure throughout her life, Ava was not keen on dieting, with hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks and coca cola among her favourite go-to treats.
Ava was a lifelong smoker and suffered from several health complications because of this addiction.
Ava had a lifelong love for corgis. Frank Sinatra gifted Ava with her first corgi puppy in 1952. She named it Rags, and he became her beloved companion until his death in the late 1960s. Two more corgis would follow: Cara and later Morgan, who outlived his mistress, and after her death was adopted by Ava’s great friend, Gregory Peck.
Physical Characteristics:
What often appears on the screen as a sultry, slightly squinted gaze was a result of the fact that Ava was near-sighted, and when away from the cameras she often wore glasses.
Connections
Soon after Gardner arrived in Los Angeles, she met fellow MGM contract player Mickey Rooney. Gardner accepted his marriage proposal and the couple were married on January 10, 1942, despite L. B. Mayer's disapproval. However, Rooney continued to live life as a bachelor, partying and carrying on while his 19-year-old bride sat at home. The couple divorced a mere 17 months later.
Her second marriage was to bandleader Artie Shaw, the legendary "King of Swing." Gardner was his sixth wife amongst a group of women that included actresses Lana Turner, Doris Dowling and Evelyn Keyes. The marriage lasted exactly one year and they divorced in 1946.
Gardner met Frank Sinatra, when he was on a downward career spiral. Sinatra, who was still married to wife Nancy and had two children with her, was unable to get a divorce due to his Roman Catholic upbringing. But after Sinatra was granted a legal separation in 1951, he and Ava married 72 hours after the separation went into effect.
While she was at her career peak, Sinatra was considered a has-been in Hollywood circles, so when a role in the prestige project "From Here to Eternity" (1953) came up, Gardner helped her husband land it - specifically, the role of doomed soldier, Maggio, for which he would win an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and set him on the path to legend. She became pregnant during their marriage, but the actress underwent an illegal abortion because she claimed they simply were not able or ready to take care of a child, later admitting she did it because she "hated Frankie so much" and wanted his "child to go unborn."
Sinatra's intense jealousy and mistrust of his wife, coupled with Gardner's substantial drinking habit, eventually lead to the actress's third failed marriage. Despite the couple separated in 1957, they remained good friends for the rest of her life. In fact, Sinatra never stopped loving or obsessing over his ex-wife, even well into his later years.
Gardner became a friend of businessman and aviator Howard Hughes in the early to mid-1940s, and the relationship lasted into the 1950s. Gardner stated in her autobiography, Ava: My Story, that she was never in love with Hughes, but he was in and out of her life for about 20 years.
Ava Gardner: "Love Is Nothing"
In this acclaimed first full biography of Gardner, Lee Server recreates―with great style and vivid detail―the actress's life, from her beginnings as a barefoot North Carolina farm girl to her heady days as a Hollywood goddess. He paints the full spectacle of her tumultuous private life―including her string of failed marriages to Mickey Rooney, Sinatra and Artie Shaw―and Gardner's lifelong search for adventure and love.
2006
Living With Miss G
Many books have been written about the fascinating public and private life of Ava Gardner, one of the most famous and beautiful film stars of all time—but none can compare to this one by Mearene “Rene” Jordan. While some biographers had to rely on second-hand knowledge and newspaper and magazine articles that were often unreliable or deliberately inaccurate, Jordan (whose nickname is pronounced “Reenie”) was on the scene for countless real-life Gardner episodes that rivaled any fiction. It is a must-read for classic movie enthusiasts and also for those who need a reminder of what true friendship is.
2012
Ava Gardner: A Life in Movies
Authors Kendra Bean and Anthony Uzarowski take a closer look at the Academy Award-nominated actress's life and famous screen roles. They also shed new light on the creation and maintenance of her glamorous image, her marriages, and friendships with famous figures such as Ernest Hemingway, John Huston, and Tennessee Williams.
Frank & Ava: In Love and War
Frank & Ava delves deeply into the lives of these two iconic stars and their turbulent lifelong relationship. More than anything else, this is the story of a romance lived out under battlefield conditions.