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Ava Gardner(1922-1990)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000939
Ava Gardner
Check out the HBO trailer for Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, which premieres on April 5.
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Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (2015)
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24 Videos
99+ Photos
Ava Lavina Gardner was born on December 24, 1922 in Grabtown, North Carolina, to Mary Elizabeth (née Baker) and Jonas Bailey Gardner. Born on a tobacco farm, where she got her lifelong love of earthy language and going barefoot, Ava grew up in the rural South. At age 18, her picture in the window of her brother-in- law's New York photo studio brought her to the attention of MGM, leading quickly to Hollywood and a film contract based strictly on her beauty. With zero acting experience, her first 17 film roles, 1942-1945, were one-line bits or little better. After her first starring role in B-grade Whistle Stop (1946), MGM loaned her to Universal for her first outstanding film The Killers (1946). Few of her best films were made at MGM which, keeping her under contract for 17 years, used her popularity to sell many mediocre films. Perhaps as a result, she never believed in her own acting ability, but her latent talent shone brightly when brought out by a superior director, as with John Ford in Mogambo (1953) and George Cukor in Bhowani Junction (1956).

After three failed marriages, dissatisfaction with Hollywood life prompted Ava to move to Spain in 1955; most of her subsequent films were made abroad. By this time, stardom had made the country girl a cosmopolitan, but she never overcame a deep insecurity about acting and life in the spotlight. Her last quality starring film role was in The Night of the Iguana (1964), her later work being (as she said) strictly "for the loot". In 1968, tax trouble in Spain prompted a move to London, where she spent her last 22 years in reasonable comfort. Her film career did not bring her great fulfillment, but her looks may have made it inevitable; many fans still consider her the most beautiful actress in Hollywood history. Ava Gardner died at age 67 of bronchial pneumonia on January 25, 1990 in Westminister, London, England.
BornDecember 24, 1922
DiedJanuary 25, 1990(67)
BornDecember 24, 1922
DiedJanuary 25, 1990(67)
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000939
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 5 wins & 12 nominations total

Photos559

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Known for

Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr, Ava Gardner, and Sue Lyon in The Night of the Iguana (1964)
The Night of the Iguana
7.6
  • Maxine Faulk
  • 1964
Clark Gable, Grace Kelly, and Ava Gardner in Mogambo (1953)
Mogambo
6.6
  • Eloise Y. Kelly
  • 1953
On the Beach (1959)
On the Beach
7.1
  • Moira Davidson
  • 1959
Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson, and Howard Keel in Show Boat (1951)
Show Boat
6.8
  • Julie LaVerne
  • 1951

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress



  • Maggie (1986)
    Maggie
    6.8
    TV Movie
    • Diane Webb
    • 1986
  • Harem (1986)
    Harem
    6.0
    TV Movie
    • Kadin
    • 1986
  • Don Johnson, Ava Gardner, Jason Robards, Cybill Shepherd, Wings Hauser, Judith Ivey, and William Russ in The Long Hot Summer (1985)
    The Long Hot Summer
    7.0
    TV Mini Series
    • Minnie Littlejohn
    • 1985
  • Donna Mills, Joan Van Ark, Michele Lee, Constance McCashin, John Pleshette, and Ted Shackelford in Knots Landing (1979)
    Knots Landing
    7.0
    TV Series
    • Ruth Sumner Galveston
    • 1985
  • A.D. (1985)
    A.D.
    7.2
    TV Mini Series
    • Agrippina
    • 1985
  • Regina Roma (1983)
    Regina Roma
    5.1
    • Mama
    • 1983
  • Priest of Love (1981)
    Priest of Love
    6.0
    • Mabel Dodge Luhan
    • 1981
  • The Kidnapping of the President (1980)
    The Kidnapping of the President
    5.3
    • Beth Richards
    • 1980
  • City on Fire (1979)
    City on Fire
    4.5
    • Maggie Grayson
    • 1979
  • The Sentinel (1977)
    The Sentinel
    6.3
    • Miss Logan
    • 1977
  • The Cassandra Crossing (1976)
    The Cassandra Crossing
    6.3
    • Nicole Dressler
    • 1976
  • The Blue Bird (1976)
    The Blue Bird
    5.4
    • Luxury
    • 1976
  • Ava Gardner and Dirk Bogarde in The Executioner (1975)
    The Executioner
    5.7
    • Katina Petersen
    • 1975
  • Charlton Heston, Victoria Principal, Geneviève Bujold, Ava Gardner, Lorne Greene, George Kennedy, Marjoe Gortner, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Roundtree, and Barry Sullivan in Earthquake (1974)
    Earthquake
    5.9
    • Remy
    • 1974
  • Paul Newman in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
    The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
    6.8
    • Lily Langtry
    • 1972

Soundtrack



  • All Night Long (2010)
    All Night Long
    6.6
    • performer: "Can't Help Loving That Man"
    • 2010
  • That's Entertainment! III (1994)
    That's Entertainment! III
    7.5
    • performer: "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" (1927) (uncredited)
    • 1994
  • Clark Gable, Grace Kelly, and Ava Gardner in Mogambo (1953)
    Mogambo
    6.6
    • performer: "COMIN' THROUGH THE RYE" (uncredited)
    • 1953
  • Ava Gardner, Kathryn Grayson, and Howard Keel in Show Boat (1951)
    Show Boat
    6.8
    • performer: "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" (1927), "Bill" (1927) (uncredited)
    • 1951
  • James Mason and Ava Gardner in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)
    Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
    6.9
    • performer: "How Am I to Know?" (uncredited)
    • 1951
  • Ava Gardner, Charles Laughton, Vincent Price, Robert Taylor, and John Hodiak in The Bribe (1949)
    The Bribe
    6.6
    • performer: "Situation Wanted"
    • 1949
  • Ava Gardner in One Touch of Venus (1948)
    One Touch of Venus
    6.6
    • performer: "Speak Low", "That's Him" ("Don't Look Now But My Heart is Showing", uncredited)
    • 1948
  • Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, William Conrad, and Charles McGraw in The Killers (1946)
    The Killers
    7.7
    • performer: "The More I Know of Love" (1946)
    • 1946

Videos24

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Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Ava Gardner Museum
    • Official Blog
  • Alternative name
    • A. Gardner
  • Height
    • 5′ 6″ (1.68 m)
  • Born
    • December 24, 1922
    • Grabtown, North Carolina, USA
  • Died
    • January 25, 1990
    • Westminster, London, England, UK(bronchial pneumonia)
  • Spouses
      Frank SinatraNovember 7, 1951 - July 5, 1957 (divorced)
  • Children
    • No Children
  • Parents
      Mary Elizabeth Gardner (Baker)
  • Relatives
      Beatrice Elizabeth Gardner(Sibling)
  • Other works
    (1940s) Radio: Appeared (as Narrator) in a "Showtime" broadcast of "Yankee Doodle Dandy".
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Biographical Movies
    • 22 Print Biographies
    • 8 Portrayals
    • 5 Interviews
    • 31 Articles
    • 6 Pictorials
    • 304 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Once met J.R.R. Tolkien and neither knew why the other was famous.
  • Quotes
    All I ever got out of any of my marriages was the two years Artie Shaw financed on an analyst's couch.
  • Trademarks
      Known off-screen for bawdy language and humor and free spirit
  • Nicknames
    • Snowdrop
    • Angel
    • The Christmas Eve Girl
    • The World's Most Beautiful Animal
  • Salaries
      Knots Landing
      (1979)
      $50,000 /episode

FAQ

Powered by Alexa
  • When did Ava Gardner die?
    January 25, 1990
  • How did Ava Gardner die?
    Bronchial pneumonia
  • How old was Ava Gardner when she died?
    67 years old
  • Where did Ava Gardner die?
    Westminster, London, England, UK
  • When was Ava Gardner born?
    December 24, 1922

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