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Ava Gardner

Ava Gardner

Birthday: 1922-12-24 | Place of Birth: Grabtown, North Carolina, USA

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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2023
Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia

as    Self (Archive Footage)

2020
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

as    Pandora Reynolds

2018
Ava Gardner, the Gypsy of Hollywood

as    Self (archive footage)

2017
Chavela

as    Self (archive footage)

2017
Ava Gardner: Life Is Bigger Than the Movies

as    Self (archive footage)

2013
Fallout

as    Self (archive footage)

2010
All Night Long

as    Self (archive footage)

2006
De Madrid a la Luna

as    Self (archive footage)

2003
Frank Sinatra glömde aldrig Finspång

as    Self (archive footage)

2003
Året var 1953

as    Self (archive footage)

1998
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century

as    Self (archive footage)

1992
Legends of the West

as    Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' (archive footage) (uncredited)

1986
Harem

as    Kadin

1986
Harem

as    Kadin

1985
The Long Hot Summer

as    Minnie Littlejohn

1982
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

as    (in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)

1982
Regina Roma

as    Mama

1981
Priest of Love

as    Mabel Dodge Luhan

1980
The Kidnapping of the President

as    Beth Richards

1979
City on Fire

as    Maggie Grayson

1977
The Sentinel

as    Helen Logan

1977
The Cassandra Crossing

as    Nicole Dressler

1976
The Blue Bird

as    Luxury

1975
Permission to Kill

as    Katina Petersen

1974
Earthquake

as    Remy Royce-Graff