Actor profile
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.
92 Movies
8 TV Shows
101 Credits
Filmography
Movies & TV Shows
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
5th May 2010 as Pandora Reynolds / Maria Vargas (archive footage)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
10th March 2009 as Self (archive)
Legends of the West
8th September 1992 as Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
1st January 1977 as Self - Maria Cayetana, Duchess of Alba (archive footage)
