Ava Gardner
Known for Acting · 99 credits
- Born
- 1922-12-24
- Died
- 1990-01-25
- Place of birth
- Grabtown, North Carolina, USA
- Also known as
- Ava Lavinia Gardner · A. Gardner · Ава Гарднер · 에바 가드너 · エヴァ・ガードナー
Biography
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.
Known For
TV Shows (8)
Knots Landing
1979
as Ruth Sumner Galveston
What's My Line?
1950
as Self
Intimate Portrait
1993
as Self
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
2023
as Self (archive footage)
A.D.
1985
as Agrippina
Harem
1986
as Kadin
The Long Hot Summer
1985
as Minnie Littlejohn
Iconic Couples of Hollywood
2015
as Self (archive footage)
Movies (91)
The Cassandra Crossing
1976
as Nicole Dressler
Earthquake
1974
as Remy Royce-Graff
The Bible: In the Beginning...
1966
as Sarah
55 Days at Peking
1963
as Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
as (in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)
The Killers
1946
as Kitty Collins
Mayerling
1968
as Empress Elisabeth of Austria
Lone Star
1952
as Martha Ronda
Show Boat
1951
as Julie LaVerne
The Sentinel
1977
as Helen Logan
The Barefoot Contessa
1954
as Maria Vargas
Seven Days in May
1964
as Eleanor Holbrook
Mogambo
1953
as Eloise Y. Kelly
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
1988
as Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
1994
as (archive footage)
Rat Pack
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Singapore
1947
as Linda Grahame / Ann Van Leyden
Ride, Vaquero!
1953
as Cordelia Cameron
On the Beach
1959
as Moira Davidson
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
1952
as Cynthia Green
The Night of the Iguana
1964
as Maxine Faulk
Knights of the Round Table
1953
as Guinevere
That's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
as Self (archive footage)
The Sun Also Rises
1957
as Lady Brett Ashley
The Angel Wore Red
1960
as Soledad
The Band Wagon
1953
as Ava Gardner (uncredited)
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
1972
as Lily Langtry
The Hucksters
1947
as Jean Ogilvie
The Blue Bird
1976
as Luxury
Harem
1986
as Kadin
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
1951
as Pandora Reynolds
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2010
as Pandora Reynolds / Maria Vargas (archive footage)
Reunion in France
1942
as Marie, Parisian shopgirl (uncredited)
City on Fire
1979
as Maggie Grayson
Bhowani Junction
1956
as Victoria Jones
The Ballad of Tam Lin
1970
as Michaela Cazaret
Shadow of the Thin Man
1941
as Passerby at Racetrack (uncredited)
Du Barry Was a Lady
1943
as Perfume Girl (uncredited)
The Naked Maja
1958
as Maria Teresa, duchess of Alba, nicknamed Cayetana
3 Men in White
1944
as Jean Brown
The Great Sinner
1949
as Pauline Ostrovsky
Whistle Stop
1946
as Mary
Kennedy, Sinatra and the Mafia
2023
as Self (archive footage)
Swing Fever
1943
as Receptionist (uncredited)
The Little Hut
1957
as Lady Susan Ashlow
Sunday Punch
1942
as Ringsider (uncredited)
Twenty Years After
1944
as (archive footage)
The Bribe
1949
as Elizabeth Hintten
Fallout
2013
as Self (archive footage)
Lost Angel
1943
as Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
Screen Actors
1950
as Self (uncredited)
Ghosts on the Loose
1943
as Betty
Maisie Goes to Reno
1944
as Gloria Fullerton
La Rabbia
1963
as Self (archive footage)
Kolossal - The Magnificent Macisti
1977
as Self - Maria Cayetana, Duchess of Alba (archive footage)
Regina Roma
1982
as Mama
Priest of Love
1981
as Mabel Dodge Luhan
One Touch of Venus
1948
as Venus
Joe Smith, American
1942
as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Hitler's Madman
1943
as Franciska Pritric (uncredited)
East Side, West Side
1949
as Isabel Lorrison
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
2009
as Self (archive)
Chavela
2017
as Self (archive footage)
The Kidnapping of the President
1980
as Beth Richards
Young Ideas
1943
as Co-ed (uncredited)
Ava Gardner: Life Is Bigger Than the Movies
2017
as Self (archive footage)
Two Girls and a Sailor
1944
as Dream Girl (uncredited)
Calling Dr. Gillespie
1942
as Student (uncredited)
Permission to Kill
1975
as Katina Petersen
My Forbidden Past
1951
as Barbara Beaurevel
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
1998
as Self (archive footage)
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941
as Young Socialite (uncredited)
Blonde Fever
1944
as Minor Role (uncredited)
All Night Long
2010
as Self (archive footage)
Beautiful Like a Poem
2020
as Self (archive footage)
She Went to the Races
1945
as Hilda Spotts
This Time for Keeps
1942
as Girl in Car Lighting Cigarette (uncredited)
Kid Glove Killer
1942
as Car Hop (uncredited)
The Costume Designer
1950
as Self (archive footage)
Strange Testament
1941
as Waitress (uncredited)
Året var 1953
2003
as Self (archive footage)
De Madrid a la Luna
2006
as Self (archive footage)
Ava Gardner, the Gypsy of Hollywood
2018
as Self (archive footage)
On the Trail of the Iguana
1964
as Self
Legends of the West
1992
as Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Fancy Answers
1941
as Girl at Recital
We Do It Because
1942
as Lucretia Borgia (uncredited)
Frank Sinatra glömde aldrig Finspång
2003
as Self (archive footage)
Mighty Lak a Goat
1942
as Girl at Theatre Boxoffice
I'm a Civilian Here Myself
1945
as Dream Girl (uncredited)
About 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 n… With 99 credits spanning from 1941 to 2023, Ava Gardner has appeared in 91 films and 8 TV shows.
Fans searching for Ava Gardner movies, Ava Gardner filmography, or the latest projects starring Ava Gardner can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Ava Gardner Movies
- The Cassandra Crossing (1976) — as Nicole Dressler
- Earthquake (1974) — as Remy Royce-Graff
- The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966) — as Sarah
- 55 Days at Peking (1963) — as Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
- Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) — as (in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)
Where to Watch Ava Gardner Films
Most Ava Gardner movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Ava Gardner, check our movies catalogue and browse page.