Ava Gardner
Born December 24, 1922 (Age: 103)
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Grabtown, North Carolina, USA
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.
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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Filmography
Beautiful Like a Poem
2020
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 97
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
2018
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 95
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1950s: The Golden Era of the Musical
2009
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as Self (archive)
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Age: 86
De Madrid a la Luna
2006
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 83
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
1998
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 75
That's Entertainment! III
1994
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as (archive footage)
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Age: 71
Legends of the West
1992
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as Lily Langtry in 'The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean' (archive footage) (uncredited)
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Age: 69
John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick
1988
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 65
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
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as (in "The Killers" / "The Bribe") (archive footage)
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Age: 59
Priest of Love
1981
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as Mabel Dodge Luhan
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Age: 58
The Kidnapping of the President
1980
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as Beth Richards
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Age: 57
The Sentinel
1977
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as Helen Logan
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Age: 54
The Cassandra Crossing
1976
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as Nicole Dressler
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Age: 53
The Blue Bird
1976
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as Luxury
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Age: 53
Earthquake
1974
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as Remy Royce-Graff
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Age: 51
That's Entertainment!
1974
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as (archive footage)
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Age: 51
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
1972
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as Lily Langtry
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Age: 49
The Bible: In the Beginning...
1966
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as Sarah
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Age: 43
The Night of the Iguana
1964
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as Maxine Faulk
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Age: 41
On the Trail of the Iguana
1964
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as Self
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Age: 41
Seven Days in May
1964
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as Eleanor Holbrook
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Age: 41
55 Days at Peking
1963
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as Baroness Natalie Ivanoff
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Age: 40
La Rabbia
1963
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 40
The Angel Wore Red
1960
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as Soledad
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Age: 37
On the Beach
1959
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as Moira Davidson
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Age: 36
The Naked Maja
1958
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as Maria Teresa, duchess of Alba, nicknamed Cayetana
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Age: 35
Bhowani Junction
1956
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as Victoria Jones
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Age: 33
The Barefoot Contessa
1954
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as Maria Vargas
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Age: 31
Knights of the Round Table
1953
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as Guinevere
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Age: 30
Mogambo
1953
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as Eloise Y. Kelly
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Age: 30
The Band Wagon
1953
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as Ava Gardner (uncredited)
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Age: 30
Ride, Vaquero!
1953
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as Cordelia Cameron
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Age: 30
The Costume Designer
1950
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 27
No Image
Screen Actors
1950
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as Self (uncredited)
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Age: 27
She Went to the Races
1945
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as Hilda Spotts
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Age: 22
I'm a Civilian Here Myself
1945
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as Dream Girl (uncredited)
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Age: 22
Reunion in France
1942
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as Marie, Parisian shopgirl (uncredited)
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Age: 20
Mighty Lak a Goat
1942
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as Girl at Theatre Boxoffice
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Age: 19
Calling Dr. Gillespie
1942
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as Student (uncredited)
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Age: 19
Sunday Punch
1942
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as Ringsider (uncredited)
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Age: 19
Kid Glove Killer
1942
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as Car Hop (uncredited)
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Age: 19
This Time for Keeps
1942
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as Girl in Car Lighting Cigarette (uncredited)
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Age: 19
Joe Smith, American
1942
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as Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
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Age: 19
We Do It Because
1942
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as Lucretia Borgia (uncredited)
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Age: 19
H.M. Pulham, Esq.
1941
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as Young Socialite (uncredited)
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Age: 18
Shadow of the Thin Man
1941
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as Passerby at Racetrack (uncredited)
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Age: 18
Strange Testament
1941
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as Waitress (uncredited)
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Age: 18
Fancy Answers
1941
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as Girl at Recital
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Age: 18