Ava Gardner

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December 24, 1922

January 25, 1990(1990-01-25) (aged 67) Westminster, London, England, UK

After a lifetime of smoking, Gardner suffered from emphysema, in addition to an autoimmune disorder (which may have been lupus). Two strokes in 1986 left her partially paralyzed and bedridden.

Gardner was buried in the Sunset Memorial Park, Smithfield, North Carolina, next to her brothers and their parents, Jonah (1878–1938) and Mollie Gardner (1883–1943). The town of Smithfield now has an Ava Gardner Museum.

Ava Lavinia Gardner

Frank Sinatra (7 November 1951 - 5 July 1957) (divorced)

Artie Shaw (17 October 1945 - 25 October 1946) (divorced)

Mickey Rooney (10 January 1942 - 21 May 1943) (divorced)

Gardner became a friend of businessman and aviator Howard Hughes in the early to mid-1940s and the relationship lasted into the 1950s.

She and Robert Taylor had a brief love affair during the filming of The Bribe (1949).

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Actress

1986 Maggie (TV movie)

1986 Harem (TV movie)

1985 The Long Hot Summer (TV movie)

1985 Knots Landing (TV series)

1985 A.D. (TV mini-series)

1982 Regina Roma

1981 Priest of Love

1980 The Kidnapping of the President

1979 City on Fire

1977 The Sentinel

1976 The Cassandra Crossing

1976 The Blue Bird

1975 Permission to Kill

1974 Earthquake

1972 The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean

1970 The Ballad of Tam Lin

1968 Mayerling

1966 The Bible: In the Beginning...

1964 The Night of the Iguana

1964 Seven Days in May

1963 55 Days at Peking

1960 The Angel Wore Red

1959 On the Beach

1958 The Naked Maja

1957 The Sun Also Rises

1957 The Little Hut

1956 Bhowani Junction

1954 The Barefoot Contessa

1953 Knights of the Round Table

1953 Mogambo

1953 Ride, Vaquero!

1952 The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

1952 Lone Star

1951 Show Boat

1951 My Forbidden Past

1951 Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

1949 East Side, West Side

1949 The Great Sinner

1949 The Bribe

1948 One Touch of Venus

1947 Singapore

1947 The Hucksters

1946 The Killers

1946 Whistle Stop

1945 She Went to the Races

1944 Blonde Fever (uncredited)

1944 Maisie Goes to Reno

1944 3 Men in White

1944 Two Girls and a Sailor (uncredited)

1943 Lost Angel (uncredited)

1943 Swing Fever (uncredited)

1943 Young Ideas (uncredited)

1943 Ghosts on the Loose

1943 Hitler's Madman (uncredited)

1943 Du Barry Was a Lady (uncredited)

1942 Reunion in France(uncredited)

1942 Mighty Lak a Goat (short)

1942 Calling Dr. Gillespie (uncredited)

1942 Sunday Punch (uncredited)

1942 Kid Glove Killer (uncredited)

1942 This Time for Keeps (uncredited)

1942 Joe Smith, American (uncredited)

1942 We Do It Because- (short) (uncredited)

1941 Babes on Broadway (uncredited)

1941 H.M. Pulham, Esq. (uncredited)

1941 Shadow of the Thin Man (uncredited)

1941 Fancy Answers (short) (uncredited)

Appearances

1983 The American Film Institute Salute to John Huston (TV special)

1974 ABC's Wide World of Entertainment (TV series)

1968 Vienna: The Years Remembered (documentary short)(uncredited)

1964 On the Trail of the Iguana (documentary short)(uncredited)

1953 What's My Line? (TV series)

1953 The Band Wagon (uncredited)

1950 Screen Actors (documentary short) (uncredited)

1949 Some of the Best (documentary short)(uncredited)

Gardner, Ava. Ava: My Story. Bantam, 1990.

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Academy Awards

1954 Nominated Oscar Best Actress in a Leading Role for: Mogambo (1953)

BAFTA Awards

1965 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actress for: The Night of the Iguana (1964)

1960 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actress for: On the Beach (1959)

1957 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actress for: Bhowani Junction (1956)

Golden Globes

1965 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama for: The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Laurel Awards

1958 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Female Star 7th place

San Sebastián International Film Festival

1964 Won Prize San Sebastián Best Actress for: The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Walk of Fame

Won Star on the Walk of Fame Motion Picture At 1560 Vine Street

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When I lose my temper, honey, you can't find it any place.

I must have seen more sunrises than any other actress in the history of Hollywood.


Everybody kisses everybody else in this crummy business all the time. It's the kissiest business in the world.

I wish to live until 150 years old but the day I die, I wish it to be with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.

Maybe I just didn't have the temperament for stardom. I'll never forget seeing Bette Davis at the Hilton in Madrid. I went up to her and said, "Miss Davis, I'm Ava Gardner and I'm a great fan of yours." And do you know, she behaved exactly as I wanted her to behave. "Of course you are, my dear," she said. "Of course you are." And she swept on. Now that's a star.

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There is an Ava Gardner Museum of memorabilia in Smithfield, North Carolina.

She was continuously under contract at MGM, 1941-1958.

She spent her final years as a recluse in her London apartment -- her only companions were her longtime housekeeper Carmen Vargas and her beloved Welsh Corgi, Morgan. Two strokes in 1986 left her partially paralyzed and bedridden.

While pregnant with Frank Sinatra's child, she had an abortion because Sinatra was still married to his first wife.

Became pregnant twice by Frank Sinatra during their marriage; both times she had abortions.

Suffered from a severe case of emphysema in later life and could not travel far without an oxygen tank.

Underwent a hysterectomy in 1968 out of fear of contracting uterine cancer, which had previously claimed her mother's life.

The seventh and youngest child of poor tobacco farmers

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