Ava Gardner, widely recognised as one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood history. With her mesmerising beauty, sultry voice, and magnetic screen presence, Gardner captivated audiences and established herself as a cinematic legend.
Ava Lavinia Gardner was born on December 24, 1922, in Grabtown, North Carolina, USA. She was the youngest of seven children in a poor tobacco-farming family. Her father, Jonas Bailey Gardner, was a sharecropper, and her mother, Mary Elizabeth “Mollie” Gardner, worked as a cook and housekeeper. Despite the family’s financial struggles, Ava’s early life was filled with love and support from her parents and siblings.
I don’t understand people who like to work and talk about it like it was some sort of goddamn duty. Doing nothing feels like floating on warm water to me. Delightful, perfect.
Ava Gardner
Ava’s journey to stardom began when her brother-in-law, Larry Tarr, a professional photographer, displayed her portrait in his New York City studio. This caught the attention of MGM talent scout Al Altman, leading to a screen test and a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941. Initially, Ava appeared in small roles, but her breakthrough came with the film noir classic “The Killers” (1946), where she played the role of Kitty Collins opposite Burt Lancaster.
In the next few years, she acted in many successful films like The Hucksters (1947), One Touch of Venus (1948), East Side, West Side (1949), Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951), Show Boat (1951), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), Lone Star (1952), Ride, Vaquero! (1953), and many more. Ava was known for her strong Southern accent, which initially posed a challenge in her acting career. However, she worked hard to refine her speech and became proficient in multiple languages.
In 1953 she starred in John Ford’s Mogambo (1953), alongside Clark Gable and Grace Kelly. Her performance as Eloise “Honey Bear” Kelly earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Ava played the role of Maria Vargas, a Spanish dancer turned Hollywood star in “The Barefoot Contessa (1954).” The film, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is considered one of her best performances. In “Bhowani Junction (1956),” directed by George Cukor, Ava portrayed Victoria Jones, a mixed-race Anglo-Indian woman caught in the turmoil of India’s independence. The film earned her a BAFTA nomination.
In Stanley Kramer’s post-apocalyptic drama “On the Beach (1959),” based on Nevil Shute’s 1957 novel of the same name, Ava starred alongside Gregory Peck, playing the role of Moira Davidson. For her performance in John Huston’s The Night of the Iguana (1964), she earned a Golden Globe and a BAFTA nomination.
She continued her film career for three more decades, appearing in the films “55 Days at Peking (1963),’ “Mayerling (1968),” “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972),” and “The Cassandra Crossing (1976).” In 1985, she had the major recurring role of Ruth Galveston on the primetime soap opera “Knots Landing.”
She continued to act regularly until 1986, when she acted in TV shows like Knots Landing (1985), A.D. (1985), and The Long Hot Summer (1985), and TV movies Harem (1986) and Maggie (1986).
Her remarkable work over the years was almost eclipsed by her numerous marriages and tabloid-ridden love life, including her tumultuous marriages to Mickey Rooney (1942-1943), Artie Shaw (1945-1946), and Frank Sinatra (1951-1957). Despite her high-profile marriages, she never had children.
After learning Flamenco for her role in “The Barefoot Contessa,” Ava developed a lifelong passion for the dance and often performed it at parties. Ava lived a life as glamorous as her film roles, forming friendships with Hollywood elites and international luminaries like Howard Hughes, Ernest Hemingway, Luis Miguel Dominguín, Benjamin Tatar, & Gregory Peck.
Ava spent her final years in London, living a reclusive life with her housekeeper and her beloved Welsh Corgi, Morgan. She passed away on January 25, 1990, from bronchial pneumonia.
Ava Gardner’s legacy endures through her resilience, charisma, & timeless performances. Her beauty, talent, and charisma made her one of the most iconic actresses of her time. She was ranked 25th on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest female screen legends. Her impact on the silver screen remains eternally etched in the hearts of film enthusiasts worldwide.
