Biography

Ava Lavina Gardner was born on December 24, 1922 in Grabtown, North Carolina, to Mary Elizabeth (née Baker) and Jonas Bailey Gardner. Born on a tobacco farm, where she got her lifelong love of earthy language and going barefoot, Ava grew up in the rural South. At age 18, her picture in the window of her brother-in- law's New York photo studio brought her to the attention of MGM, leading quickly to Hollywood and a film contract based strictly on her beauty. With zero acting experience, her first 17 film roles, 1942-1945, were one-line bits or little better. After her first starring role in B-grade Whistle Stop (1946), MGM loaned her to Universal for her first outstanding film The Killers (1946). Few of her best films were made at MGM which, keeping her under contract for 17 years, used her popularity to sell many mediocre films. Perhaps as a result, she never believed in her own acting ability, but her latent talent shone brightly when brought out by a superior director, as with John Ford in Mogambo (1953) and George Cukor in Bhowani Junction (1956).

After three failed marriages, dissatisfaction with Hollywood life prompted Ava to move to Spain in 1955; most of her subsequent films were made abroad. By this time, stardom had made the country girl a cosmopolitan, but she never overcame a deep insecurity about acting and life in the spotlight. Her last quality starring film role was in The Night of the Iguana (1964), her later work being (as she said) strictly "for the loot". In 1968, tax trouble in Spain prompted a move to London, where she spent her last 22 years in reasonable comfort. Her film career did not bring her great fulfillment, but her looks may have made it inevitable; many fans still consider her the most beautiful actress in Hollywood history. Ava Gardner died at age 67 of bronchial pneumonia on January 25, 1990 in Westminister, London, England.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Known off-screen for bawdy language and humor and free spirit

Natural brunette hair

Voluptuous figure

In 1995 she was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#68).

Daughter of Jonas Bailey (1878-1938) and Mary Elizabeth Gardner (1883-1943). Both were born, raised, married and died in North Carolina.

Her early education was sketchy; by 1945 she had read two books, the Bible and "Gone with the Wind." In later life she more than made up for this lack by continual self-education.

Flamenco became one of her favorite pastimes after she learned it for The Barefoot Contessa (1954); increasingly proficient and needing little sleep, she often danced all night.

Under contract at MGM from 1941-58.

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. Although she could easily afford her medical expenses, Frank Sinatra wanted to pay for her to visit a specialist in the US, and she allowed him to make the arrangements for a medically-staffed private plane. Her last words (to her housekeeper Carmen) were, "I'm so tired", before she died of pneumonia at age 67. Vargas took her body home to her native North Carolina for private burial. None of her ex-husbands attended.

Once met J.R.R. Tolkien and neither knew why the other was famous.

Was a good friend of Kathryn Grayson and Lena Horne, despite the fact that Ava and Lena both competed for the part of Julie LaVerne in Show Boat (1951).

A statue of her from The Barefoot Contessa (1954) was given to Frank Sinatra as a gift. He kept it in his backyard garden well after their divorce. When he married Barbara Marx, she forced him to get rid of it.

Once named "The World's Most Beautiful Animal" (in a 1950s publicity campaign).

Although she often gave the name of her North Carolina hometown as Grabtown, and at other times as Smithfield, the township is a crossroads community named Brogden. "Grabtown" is a nickname given to it by locals. Smithfield is a larger town seven miles west.

Frank Sinatra nicknamed her "Angel".

During her final years living in London, she became the dinner companion of director Michael Winner.

An Australian reporter found her quite adept at foul language, and her swearing was "like a sailor and a truck driver were having a competition." She threw a glass of champagne at the reporter, who said that at the moment she did so "the only thing I could think was how bloody gorgeous the woman was".

Her three husbands were eventually married to a total of 20 brides between them.

Her paternal great-grandparents, William Gardner and Cynthia Eliza Batts, were also the paternal great-great-great-great-grandparents of Mary Elizabeth Winstead. This makes Ava and Mary Elizbaeth second cousins, three times removed.

In Italy most of her films were dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta. She was occasionally dubbed by Dhia Cristiani, Lydia Simoneschi and Andreina Pagnani.

When her first husband, Mickey Rooney, brought his hugely successful musical "Sugar Babies" to London in the late 1980s, she confessed to him that she had contemplated suicide after being left partially paralyzed by two strokes in 1986.

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

In Charlton Heston's autobiography "In the Arena" he revealed that she behaved badly during the troubled shoot of 55 Days at Peking (1963). For example, she stopped the filming when a Chinese extra took her picture without permission. Heston also stated that her character was killed off to keep the producers and director from having to deal with her anymore.

By 1945 she was smoking three packs of Winston cigarettes a day.

She and Gregory Walcott both came from the same hometown.

Was considered for the role of Leslie Benedict in Giant (1956) but was unable to leave Pakistan, where she was filming Bhowani Junction (1956).

She sought the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967), and reportedly called Mike Nichols saying,"I want to see you! I want to talk about this 'Graduate' thing!" Nichols did not seriously consider her for the role, but did end up visiting her hotel. He later recounted that "she sat at a little French desk with a telephone, she went through every movie star cliché. She said, 'All right, let's talk about your movie. First of all, I strip for nobody'".

Mentioned in On the Town (1949).

All I ever got out of any of my marriages was the two years Artie Shaw financed on an analyst's couch.

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.

Nobody ever called it an intellectual profession.

Deep down, I'm pretty superficial.

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

I made it as a star dressed, and if it ain't dressed, I don't want it.

[in 1985, on why she came out of retirement to appear on a prime-time soap opera] For the loot, honey, for the loot.

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.

[on Robert Taylor] I knew him as a warm, generous, intelligent human being. Our love affair lasted three, maybe four months. A magical little interlude. I've never forgotten those few hidden months. I think Bob, despite all his efforts, couldn't break the mold of the beautiful lover. The film world remembers him that way, and I have to say that I do, too.

[asked if her time at MGM had been any fun at all] Christ, after 17 years of slavery, you can ask that question? I hated it, honey. I mean, I'm not exactly stupid or without feeling, and they tried to sell me like a prize hog.

I really had very little to contribute, so I played a lot of hatcheck girls, and did mob scenes, extra scenes, dancing scenes, just to have the experience of being on a set. I spent years at that. If the studio wanted a photograph to advertise a film they'd say, 'Who is it that has a good pair of legs and a good pair of breasts and is pretty and not working?' And it was always Ava because she was never working.

God knows I've got so many frailties myself, I ought to be able to understand and forgive them in others. But I don't.

[on why she had an abortion during her marriage to Frank Sinatra] We couldn't even take care of ourselves. How were we going to take care of a baby?

It's fine being stared at as a pretty girl, but not as a freak. When I tried to make myself ugly, they said, "Oh, she's lost her looks." They weren't thinking of me as an actress. I wasn't allowed to be unattractive.

[1982] I was born with good health and a strong body and spent years abusing them. Now I spend a lot of time taking care. I go on tremendous health kicks - exercise, yogurt, no booze.

[1982] I don't go to movies.

[on leaving Hollywood] Yes, I was swept up, but I didn't have a nervous breakdown or go wild on booze. Years later I couldn't cope any longer. So I quit to remain sane.

I had no doubt I'd be a movie queen. The stupidity of youth, no doubt.

[1982] My life's okay. I wouldn't say this is the best part, but it's better than most people's. I'll just take the rest as it comes.