Ava Gardner

Ava Gardner was an American silver screen actress under contract with MGM Studios for 17 years. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001257/bio She was born Ava Lavinia Gardner on December 24, 1922 in Brogden, North Carolina. Her family was of meager means; her father was Irish Catholic and her mother was Scottish Baptist. http://www.adherents.com/people/pg/Ava_Gardner.htmlhttp://www.avagardner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=141&Itemid=107 Ava was discovered by an MGM studio executive who saw her portraits; she was signed after completing a screen test for studio head Louis B. Mayer. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=68501&apid=17013http://www.netflix.com/RoleDisplay/Ava_Gardner/33205 MGM promoted Ava as ““The World's Most Beautiful Animal.” http://www.starpulse.com/Actresses/Gardner,_Ava/Biography/

Ava’s debut film was in Whistle Stop in 1946. http://www.classicmovies.org/articles/aa121502a.htm She starred opposite Clark Gable and Grace Kelly in 1953’s Mogambo, a film which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046085/awards http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046085/ Ava was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her 1964 film The Night of the Iguana in the "Best Motion Picture Actress in a Drama” category. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058404/awards She was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 1560 Vine Street. http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000693/

Ava was married three times, and all of her marriages ended in divorce. http://www.fandango.com/avagardner/biographies/p25893 Mickey Rooney was so insistent on bedding the virginal Ava he asked for her hand in marriage. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/books/review/23bogdanovich.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2In Ava Gardner’s autobiography, Ava: My Story she wrote about how disinclined she was to lose her virginity to Mickey on their wedding night. http://www.adherents.com/people/pg/Ava_Gardner.html Their marriage lasted for one year, ending in 1943. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001682/bio Her second marriage was to bandleader Artie Shaw and also lasted for one year, resulting in divorce in 1946. http://www.biography.com/articles/Ava-Gardner-9306531 Ava then met singer Frank Sinatra; Frank abandoned his wife and children and ultimately married the silver screen actress in 1951. http://www.biography.com/articles/Ava-Gardner-9306531 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/books/review/23bogdanovich.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2 Ava became pregnant by Frank on two occasions; both pregnancies were aborted. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001257/bio Their marriage lasted for six years, and was hailed by People Magazine as one of the “Romances of the Century.” http://www.avagardner.com/about/biography.html http://www.avagardner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45:avas-story&catid=34:feature-components http://www.avagardner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=54 Fellow actress Arlene Dahl recounted to People Magazine a conversation with Ava in which "she told me that she never loved another man as much as she loved Frank." http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20116764,00.html

Ava was linked to businessman Howard Hughes, who pursued her for decades to no avail. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/books/review/23bogdanovich.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2When Hughes hit her hard enough one night to dislocate her jaw, she knocked him out cold with an ashtray. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1239961/Ava-Gardners-memoirs-man-eater-How-nearly-killed-Howard-Hughes-sent-Sinatra-half-mad-desire.html http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/12/glamorous-excess-ava-gardner-happy-birthday/ Aspects of their relationship was featured in the film The Aviator, with Kate Beckinsale playing the role of Ava Gardner. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338751/ Ava was also linked to George C. Scott, who allegedly beat her severely on at least two occasions, according to biographer Lee Server. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904935-8,00.html http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/books/review/23bogdanovich.html?pagewanted=1

Ava retired to Europe as her marriage to Sinatra disintegrated; she resided in Spain from 1955 to 1968, and then moved to England, where she lived until her death at 67 years of age. http://www.avagardner.com/about/biography.html http://www.avagardner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45:avas-story&catid=34:feature-components http://www.avagardner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=141&Itemid=107 Ava suffered two strokes before she succumbed to pneumonia on January 25, 1990 in London, England. http://www.classicmovies.org/articles/aa121502a.htm http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/ava-gardner.html Prior to her death, Frank Sinatra was paying her medical bills. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=68501&apid=17013 http://www.avagardner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=141&Itemid=107 Ava was buried alongside her family close to Sunset Memorial Park in Smithfield, North Carolina. http://www.avagardner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45:avas-story&catid=34:feature-components