Photo: MGM / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ava Gardner fascinates me less as a screen goddess than as a survivor of the studio system who refused to be only that. A farm girl from rural North Carolina turned into MGM's idea of glamour, she could have stayed decorative; instead she delivered real, smoky performances in The Killers and The Barefoot Contessa that still hold up. What I respect most is her late-life candor — the autobiographical impulse to tell her own story in her own voice after decades of being narrated by others. She lived loudly, loved messily, and never apologized for either. That unvarnished honesty, to me, is her most modern quality.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ava Gardner
- Name (Japanese)
- エヴァ・ガードナー
- Reading
- えゔぁ・がーどなー
- Born
- December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Dog
- Origin
- Grabtown, North Carolina, United States
- Occupation
- actor / model / autobiographer / film actor / television actor
2. Background
- High school
- Newport News High School
- University
- Barton College
Awards & achievements
- 1964 Silver Shell for Best Actress
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Killers | — | |
| Notable work | The Barefoot Contessa | — | |
| Notable work | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Ava Gardner born?
December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990.
Where is Ava Gardner from?
Ava Gardner is from Grabtown, North Carolina, United States.
What does Ava Gardner do?
Ava Gardner works as actor, model, autobiographer, film actor, television actor.
What is Ava Gardner known for?
Notable works include The Killers, The Barefoot Contessa, The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
Actor — see all → · Model — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.