Schauspielerin * nach der High School beginnt eine einjährige Ausbildung zur Sekretärin * wird durch Fotos ihres als Fotograf arbeitenden Schwagers in New York von einem Angestellten des hiesigen Büros von MGM entdeckt * 1941 nach Probeaufnahmen ("She can't act. She can't talk. She's terrific. Sign her.", Louis B. Mayer) unterschreibt einen Langzeitvertrag bei MGM * erhält zunächst eine Sprachausbildung, durchläuft die PR-Maschinerie des Studios und posiert als Pin-Up-Girl * 1942-44 taucht in ca. 15 (meist) unerwähnten [uncredited] Miniparts in unbedeutenden B-Pictures verschiedener Genres auf * 1945 spielt erste Hauptrolle an der Seite von George Raft in Whistle Stop * 1946-47 feiert erste Erfolge mit Rollen in The Killers und The Hucksters * in Folgezeit verkörpert mehrmals verführerische und sinnliche Schönheiten und gilt bis Mitte der 50er Jahre als Hollywoods "love goddess" (Liebesgöttin) * in den frühen 50ern erreicht den Höhepunkt ihrer Karriere (The Snows of Kilimanjaro, 1952; Mogambo, 1953; Titelrolle in The Barefoot Contessa, 1954) * ab 1958 freelance actress [ohne vertragliche Bindung an ein Studio] * ab Ende der 50er Jahre lebt in Europa (erst in Spanien, dann in England) * 1963 glänzt noch einmal an der Seite von Richard Burton in The Night of the Iguana und übernimmt in folgenden Jahren meist Charakterparts bzw. Nebenrollen * 1985-86 Fernseharbeit (Mehrteiler A.D.; The Long Hot Summer; Harem) * 1990 Veröffentlichung (postum) ihrer Memoiren * verheiratet mit Mickey Rooney (1. Ehemann, 1942-43) & Frank Sinatra (3. Ehemann, 1951-57)
Three Men in White (1944-USA * Willis Goldbeck / Jean Brown)
Maisie Goes to Reno (1944-USA * Harry Beaumont / Gloria Fullerton)
She Went to the Races (1945-USA * Willis Goldbeck / Hilda Spotts)
Whistle Stop (1945-USA * Léonide Moguy / Mary)
# The Killers (Rächer der Unterwelt, 1946-USA * Robert Siodmak ... Kitty Collins) (Kurzgeschichte von Ernest Hemingway) (04-06; 4608)
The Hucksters (Der Windhund und die Lady, 1947-USA * R: Jack Conway, B: Luther Davis; Edward Chodorov, George Wells / Roman von Frederic Wakeman, K: Harold Rosson, M: Lennie Hayton, D: Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, AG-Jean Ogilvie) 115m-Satire
Singapore (Singapur, 1947-USA * John Brahm / Linda)
One Touch of Venus (Venus macht Seitensprünge, 1948-USA * William A. Seiter / Venus)
# The Bribe (Geheimaktion Carlotta, 1948-USA * Robert Z. Leonard ... Elizabeth Hintten) (Kurzgeschichte von Frederick Nebel) (06-07; 4902)
The Great Sinner (Der Spieler, 1948/49-USA * Robert Siodmak / Paulina Ostrovska)
East Side, West Side (Verlorenes Spiel, 1949-USA * R: Mervyn LeRoy, B: Isobel Lennart / Roman von Marcia Davenport, K: Charles Rosher, M: Miklos Rozsa, D: Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Van Heflin, AG-Isabel Lorrison) 108m-Melodram
# My Forbidden Past (1949-USA * Robert Stevenson ... Barbara Beaurevelle) (Roman von Polan Banks) (10-11; 5104)
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Pandora und der fliegende Holländer, 1950-GB * Albert Lewin / Pandora)
» Show Boat (Mississippi-Melodie, 1950/51-USA; R: George Sidney, B: John Lee Mahin, K: Charles Rosher, ML: Adolph Deutsch, D: Kathryn Grayson, AG-Julie LaVerne, Howard Keel) 107m-Musical (Roman von Edna Ferber)
# Lone Star (Mann gegen Mann, 1951-USA * Vincent Sherman ... Martha Ronda) (05-06; 5202)
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (Schnee am Kilimandscharo, 1952-USA * Henry King / Cynthia)
# Ride, Vaquero! (Verwegene Gegner, 1952-USA; R: John Farrow, B: Frank Fenton, K: Robert Surtees, M: Bronislau Kaper, D: Robert Taylor, AG-Cordelia Cameron, Howard Keel) 90m-Western
Mogambo (Mogambo, 1953-USA * John Ford / Eloise Y. Kelly)
Knights of the Round Table (Die Ritter der Tafelrunde, 1953-GB * Richard Thorpe / Königin Ginevra)
The Barefoot Contessa (Die barfüßige Gräfin, 1954-USA * Joseph L. Mankiewicz / Maria Vargas)
Bhowani Junction (Knotenpunkt Bhowani, 1955-GB * George Cukor / Victoria Jones)
The Little Hut (Die kleine Hütte, 1956-GB * Mark Robson / Susan Ashlow)
The Sun Also Rises (Zwischen Madrid und Paris, 1957-USA; R: Henry King, B: Peter Viertel, K: Leo Tover, M: Hugo Friedhofer, D: Tyrone Power, AG-Lady Brett Ashley, Mel Ferrer, Errol Flynn, Eddie Albert) 129m-Melodram /Roman von Ernest Hemingway/
La Maja desnuda / The Naked Maja (Die nackte Maja, 1958-I * Henry Koster / Herzogin von Alba)
# On the Beach (Das letzte Ufer, 1959-USA * Stanley Kramer ... Moira Davidson) (Roman von Nevil Shute) (01-03; 5912)
La sposa bella / The Angel Wore Red (Glut, 1959/60-I/USA * Nunnally Johnson / Soledad)
55 Days at Peking (55 Tage in Peking, 1962-USA * Nicholas Ray / Natalie Ivanoff)
Seven Days in May (Sieben Tage im Mai, 1963-USA * John Frankenheimer / Eleanor Holbrook)
The Night of the Iguana (Die Nacht des Leguan, 1963-USA * John Huston / Maxine Faulk)
La Bibbia / The Bible (Die Bibel, 1964/65-I * John Huston / Sarah)
Mayerling (Mayerling, 1967/68-GB/F; R: Terence Young, B: Terence Young; Denis Cannan, K: Henri Alekan, M: Francis Lai, D: Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason, AG-Kaiserin Elisabeth) 141m-Historienmelodram (Roman von Claude Anet + Roman von Michael Arnold)
Tam-Lin / The Devil's Widow (1968/69-GB * Roddy McDowall / Michaela)
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (Das war Roy Bean, 1972-USA * John Huston / Lily Langtry)
# Earthquake (Erdbeben, 1974-USA * Mark Robson ... Remy) (7411)
Vollmacht zum Mord / Permission to Kill (1975-A * Cyril Frankel / Katina Petersen)
The Blue Bird (Der blaue Vogel, 1975/76-USA/SU * George Cukor / Luxus)
The Cassandra Crossing (Cassandra Crossing, 1976-GB/I * George Pan Cosmatos / Nicole Dressler)
The Sentinel (Hexensabbat, 1976-USA * Michael Winner / Miss Logan)
City on Fire (Stadt in Flammen, 1978-CDN/USA * Alvin Rakoff / Maggie Grayson)
The Kidnapping of the President (Kidnapping of the President, 1979/80-CDN * George Mendeluk / Beth)
Priest of Love (1980/81-GB * Christopher Miles / Mabel Dodge Luhan)
Karin J. Fowler: Ava Gardner: A Bio-Bibliography. New York/London: Greenwood, 1990
Jane Ellen Wayne: Ava Gardner: Her Life and Loves. London: Robson, 2004In this compelling rags-to-riches story, Jane Ellen Wayne charts the life and loves of the gorgeous green-eyed beauty, Ava Gardner. Spotted by an MGM scout who saw her photograph in a shop window, Ava's career took off when she was hired by movie mogul Louis B Mayer after a screen test. In this sizzling biography, the role of Ava's Men - including Howard Hughes, Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, and third husband and love of her life Frank Sinatra - is central to a revealing and candid account of a great star, a sultry sex goddess, hell-raiser, diva and MGM's final screen legend. Shortly after arriving in Hollywood, Ava met and married film star Mickey Rooney. The marriage that lasted a year and a week. Her second husband was band leader Artie Shaw, one of the "swing era" greats. The marriage was also short-lived. Ava's third and last husband, and great love of her life, was singer Frank Sinatra. They were married in 1951 and divorced in 1956, unable to survive the pressure of their careers and their jealousy of each other. "People Magazine" classified Frank and Ava's marriage as one of the Romances of the Century. > 268 p., [16] p. of plates : ill.
Lee Server: Ava Gardner: Love Is Nothing. London: Bloomsbury, 2010Ava Gardner was the sex symbol who dazzled the other sex symbols. Elizabeth Taylor and Lana Turner thought her the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. She drove Frank Sinatra to the brink of suicide. Ernest Hemingway carried around one of her kidney stones as a sacred memento. Howard Hughes begged her to marry him: she punched out his front teeth. Her charismatic presence, jaw-dropping beauty and scandalous adventures fuelled the legend that she became. Yet she was a farmgirl who became a reluctant goddess, and who retreated from the world's gaze for the last years of her life. Filled with fresh insights gleaned from interviews with Ava's colleagues, friends and lovers, this is the definitive biography of Hollywood's most glamorous, restless and uninhibited star. > Paperback, 551 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. * Originally published: 2006.