15 Facts About Ava Gardner: Hollywood’s Seductive Rebel

Ava Gardner's journey to Hollywood began with a simple photo. Her brother-in-law, a photographer, took her portrait and displayed it in the window of his New York studio. Someone connected to MGM saw it, was impressed and she was invited for a screen test. She had no acting experience, but her looks were enough to earn a contract.

When she started at MGM, Gardner had such a thick North Carolina accent that her famous screen test was silent. She received voice lessons to soften her accent, but kept the sultry, mysterious voice that later became her trademark.

Gardner was linked to many famous men, including Howard Hughes and matador Luis Miguel Dominguín. She was married three times, to Mickey Rooney, bandleader Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra, but none of her marriages was stable or happy.

Her first husband was the famous actor Mickey Rooney, whom she married in 1942 when she was just 19. The marriage lasted barely a year and a half, largely because of Rooney's constant infidelity. Gardner was deeply disappointed and became far more guarded afterwards.

Gardner's most famous relationship was her marriage to Frank Sinatra, marked by passion, jealousy and fierce fights. Sinatra left his wife Nancy for Ava, causing a huge scandal in the press. Their relationship was intense but ultimately too destructive to last, though they remained devoted to each other for life.

Gardner became pregnant during her marriage to Frank Sinatra but, as she later wrote in her memoir, chose to end the pregnancies, believing their volatile marriage and her career were no environment for a child. It was one of the most painful decisions of her life.

Billionaire and notorious playboy Howard Hughes was obsessed with Gardner. They had an on-off relationship, but he became increasingly possessive, even having her followed. She reportedly once knocked him out with an ashtray during a fight.

Ava Gardner and writer Ernest Hemingway shared a warm friendship and mutual admiration. She starred in several adaptations of his work, including The Killers (1946), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and The Sun Also Rises (1957), and visited him in Cuba, where she famously swam naked in his pool.

Gardner was considered difficult, not because she was unreasonable, but because she refused to be bossed around by studio executives. She turned down roles that didn't interest her, had little respect for the Hollywood elite and no patience for people who treated her as just a pretty face. She was strong, independent and fearless, which was rare at the time.

Despite her years of success, Gardner's life didn't end in grand style. She spent her last years in London, living relatively modestly. Two strokes left her partially paralyzed, and Frank Sinatra reportedly helped pay her medical bills.

Gardner was famous for her love of nightlife. She smoked heavily, could drink most men under the table and partied with the biggest stars of her time. She loved holding her own in male-dominated worlds, from bullfights to jazz clubs.

Long before Hollywood, Ava Gardner grew up the youngest of seven children of poor tobacco farmers in rural North Carolina. That down-to-earth, no-nonsense background stayed with her throughout her glamorous career.

Gardner disliked journalists and interviews and made no secret of it. She cursed, was blunt and gave sarcastic answers if she didn't feel like cooperating. Her refusal to follow Hollywood's glamour rules gave her a rebellious reputation.

Although she wasn't always considered a top actress, she starred in some of the most memorable films ever, like The Killers (1946), Mogambo (1953), which earned her an Oscar nomination, The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and On the Beach (1959). Her sensual presence made her unforgettable on screen.

Ava Gardner died of pneumonia in London in January 1990, at 67. She was buried in her hometown of Smithfield, North Carolina, where a museum is still dedicated to her life and career.