“If I had my life to live over again, I’d live it the same way. Maybe a few changes here or there, but nothing special. The truth is, honey, I’ve enjoyed my life. I’ve had a hell of a good time.”

I don’t know what they carved on her tombstone, but Ava Lavinia Gardner did indeed have a hell of a good time in her life.

Born on December 24, 1922 (she later made pointed remarks about that Jesus Christ person trying to steal her birthday), the youngest of seven children to poor cotton and tobacco farmers, her ancestry included Scots-Irish, English, Irish, French Huguenot, and Native American (Tuscarora).

“She can’t sing, she can’t act, she can’t talk, she’s terrific. Sign her!”

After a New York talent scout wanna-be spotted her picture in the window of her bro-in-law’s photography studio and dropped some hints, said bro-in-law and sister sent the 18 year old over the MGM’s New York talent office for a screen test.

Al Altman didn’t even bother to record her speaking, since her North Carolina accent was so thick he could barely understand her. But when Louis B. Mayer saw her screen test, he sent a telegram with the above quote, signing her to a standard MGM contract. And provided a speech coach.

“In one scene, when I was supposed to say, “In a pig’s eye you are,” what came out was, “In a pig’s ass you are.” Old habits die awfully hard.” ― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

Louis B. Mayer would not be the last man to fall in love with Ava for her stunning looks.

Her list of men was almost as long as her list of films.

• Micky Rooney, actor, husband (1 year)
• Artie Shaw, band leader, husband (1 year)
• Frank Sinatra, musician/actor, husband (6 year marriage, 2 abortions)
• Howard Hughes, eccentric businessman/aviator, friend
• Ernest Hemingway, author, friend
• Luis Miguel Dominguin, bullfighter, lover
• Benjamin Tatar, actor, lover

“Maybe, in the final analysis, they saw me as something I wasn’t and I tried to turn them into something they could never be. I loved them all but maybe I never understood any of them. I don’t think they understood me.” ― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

Her beauty made people underestimate her talent.

“She had this natural poignancy and her feelings ran very deep. To my mind she developed into a fine actress. I’ve been telling her that for years, and she always waves it off.” -Gregory Peck (Ava: My Story)

She was nominated for an Academy Award for Mogambo, and for several BAFTA’s (British Academy Awards) as well as a Golden Globe for The Night of the Iguana, but never won.

“Don’t think for a minute that bad publicity and endless criticism don’t leave their claw marks on everyone concerned. Your friends try to cheer you up by saying lightly, “I suppose you get used to it, and ignore it.” You try. You try damned hard. But you never get used to it. It always wounds and hurts.” ― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

Although she acted in dozens more, she is best remembered for roles in:
The Hucksters (1947), Show Boat (1951), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Bhowani Junction (1956), On the Beach (1959), Seven Days in May (1964), The Night of the Iguana (1964), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), Earthquake (1974), and The Cassandra Crossing (1976)

“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.” (Ava: My Story)

Ava continued acting in feature films and television until 1986, when she suffered two strokes. She died in London in 1990 at the age of 67.

Because of her sultry, screen siren roles, and because at the time her romance began with Frank Sinatra he was married to another woman, she was pilloried by the Hollywood press, the Catholic church, the Hollywood establishment, and Sinatra’s fans. If she wasn’t outright called a slut, she was called everything but.

“She was exactly the opposite of the roles she played. She looked like a femme fatale and she wasn’t. She was really sweet and dear and lovely…” –Arlene Dahl (Ava: My Story)

Even after their marriage ended, she and Sinatra remained friends till the end of her life.

About the Great Sluts in History series:
What makes a woman a “slut,” anyway? From Lilith to Jezebel to Sandra Fluke, it seems that whenever women are in positions of power, open about their sexuality, “too outspoken,” or heaven forbid, all three, they are labeled sluts by some men (and sometimes other women), in an attempt to shame them into “knowing their place.” And into meekly accepting “their place.”

This series will look at flawed and wonderful heroines throughout history who insisted on “Following their own weird,” no matter how much it cost them to do so. And how, by doing so, they made the world better for all humans, of all genders, who followed them.

“…it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights… If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all.” ~Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1995