Ava et Elizabeth

"Sometimes she would do a scene particularly well. I would thank her and she would fall in my arms and say, 'Christ, you know I can't act.' And I'd say, 'What is it then? It's just as good as acting.' But she never believed me... Ava is like Marilyn. She's really frightened. She would cry a lot, she had no confidence in herself, she felt she couldn't act, she had no home, no base, no family, she missed them terribly, she felt she'd missed out in life. It was hard to believe her unhappiness. When you looked at her, even then, she was...the most beautiful human being in the world." — Nunnally Johnson, who directed Ava in "The Angel Wore Red" (1960). Photo of Ava is a still from the film.

Ava Gardner postcard. Via the Ava Gardner: A Life in Movies Facebook page.

Photo via the official Ava Gardner website. Although she had no children of her own, Ava was a fabulous Aunt and family member in general, spoiling all of her nieces and nephews and younger cousins with gifts and love. They were all in return besotted with her and a few of them are or have been involved in the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina.

Ava Gardner, actual Goddess, photographed without makeup.