Ava Gardner > Quotes

“The truth is, honey, I've enjoyed my life. I've had a hell of a good time.”
― Ava Gardner

“When I’m old and gray, I want to have a house by the sea. And paint. With a lot of wonderful chums, good music, and booze around. And a damn good kitchen to cook in.”
― Ava Gardner

“Sex isn't all that important, but it is when you love someone very much.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“I wish to live to 150 years old, but the day I die, I wish it to be with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.”
― Ava Gardner

“When I lose my temper, honey, you can't find it any place.”
― Ava Gardner

“Go fuck yourself," I replied, always the lady. "I'm staying here.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“When you have to face up to the fact that marriage to the man you love is really over, that's very tough, sheer agony. In that kind of harrowing situation, I always go away and cut myself off from the world. Also, I sober up immediately when there is genuine bad news in my life; I never face it with alcohol in my brain. I just rented a house in Palm Springs and sat there and just suffered for a couple of weeks. I suffered there until I was strong enough to face it.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“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

“God knows I've got so many frailties myself, I ought to be able to understand and forgive them in others. But I don't.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“I have only one rule in acting--trust the director, and give him heart and soul.”
― Ava Gardner

“Hell, I suppose if you stick around long enough they have to say something nice about you.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“Deep down, I'm pretty superficial.”
― Ava Gardner

“I think the main reason my marriages failed is that I always loved too well but never wisely.”
― Ava Gardner

“I want to remember it all, the good times and the bad times, the late nights, the boozing, the dancing into dawns, and all the great and not-so-great people I met and loved in those years…”
― Ava Gardner

“I hate cheating. I won’t put up with it. I don’t do it myself.”
― Ava Gardner

“The truth is that the only time I'm happy is when I'm doing absolutely nothing. I don't understand people who like to work and talk about it like it was some sort of goddamn duty. Doing nothing feel like floating on warm water to me. Delightful, perfect.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“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.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“Our phone bills were astronomical, and when I found the letters Frank wrote me the other day, the total could fill a suitcase. Every single day during our relationship, no matter where in the world I was, I'd get a telegram from Frank saying he loved me and missed me. He was a man who was deseperate for companionship and love. Can you wonder that he always had mine!”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“Great idea," I said. "Call the police. Call the fucking police.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“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

“And I won 'em back fair and square. So what are you going to do about it? Want to fight? Who wants the first bloody nose?”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“I'm here to tell you, there ain't much forgiveness in that old-time religion. That particular savior was a mean son of a bitch. If you sinned, honey, he was going to get you, no doubt about it.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“So this was where lust was satisfied. If I'd been an old-time miner I'd have asked for my gold nugget back.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“He will always be my Sir Galahad.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“I either write the books or sell the jewels , and I'm kinda sentimental about the jewels.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations

“And the news got worse. It appeared that there was this whole other person Jesus Christ whose birthday a lot of people tended to confuse with mine. I was personally outraged. It was a long time before I forgave the Lord for that.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“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

“I caught his drift, but I wasn't going to argue for a single second. Just get me to the Hampshire House, that's all I cared about. Besides, how could I say, "No, I'm not a prositute. I'm Mrs. Frank Sinatra out for an early morning walk in the rain"?”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“Then, aided by the booze, like a fool I tossed off one of those throwaway lines that would have been better thrown away. "Ah, Frank! I thought you were going to be down here fucking Lana.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava: My Story

“He always called me Daughter. It was to distinguish me from his sister Ava. I loved being called Daughter. It sounded so possessive, and to be possessed when you are a child is just a wonderful feeling. It makes you feel safe. It makes you feel loved.”
― Ava Gardner, Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations