Broadway play and cast herself against type as Ava Gardner, re-creating that Hollywood performer’s late-in-life meetings with journalist Peter Evans.

McGovern says Gardner was caught in the impossibility of women's expectations at the time — be sexy but not sleep around. She had many lovers but also felt the shame society imposed.

Elizabeth McGovern must have felt the same way as a lovely, ambitious, aspiring newcomer eager to make her own mark on the ...

It’s not hard to see why Ms. McGovern was drawn to Gardner’s story. The playwright and leading lady’s dark-haired, ivory-skinned beauty recalls her subject somewhat, though Ms. McGovern, who is now in ...

Gardner’s steamy personal life is recalled in “Ava: The Secret Conversations,” a play adapted by its star, Elizabeth McGovern, from the book “The Secret Conversations” by Peter Evans and ...

The actress wrote and stars in a new play based on the never-quite-released memoir of Hollywood legend Ava Gardner.

Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey) will reprise her role as movie star Ava Gardner in the play Ava: The Secret Conversations at New York City Center this summer. The play, written by McGovern ...

Elizabeth McGovern poses during a photo call for the off-Broadway play "Ava: The Secret Conversations" in New York on June 30, 2025. Credit: AP/Evan Agostini ...

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Roanoke Valley SPCA. NEW YORK – For all of Elizabeth McGovern's acting career, someone else wrote her lines. Now it's her turn. The “Downton Abbey ...

Tags: Entertainment, Mickey Rooney, Aaron Costa Ganis, Richard Burton, Sean Penn, Ava Gardner, Milos Forman, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, U.S. news, Brad Pitt ...

Theater-Elizabeth McGovern FILE - Elizabeth McGovern poses during a photo call for the off-Broadway play "Ava: The Secret Conversations" in New York on June 30, 2025.

McGovern says Gardner was caught in the impossibility of women's expectations at the time — be sexy but not sleep around. She had many lovers but also felt the shame society imposed.