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 ...

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 ...

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

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.