Who knew Cora Crawley, Duchess of Grantham, had such a potty mouth? Well, kind of. Right now, starring as Hollywood icon Ava ...

It’s very liberating to take off that psychological corset,” the actress said of portraying the rambunctious Hollywood star ...

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

Here, McGovern shares the books and plays that helped her to tell Gardner’s story as it had never been told before. James ...

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

McGovern’s got a sadder and sweeter aura than Gardner, or at least than the constructed fatale character that Hollywood cast ...

The Secret Conversations, written by and starring Elizabeth McGovern just made its New York premiere at NY City Center, Stage ...

Elizabeth McGovern, known for her role in "Downton Abbey," has written a play about Ava Gardner. The play, titled "Ava: The Secret Conversations," explores Gardner's relationship with journalist ...

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.

ELIZABETH MCGOVERN: To be quite honest, I wasn't particularly familiar with Ava Gardner until I picked up a book that was sitting on my own bookshelf, which was called The Secret Conversations.

Elizabeth McGovern, known for her role in "Downton Abbey," has written a play about Ava Gardner.