But Elizabeth McGovern, who stars as matriarch Cora in the long-running series and corresponding films, is taking on one of the biggest stars of Hollywood Golden Age, the famously tempestuous Ava ...

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

The actress weighs in on playing Ava Gardner, how she became a playwright and why the cast was 'frightened' to film 'Downton ...

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

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. The play, titled "Ava: The Secret Conversations," explores Gardner's relationship with journalist ...

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 ...

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

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.