Q. Who married more times Frank Sinatra or Ava Gardner?
A. Frank Sinatra was married four times and he was Ava Gardner's last of three husbands.
The Hollywood sex queen from North Carolina made several movies before 1946, but it wasn't until she starred in The Killers that she became known as a sex symbol and hot movie star. She was married to Mickey Rooney when she was only 19 years old in 1941 (they divorced in 1943), then to Artie Shaw from 1945 to 1946, and to Frank Sinatra from 1951 to 1957. She was said to be the "true love" of Sinatra.
She was ... regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood. She also had affairs with the Spanish bullfighters Luis Miguel Dominguin and Mario Cabré, and actors Howard Duff and George C. Scott, in the mid-1960s.
She was romanced by billionaire Howard Hughes who bought her diamonds and had her followed by private detectives. When Gardner broke off their relationship and started dating actor Howard Duff, Hughes responded by having a car that he had purchased for her, taken apart, piece by piece and left in her driveway.
Back to Frank and Ava; At the beginning of his relationship with Ava, Sinatra's career had dipped for a variety of reasons, but the press was still following him closely. By now Sinatra had proved conclusively that he was nothing like his public image of a shy, romantic dreamer leading a quiet family life, and the press knew that spreading gossip about him would sell newspapers and magazines.
As Ava was never one to hide her light under a bushel, there was little chance their relationship would proceed discreetly. The press was not alone in taking an interest.
The Catholic Church decided this was a matter for them, and denounced both parties. (Sinatra and his wife were Catholics.) Some members of the church instructed their flock to boycott Sinatra's records and Ava's movies.
Despite Mario Puzo's Godfather story, it was Ava Gardner who used her considerable clout to get Sinatra cast in his Oscar-winning role in From Here to Eternity (1953). That role and the award revitalized both Sinatra's acting and singing careers.
During their marriage Ava became pregnant, but she had an abortion due to the volatility of her marriage. She had always wanted children, but she said years later, "We couldn't even take care of ourselves."
After a stroke in 1989, which left Ava Gardner partially paralyzed and bedridden, Frank Sinatra paid all her medical expenses. She died of pneumonia in London, England at the age of 67 in 1990. After the news of her death, Sinatra's daughter Tina found him slumped in his room, crying, and unable to speak.
Edited from multiple sources
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