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 Peter ...

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 ...

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

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

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

NEW YORK — For all of Elizabeth McGovern's acting career, someone else wrote her lines. Now it's her turn. The ''Downton Abbey'' star pivots from British aristocracy to classic Hollywood royalty ...

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

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

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.