Management Team
Ava Gardner loved to talk on the phone to spread the news and hear from family and friends.
Ava Gardner established her Trust in 1986 to provide for her surviving sisters and to provide funds for her designated beneficiaries, The Queen Victoria Hospital and the Animal Health Trust. The Trust has evolved through the years and today her publicity rights and intellectual property are managed by three of her family members who love and honor her. Trust funds are currently distributed to three beneficiaries: The Queen Victoria Hospital, the Ava Gardner Museum, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Ava would be happy she is still able to give.
Ava Thompson
Ava Thompson has served the Trust since September of 2018. She is the great niece and namesake of Ava Gardner. Ava is a retired school administrator with an MS degree in Educational Administration. During the span of her career, Ava served as a high school English teacher, a middle school and high school principal, and a district level administrator. She enjoys cycling, boating, and spending time with her four grandchildren.
Ava Silver
Ava Silver has served the Trust since September of 2020. She is the daughter of Ava Thompson and the fourth generation Ava in Ava Gardner’s family, a great, grandniece. Ava is a cardiac intensive care nurse at ECU Health Medical Center, a very large teaching hospital in eastern North Carolina. Ava is the mother of two children, Ava Isabella and Reeve, and enjoys traveling and scuba diving.
John Grimes
John Grimes, a resident of New York, is the newest member of the Ava Gardner Trust management team and a great nephew of Ava Gardner. He is an attorney with JP Morgan Chase where he is Managing Director of the Corporate Tax Division. John graduated from Duke University in NC and holds an LLM degree from New York University School of Law. He enjoys music, running, and he is active in his church.
“As a team, we are eager and enthusiastic to protect, promote, and continue the legacy of Ava Gardner – a legacy of giving! We love and honor her memory, her kindness, and her generous spirit!”
– Ava Thompson, Ava Gardner Trust