- Ava Gardner: Just short of my 35th birthday, I did something I'd been threatening to do for a long time. Something that no one would believe I'd ever manage. No, it was not leaving the picture business, but it was close. I left the United States for good and all and settled in Spain.
- Ava Gardner: I disliked the exhibitionists aspects of the business. And why did I keep doing it? For the loot! Always for the loot.
- Ava Gardner: It was Madrid I really loved. The damn place had life. The narrow streets were full of old bars with tapas on the counters and hams hanging from the rafters. Places that rang with the sounds of guitarists, castanets and flamenco dancing. If you knew your way around, the nights went on forever.
- Ava Gardner: The Spanish people responded in kind, accepting me without question. After all, I represented everything that they disapproved of. I was a woman, living alone, divorced, a non-Catholic, and an actress.
- Ava Gardner: The woman who lives in me, in Ava Gardner, has always been mistreated and disappointed. Life has not been good to me. It brought me success, wealth, and everything I could wish. But, for the rest, life denied me everything.
- Ava Gardner: When Dad died in 1938, I thought nothing as painful as that could happen to me. He made me feel special. I didn't expect very much from life, but Daddy made me feel loved. He made me feel safe. No Daddy can do more than that for his daughter.
- Ava Gardner: I leave Spain, but this is the only place in the world where I lived peacefully. For I could hardly feel happiness. Now I must live, walk, and face the light; but the light of Spain is too strong for the tired eyes of the barefoot Contessa.
- Nieves Herrero, Herself - Author: [regarding Ava] To her, Spain was a wonderful country where she could do whatever she pleased without being told off. She could stand on a restaurant table, pull down her panties, and - pardon me - pee in front of everyone. And no one would say a thing.