Born in Illinois, raised in Los Angeles, and now based in London, Elizabeth McGovern is—like Air Mail—American by nature, Anglophile by nurture. The actress earned an Oscar nomination at 20 for playing Evelyn Nesbit in the 1981 film Ragtime, but it was her turn as Lady Cora Crawley in Downton Abbey (for five seasons and two films) that made her a household name. But now she’s back across the pond and pulling double duty as writer and star of the Off Broadway transfer of the West End’s Ava: The Secret Conversations. To celebrate playing Ava Gardner (also an American talent turned U.K. transplant), McGovern shares her key components to the good life. —Carolina de Armas
Airline: Whichever gets me there on miles.
Airport: J.F.K. The memories.
App: I hate them all. No, actually, I don’t mind Waze. It once took me so far out of my way, people weren’t even speaking English. It was amazing.
Bag: Whatever doesn’t cost $38,000. Absurd. I won’t do it.
Bike: The two-wheeler I rode without training wheels for the first time on July 4, 1966, in Evanston, Illinois.
Birthday: July 18—as I’m writing AIR Mail’s Perfect Ending.
