In this article, we will discover the best, most glamorous and iconic world of Bond girls. With twenty-four James Bond movies released through five decades, Bond has met his fair share of glamorous ladies. It all started with Ursula Andress in a white bikini in Dr No through to Madeleine Swann in SPECTRE. Who are the most memorable and iconic Bond girls of the series, here are my favourite, who are yours let us know in the comments below.
Pussy Galore
Goldfinger, 1964
#10No list of the top Bond Girls would be complete without including Pussy Galore. The evocative name, the witty banter, and the subtle humour in Goldfinger makes for a memorable movie of the early film series. When thinking of James Bond girls, Honor Blackman’s performance as Pussy Galore is usually one of the first that comes to mind.
Previously, Honor Blackman played the role of judo expert Cathy Gale alongside Patrick Macnee in The Avengers for almost two years, before making her return to the big screen. Producer Cubby Broccoli had offered her the role in Goldfinger based on her performance as Cathy Gale, and Honor had to leave the series to appear.
Natalya Simonova
Goldeneye, 1995
#9 Although Pierce Brosnan made four Bond films, Goldeneye is still widely considered his best. The success can be attributed to the script, the director Martin Campbell (who also directed Casino Royale), and Polish-Swedish beauty Izabella Scorupco. Natalya Simonova was the highlight of the 1990s bond girls – intelligent, cute, and portrayed by a convincing actress.
Natalya appeared again in 1997 in Rare’s critically acclaimed video game shooter Goldeneye 007. The game was the third best selling game on the Nintendo 64 (and the best selling non-bundled game) which is still actively played today. Unfortunately, Natalya is cited as one of most annoying video game characters, due to her ease of death when the player must protect her.
Melina Havelock
For Your Eyes Only, 1981
#8 Roger Moore played a more casual, often comical James Bond. His first appearance came in the 1973 release, Live and Let Die, and by the end of the 1970s, the scripts started to get a little ridiculous. Moonraker was set in outer space, featured the return of Jaws with a cheesy girlfriend, and was a little heavy on the light comedy. When director John Glen took over for the 1981 release of, For Your Eyes Only, he decided to take James Bond back in a more serious direction.
Carole Bouquet was the perfect actress to bring in. She played Melina Havelock, who witnesses the brutal murder of her parents by hitman Hector Gonzalez. She tracks him down and kills him with a crossbow. Unsatisfied by his death alone, she seeks out the man who ordered the assassination. Melina was a very strong character and more integral to the story than previous Bond girls. More importantly, she was played by a competent actress who gave some drama and life to the film.
Mary Goodnight
The Man With The Golden Gun, 1974
#7 When considering all the Bond girls over the year, the name Mary Goodnight isn’t necessarily the first name to jump to mind. However, she was very funny and had a great chemistry with Roger Moore. Played by Britt Ekland (who became famous for her marriage to Peter Sellers), Mary Goodnight was Bond’s clumsy assistant in the 1974 release, The Man with the Golden Gun.
The character Mary Goodnight featured in several of the Ian Fleming novels, but only appeared once in the film series. However, the writers still managed to squeeze in plenty of funny situations. In one scene, Goodnight goes into James Bond’s room, planning to spend the night. Unfortunately for her, Miss Anders (from who James Bond needs information) enters the room, and Bond locks Goodnight in the wardrobe!
Anya Amasova
The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977
#6 Played by Barbara Bach and appearing in the 1977 release, The Spy Who Loved Me. Anya Amasova is one of the few early matches for James Bond. Bond is almost killed by her boyfriend in the Austrian Alps, and when they first meet, her men take care of Bond while she casually walks away, only to discover that they must work together, and the two compete to impress their respective bosses.
When Anya discovers that Bond killed her boyfriend, she vows to kill him when the mission is over. Instead, she develops feelings for Bond, and when the moment comes, she shoots the cork out of his Champagne instead. An intriguing character, that really helps to make the film.
Vesper Lynd
Casino Royale, 2006
#5 With Casino Royale’s cinematic release in 2006 came a welcome reboot of the James Bond series. Finally, since it was first published in 1953, and has the honour of the first James Bond book, Casino Royale was given a big screen release. It was the first James Bond movie in decades to make extensive use of an Ian Fleming story, something that greatly helped with the introduction of Daniel Craig as 007.
Vesper Lynd was the first Bond girl of the novels, and one of Ian Flemings’ stronger female characters. In a fantastic casting decision, French actress Eva Green was chosen to play Vesper in the film. Witty and deep, Eva lent a more natural beauty not usually associated with the role.
Teresa Di Vicenzo
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969
#4 If there was ever a girl that James Bond really fell for, it would be Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, who later became known as Tracy Bond, after their marriage. When Bond first meets her, he saves her from a suicide attempt, as Tracy tries to drown herself in the sea.
For the first time in the series, James Bond gets caught up with some thugs, and the girl gets away. This was even made into a joke, as new actor George Lazenby quips, “This never happened to the other fellow”, referring to Sean Connery. The two slowly fall in love throughout the film and finally marry. However, it was not happily ever after as Tracy is tragically killed minutes after their marriage, by James Bond’s nemesis Blofeld.
Appearing in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Tracy was played by English actress Diana Rigg, who like Honor Blackman, was also fresh from the set of The Avengers. Diana Rigg and George Lazenby shared real chemistry on screen, and Tracy Bond was the Bond girl most true to her character from the Ian Fleming novels.
Tracy Bond is also the most referenced Bond girl in the series. She is mentioned explicitly by Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me, James Bond visits her grave in For Your Eyes Only, Felix Leiter mentions her in Licence to Kill, and she is also subtly referenced in The World is Not Enough and Goldeneye.
Jill Masterson
Goldfinger, 1964
#3 Shirley Eaton played the golden girl Jill Masterson in Goldfinger in 1964 and was one of the first throw-away Bond girls. James Bond breaks into Auric Goldfinger’s hotel suite and catches Masterson helping him cheat at cards by using binoculars and an earpiece. Bond seduces her and makes Goldfinger lose his money by threatening to call the beach police. All the time she is in her underwear.
To get his revenge, Goldfinger kills her and paints her entire body in gold paint. This image of the golden girl is one of the most memorable and iconic of the series, and Shirley Eaton was even featured on the cover of Life magazine.
Tatiana Romanova
From Russia With Love, 1963
#2 Played by Daniela Bianchi, Tatiana Romanova appeared in From Russia with Love in 1963. She was assigned a mission by Rosa Klebb, to lure James Bond into Istanbul so he could steal a Lektor decoding machine. Klebb would then send henchman Red Grant to kill Bond and steal the machine after James Bond had assumed all the risk. Of course, Tatiana isn’t told the whole story and believes she is working for her motherland.
Bianchi was chosen out of over 200 actresses who auditioned for the role following an ad for a voluptuous, young Gretta Garbo. The scene where Tatiana first meets Bond, by climbing into his bed, is now used as a screentest for all potential James Bond actors.
Honey Ryder
Dr No, 1962
#1 The original Bond girl is, to me, still the best. When Ursula Andress who played Honey Ryder, stepped out of the sea in the white bikini, she set a standard for every Bond girl to follow. Complete with a hunting knife and sea shells, Honey Ryder may not be as iconic as the golden girl, Shirley Eaton, but the scene still remains one of the most memorable of Dr No and the film series as a whole.
From the first moment on the beach, until the final scenes of the film, with James Bond and Honey drifting out to sea in a boat with no fuel, Ursula Andress did justice to the character from the original novel. Ian Fleming liked her performance so much, he mentioned her in his novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Honourable Mentions
Jane Seymour as Solitaire (Live and Let Die, 1973)
Dr Kananga keeps Solitaire as a virtual prisoner in the 1973 release, Live and Let Die. Given a unique gift, Solitaire has psychic powers given to her by reading Tarot cards. Kananga knows that like her mother, should Solitaire ever make love, she would lose her gift. A gift that only Kananga alone will take should the time come.
Solitaire is clearly worried when the lover’s card is drawn twice on two separate occasions. James Bond uses this to his advantage when he asks Solitaire to choose from a deck containing all lovers cards.
While Jane Seymour has a good on-screen persona, the character of Solitaire doesn’t fair so well. Providing little assistance to Bond, Solitaire finds herself getting captured by Kananga too easily, leading Bond to rescue her on a number of occasions.
Halle Berry as Giacinta ‘Jinx’ Johnson (Die Another Day, 2002)
In a tribute to the Bond series legacy, Jinx is first seen rising out of the sea Honey Ryder style, in an orange bikini. Jinx who is working for the NSA and happens to be working on the same case as James Bond, to kill Zao in 2002 release, Die Another Day.
An expert markswoman, pilot and supremely fit, Jinx makes it clear she is more than Bond’s equal. Using her skills and streetwise ability she manages to kill Miranda Frost at the end of the film whilst Bond kills Graves.
Not one to be tied down to one situation or to one relationship, she comments to Bond that her relationships don’t last. Unusually Jinx uses Bond as much for her own devices as Bond uses her, in her sexually aggressive attitude.
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