Showbiz

The iconic Bond girls then and now: As Amazon gains ‘creative control’ of the franchise, a look at the glam stars

The iconic Bond girls then and now: As Amazon gains ‘creative control’ of the franchise, a look at the glam stars

Ursula Andress 

No James Bond film is complete without a Bond Girl and over the decades there have been an abundance of actresses who have taken on the roles. 

Earlier this week it was announced that Amazon has gained ‘creative control’ of the iconic 007 franchise prompting backlash from one Bond girl in particular. 

The franchise will no longer be in the hands of longtime producers Barbara Brocolli and Michael G Wilson, the daughter and stepson of Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli who launched the British spy franchise in 1962.

Meanwhile speculation continues to swirl over who will be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig’s departure from the role. 

And while fans don’t know who will be the next 007, or when it will hit our screens, the films would not be complete without the iconic Bond Girls. 

We take a look back at some of the original stars and what they look like now decades later.  

Ursula Andress 

Ursula Andress went down in history as the first Bond Girl after she walked out of the ocean wearing nothing but a white ʙικιɴι and a dagger on her hips as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No Pictured in 2017

Ursula Andress went down in history as the first Bond Girl after she walked out of the ocean wearing nothing but a white ʙικιɴι and a dagger on her hips as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No 

Ursula Andress went down in history as the first Bond Girl after she walked out of the ocean wearing nothing but a white ʙικιɴι and a dagger on her hips as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No.

The Swiss actress, now 88, went on to win the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year for the role where she starred alongside the late Eunice Gayson. 

She later starred as Vesper Lynd in the 1967 Bond parody Casino Royale. 

She also and went on to pose ɴuᴅᴇ for Playboy in 1965 after snaps of her from Nightmare in the Sun were published. She went on to feature in the magazine seven times over the next 15 years. 

Daniela Bianchi

Italian beauty queen Daniela Bianchi, now 83, played Russian agent Tatiana Romanova in the 1963 movie From Russia with Love Pictured in 2000

Italian beauty queen Daniela Bianchi, now 83, played Russian agent Tatiana Romanova in the 1963 movie From Russia with Love

Italian beauty queen Daniela Bianchi, now 83, played Russian agent Tatiana Romanova in the 1963 movie From Russia with Love. 

The model and actress began her career in beauty pageants when she was crowned Miss Universo Italia 1960 and went on to represent her country in Miss Universe in 1960. 

In 1970 the star retired from acting marrying a Genoan shipping magnate, Alberto Cameli, with whom she has one son called Filippo Cameli.

Barbara Bach

Barbara, 77, is best known for her starring role as the Bond girl Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 alongside Roger Moore Pictured in December 2022

Barbara, 77, is best known for her starring role as the Bond girl Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 alongside Roger Moore

After rising to fame she went on to marry former Beatles drummer Ringo star after the pair met on the set of the film Caveman in 1980 (pictured in March 2024)

After rising to fame she went on to marry former Beatles drummer Ringo star after the pair met on the set of the film Caveman in 1980 (pictured in March 2024) 

Barbara, 77, is best known for her starring role as the Bond girl Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 alongside Roger Moore. 

After rising to fame she went on to marry former Beatles drummer Ringo star after the pair met on the set of the film Caveman in 1980.

Instantly falling in love with one another, they married on April 27, 1981 at Marylebone Town Hall just a few weeks after the film was released.

Barbara shares daughter Francesca , 56, and son Gianni, 53, with ex-husband and Italian industrialist Augusto Gregorini, who she divorced in 1978 after 10 years of marriage. 

Jill St. John

Jill St. John was the first American Bond girl after she stepped into the role of Tiffany Case in the 1871 hit Diamonds Are Forever Pictured in 2014

Jill St. John was the first American Bond girl after she stepped into the role of Tiffany Case in the 1871 hit Diamonds Are Forever

Jill St. John was the first American Bond girl after she stepped into the role of Tiffany Case in the 1871 hit Diamonds Are Forever. 

Now 84, the actress went on to star in a series of other films including Holiday for Lovers, The Lost World, Tender Is the Night and Come Blow Your Horn, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination.

The star’s last role saw her play Mrs Clause int he TV movie Northpole in 2014 before she officially retired from acting. 

She has been married to American actor Robert Wagner since 1990 after eight years of dating. 

Lois Chiles

Lois Chiles starred as Holly Goodhead in the 1979 Roger Moore Bond film Moonraker in 1979 Pictured in 2015

Lois Chiles starred as Holly Goodhead in the 1979 Roger Moore Bond film Moonraker in 1979

Lois Chiles starred as Holly Goodhead in the 1979 Roger Moore Bond film Moonraker in 1979. 

The actress, 77, went on to star as Holly Harwood on Dallas from 1982 until 1983 as well as having other roles in The Way We Were, The Great Gatsby, Death On The Nile and Broadcast News. 

She was married to money manager Richard Gilder from 2005 until his death in 2020.  

Mie Hama

Mie Hama played Kissy Suzuki in the 1967 hit You Only Live Twice alongside Sean Connery Pictured on the cover of her book

Mie Hama played Kissy Suzuki in the 1967 hit You Only Live Twice alongside Sean Connery

Mie Hama played Kissy Suzuki in the 1967 hit You Only Live Twice alongside Sean Connery. 

Originally from Japan the actress, now 81, was working as a bus conductor when she was spotted by a producer and went on to become one of the most in demand actresses in Japan. 

 In 1969, she married the late Mitsuru Kaneko, a television executive producer of Fuji TV, with whom she has four children.

Valerie Leon

Valerie Leon has starred in two Bond films, starring as a H๏τel receptionist in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 and as a Lady in Bahamas in Never Say Never Again in 1983 (pictured) Pictured on Friday

Valerie Leon has starred in two Bond films, starring as a H๏τel receptionist in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 and as a Lady in Bahamas in Never Say Never Again in 1983 (pictured)

Valerie Leon has starred in two Bond films, starring as a H๏τel receptionist in The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977 and as a Lady in Bahamas in Never Say Never Again in 1983. 

The actress, 81, has been vocal in her backlash against Amazon after it gained ‘creative control’ of the iconic 007 British franchise. 

On Good Morning Britain today Valerie said: ‘The Bond franchise was very British and it won’t be anymore.

‘And obviously if they make films they won’t go into the cinema. Everything is so changed now, it just won’t be the same and I’m very old-fashioned anyway.’

Britt Ekland 

Britt Ekland starred as Mary Goodnight, Bond's ᴀssistant, in The Man With The Golden Gun in 1974 Pictured in 2024

Britt Ekland starred as Mary Goodnight, Bond’s ᴀssistant, in The Man With The Golden Gun in 1974

Britt Ekland starred as Mary Goodnight, Bond’s ᴀssistant, in The Man With The Golden Gun in 1974. 

Now 82, the actress has since admitted she ‘ruined her face’ by getting lip fillers and described it as ‘the biggest mistake of her life’.

She also appeared on Good Morning Britain in 2020 where she revealed she stopped having cosmetic surgery because she realised it wasn’t going to help her get better acting roles or make her ‘look better’. 

Honor Blackman 

Honor Blackman played Bond girl Pussy Galore in the 1964 hit Goldfinger alongside Sean Connery Pictured in 2011

Honor Blackman played Bond girl Pussy Galore in the 1964 hit Goldfinger alongside Sean Connery

Honor Blackman played Bond girl Pussy Galore in the 1964 hit Goldfinger alongside Sean Connery. 

The actress also starred as Julia Daggett in Shalako in 1968, and Hera in Jason and the Argonauts in 1963. 

She was also known for her role as Laura West in the ITV sitcom The Upper Hand from 1990 to 1996. 

The star died in April 2020 aged 94 from natural causes.  

Maud Adams

Maud Adams has starred as two different Bond girls, first playing Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 and later as the тιтle character in Octopussy in 1983 (pictured) Pictured in April 2024

Maud Adams has starred as two different Bond girls, first playing Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 and later as the тιтle character in Octopussy in 1983.

Maud Adams has starred as two different Bond girls, first playing Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 and later as the тιтle character in Octopussy in 1983.

The film and television star, who is fluent in five languages, hails from Sweden, but she has worked primarily in the United States after making a name for herself.

Her last appearance on TV for years was in the 2010 TV film The Rooneys, but she recently returned to the medium with a three-episode arc on Blood Legacy, a South African Netflix drama.

Grace Jones

Grace Jones played Bond Girl May Day in 1985 movie A View to a Kill but is most notably known for her successful music and modelling career Pictured performing in San Francisco in 2024

Grace Jones played Bond Girl May Day in 1985 movie A View to a Kill but is most notably known for her successful music and modelling career

Grace Jones played Bond Girl May Day in 1985 movie A View to a Kill but is most notably known for her successful music and modelling career. 

The star, 76, signed to Wilhelmina Modelling Agency at 18 and became one of the H๏τtest supermodels of the 1970s. 

As a singer she first gained recognition as part of the New York City scene during the Studio 54 disco era of the late 1970s. 

By the 1980s, she moved to a more new wave sound, drawing inspiration from other genres likes reggae, funk, post-punk and pop music.

Combining with her striking looks and fashionista tendencies, Jones would go on to score Top 40 hits with Private Life, Pull Up The Bumper, I’ve Seen That Face Before and Slave To The Rhythm.

She also starred in Conan the Destroyer in 1984 alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour played the role of psychic Bond girl Solitaire in Live and Let Die in 1973 when she was just 20 years old Pictured this month

Jane Seymour played the role of psychic Bond girl Solitaire in Live and Let Die in 1973 when she was just 20 years old

Jane Seymour played the role of psychic Bond girl Solitaire in Live and Let Die in 1973 when she was just 20 years old. 

And now the 73-year-old actress shared that the older she gets, the more interesting her roles are. 

‘The older I got, the more [interesting] the roles were and the more I really needed every muscle in my face to move,’ she told People.

‘I really love the roles I’m getting and if I’m playing character roles, which I am, but character roles that are still kind of Sєxy and fun,’ she said.

Diana Rigg 

Diana Rigg starred as Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service Pictured in 2019

Diana Rigg starred as Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Diana Rigg starred as Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

She went on to star on stage in the тιтled role in Medea in the West End and on Broadway before more recently playying Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones between 2013 to 2017. 

The actress died of lung cancer in September 2020 aged 82.  

Izabella Scorupco

Izabella Scorupco played Natalya Simonova in the 1995 film GoldenEye alongside Pierce Brosnan Pictured in 2018

Izabella Scorupco played Natalya Simonova in the 1995 film GoldenEye alongside Pierce Brosnan

Izabella Scorupco played Natalya Simonova in the 1995 film GoldenEye alongside Pierce Brosnan.

The Polish-Swedish actress, 54, is also known for her cover of the Shirley & Company song Shame Shame Shame which became a European hit after it was releaed in 1992. 

The star now lives in LA after becoming an American citizen in 2014. 

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