The Bond women have been hit with a collection of arduous blows over time, from bitter divorces and trade feuds to mysterious deaths.
Actor Roger Moore with actresses Maud Adams and Britt Ekland on the set of The Man With The Golden Gun (Picture: Corbis through Getty Photos)
They had been glamorous and dangerous, however life post-Bond hasn’t at all times been a easy experience for the franchise’s main girls. There have been 79 Bond women, starting with Ursula Andress in 1962.
Through the years, and throughout greater than 25 movies, the characters have transitioned from “scantily clad” love pursuits to roles of better complexity. Nonetheless, away from the cameras, the feminine leads have confronted a collection of powerful setbacks. From acrimonious divorces and trade disputes to unexplained deaths and profession disruptions, the truth of life after Bond unveils a a lot darker facet to Hollywood’s most iconic ladies. We check out what occurred to a few of them.
As Honey Ryder in Dr No, Ursula Andress turned the inaugural Bond woman. Rising from the ocean in that now-iconic white bikini at merely 26-years-old, she established a sample that may characterise the franchise for many years. Nonetheless, the function additionally turned out to be considerably of a double-edged sword. Regardless of a collection of movie roles, Ursula, now 90-years-old, discovered it troublesome to flee the picture that catapulted her to fame, experiences the Mirror.
“That bikini made me into successful,” Ursula acknowledged in a uncommon 2001 interview. “It gave me freedom, cash, energy.” Nevertheless it got here with a worth – leaving her perpetually outlined by her breakthrough function. She mirrored: “I used to be by no means actually seen. They solely noticed the physique. Generally I might arrive on set and I knew – this wasn’t about making a movie. It was about taking my garments off.”
Initially, she embraced it – turning into one of the audacious stars of the Sixties, unashamedly sensual and fiercely unbiased. When questioned why she posed nude for Playboy seven occasions at a time when different actresses shied away from it, she merely responded: “As a result of I am stunning.” Her private life was equally sensational. After her marriage to John Derek led to scandal, she was related to stars together with Ryan O’Neal, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Franco Nero – relationships that had been passionate and sometimes tumultuous.
English actress Shirley Eaton pictured in character as Jill Masterson, mendacity on a mattress coated in gold paint subsequent to actor Sean Connery on the set of the James Bond movie ‘Goldfinger’ in 1964 (Picture: Popperfoto through Getty Photos)
In 1980, when she turned a mom at 44 to son Dimitri with actor Harry Hamlin, she stepped away from the limelight, opting as a substitute to lift him removed from the glare of fame. She acknowledged: “Dimitri is the one factor I’ve finished that lasted. He’s my masterpiece.” The star, who as soon as dated a number of the world’s most sought-after males, ultimately retreated from the highlight and, for the previous three a long time, has lived as a digital recluse.
In January, Ursula lodged a legal criticism towards her late former supervisor. Eric Freymond is alleged to have misplaced £16million of Ursula’s fortune, along with her complete internet price estimated at £18million.
She instructed Swiss German publication Blick: “For eight years, I used to be courted and wooed. They lied to me ruthlessly and exploited my goodwill and belief in a perfidious, even legal, method to take the whole lot from me. They usually had been relying on my age. I am so devastated.”
Eric is accused of squandering the fortune by way of a collection of doubtful transactions and making quite a few artwork purchases on her behalf, with out her approval. Not one of the items have been displayed or given to her. Eric handed away in July, 2025.
Claudine Auger – Domino Derval
French actress Claudine Auger introduced magnificence to Thunderball, delivering the ultimate blow to the movie’s villain by capturing him with a harpoon gun. She additionally starred in Triple Cross, Anybody Can Play and The Killing Sport, however her final on-screen look was in 1997’s Le rouge et le noir. She subsequently retreated from the limelight, main a comparatively non-public life till her passing in 2019.
Claudine was wedded to French movie director Pierre Gaspard-Huit from 1959 to 1969, earlier than marrying businessman Peter Brent in 1984. The couple additionally had a son. Claudine handed away on the age of 78 on December 18, with representatives confirming she had battled a long-term sickness previous to her dying.
Claudine Auger was a Bond Lady (Picture: Getty)
Britt Ekland – Mary Goodnight
Swedish actress Britt Ekland starred alongside Roger Moore within the 1974 James Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun. Her marriage to comedy legend Peter Sellers was as tumultuous because it was high-profile. Their relationship ended amidst allegations of infidelity, with Britt later brazenly discussing the emotional affect it had.
Britt, now 83, has portrayed Peter as domineering and mentally unstable. In a big BBC Arts documentary, Peter Sellers: A State Of Comedian Ecstasy, the previous Bond actress displays on her four-year marriage from 1964.
She alleges that Peter would choose her clothes and threaten her with divorce “each Friday evening”. She continues: “He clearly suffered from or was bipolar, severely bipolar. He was a really tormented soul who ought to have had extra assist. However as a substitute he was unable [to] as a result of he was such a precious asset.”
Peter Sellers handed away on July 24, 1980, on the age of 54, resulting from a coronary heart assault. The couple divorced in 1968 after 4 years of matrimony. Additionally they had one daughter collectively, Victoria. She beforehand had a relationship with Rod Stewart, however their love affair ended fairly unpleasantly amid allegations he had been untrue to her with Alana Hamilton, his first spouse. Britt later sued him for $12million in palimony, however reportedly settled out of courtroom for about $500,000.
Discussing the romance, she knowledgeable the newspaper: “I’m not a vengeful or bitter individual, however I’ve a sense that he dislikes me intensely.”
Britt proceeded to specific her regrets about present process cosmetic surgery, confessing it “destroyed” her look and “ruined” her face, including: “It was the largest mistake of my life.” The mannequin and actress pledged she would by no means have any additional beauty procedures following a botched plumping operation in Paris.
The celeb revealed she sought recommendation from a Harley Road clinic about enhancing her lips and was related with a Paris-based physician to hold out the process. Britt acknowledged she requested a ‘average’ therapy however as a substitute acquired a number of injections of Articol into her lips. Articol was in style as a filler within the 90s however has since misplaced its enchantment because it was by no means accepted to be used within the US.
Chatting with Platinum journal, Britt expressed she ‘not has the need to look any completely different than I’m.’ “The consequences are everlasting. Immediately, most docs will not need to use it,” Britt clarified, who talked about it took 20 years of ‘painful’ work to try to ‘soften’ the filler away.
Revealing simply how a lot her life has reworked lately, she instructed the Day by day Mail : “I have never been enthusiastic about intercourse for about 20 years. I’m not searching for anybody and I do not need to be in a relationship.
“I sleep in king-sized beds solely in my properties in Sweden and LA, in order that my [dog] Tequila has sufficient room.”
Jill St John – Tiffany Case
When Jill St John starred as Tiffany Case in 1971’s Diamonds Are Without end , she was already firmly established inside Hollywood’s elite circles. She continued to carry out her function, showing in Sitting Targets, Emerald Level N.A.S., Seinfeld and Northpole.
She has had a turbulent romantic historical past, with 4 marriages. She has beforehand been married to Neil Dubin, businessman Lance Reventlow and singer Jack Jones.
Martine Beswick was one of many extra memorable Bond women (Picture: Getty)
Now aged 85, Jill is presently married to NCIS star Robert Wagner. She has additionally been romantically concerned with notable figures comparable to Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Henry Kissinger, Jack Nicholson and Adam West.
In 2018, Wagner was recognized as an individual of curiosity within the dying of his former spouse Natalie Wooden, who tragically drowned in 1981.
Martine Beswick – Zora
Recognised for her roles in each From Russia with Love and Thunderball, Martine Beswick, at present 84, established herself as one of many franchise’s most formidable ladies.
Nonetheless, behind the scenes, she had conflicts with co-stars and trade figures, with accounts of heated disputes and even bodily confrontations on set. Her notorious struggle scene with co-star Aliza Gur, who portrayed Vida, was reportedly full of “actual stress”.
Martine as soon as acknowledged, “I used to be a really good woman however Aliza was a cow. We had horrible clashes and I used to be disgusted along with her”.
Martine later voiced her issues about being underpaid and undervalued, deciding to go away Hollywood on the peak of her fame. Her most up-to-date movie was 2022’s Saturnalia. Between 1967 and 1973, she was married to Ursula Andress’ former boyfriend, John Richardson.
British rock and pop singer Rod Stewart poses for some pictures along with his then girlfriend, Swedish actress Britt Ekland. (Picture: Helmut Reiss/United Archives through Getty Photos)
Kim Basinger – Domino Petachi
By the point she starred in By no means Say By no means Once more, Kim Basinger was already on her method to turning into a celebrity. Nonetheless, her profession took a dramatic downturn within the Nineteen Nineties when she withdrew from the movie Boxing Helena, sparking a lawsuit that led to a multi-million-pound judgment towards her.
Following appeals, the damages had been overturned and settled for a lesser sum, although the case stays a infamous Hollywood occasion of contract disputes.
The monetary repercussions pressured Basinger into chapter 11 in 1993, however she rebuilt her wealth following her 1997 Oscar victory. Her private life additionally unfolded within the public eye, notably her tumultuous relationship and eventual divorce from actor Alec Baldwin, which concerned a bitter custody dispute over their daughter, Eire.
Tanya Roberts – Stacey Sutton
Finest recognized for A View to a Kill, Tanya Roberts led a quieter but no much less turbulent life after Bond. Her profession steadily slowed, though she was additionally recognised for Charlie’s Angels and That ’70s Present.
Tanya was wedded to Barry Roberts from 1974 till his passing in 2006.
Swiss actress Ursula Andress performs the function of Honey Ryder in director Terence Younger’s 1962 James Bond film Dr. No, recognized in French as James Bond Contre le Docteur No, and based mostly on the novel by Ian Fleming. (Picture by Sundown Boulevard/Corbis through Getty Photos) (Picture: Corbis through Getty Photos)
Her companion, Lance O’Brien, peculiarly introduced her dying a day early on January 3, 2021, after she developed sepsis from a urinary tract an infection. Nonetheless, a day afterward January 4, she was declared lifeless following a number of organ failure.
Honor Blackman – Pussy Galore
Honor Blackman introduced one of the memorable – and controversially named – Bond women to life as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. Initially launched because the trusted pilot to villain Auric Goldfinger, her character finally switches allegiance, teaming up with Bond to thwart his plans.
By the point she joined the franchise, Blackman was already well-known to viewers resulting from her function as Cathy Gale within the in style spy collection The Avengers. Her success in Bond paved the way in which for a collection of high-profile roles throughout each movie and tv, together with elements in The Secret of My Success, Bridget Jones’s Diary and her remaining big-screen look, Cockneys vs Zombies in 2012.
She remained a daily fixture on British tv as effectively, starring as Laura West in The Higher Hand all through the Nineteen Nineties, along with visitor roles in long-standing favourites comparable to Casualty, Coronation Road and Midsomer Murders.
Off-screen, Blackman married actor Maurice Kaufmann in 1961, and the couple later adopted two kids. Their marriage concluded in 1975 after over a decade collectively.
Blackman handed away on April 5, 2020, on the age of 94. In a touching tribute, her household hailed her as a “a lot adored mom and grandmother” in addition to a performer of “massively prolific artistic expertise,” lauding her distinctive mixture of intelligence, magnificence and energy that helped safe her place as one of the iconic figures in movie and tv.
Shirley Eaton – Jill Masterson
Shirley made historical past in 1964’s Goldfinger when she turned the primary Bond woman to be killed off, along with her character succumbing to pores and skin suffocation after being coated in gold paint in one of many movie’s most memorable scenes.
The actress, now 89, subsequently appeared in an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, alongside Across the World Below the Sea and cult traditional The Million Eyes of Sumuru. It was whereas filming for the latter that she selected to step away from appearing with a purpose to focus on her household.
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Shirley recalled: “After I completed The Million Eyes of Sumuru and was coming house within the aircraft was after I made the choice to stop. I hated being away from my child Jason and his brother Grant. Nonetheless, I did take pleasure in being the depraved woman Sumuru in two fairly dangerous movies, which I had not had the possibility to be earlier than. I do consider they’ve grow to be cult movies now.”
In 1957, she wed Colin Rowe and the couple stayed collectively till his passing in 1994. She is mom to sons Jason and Grant and remarked in a 1999 interview with Starlog: “A profession is a profession, however you are a mom till you die.”
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