James Bond Girls – Then And Now
EUNICE GAYSON
Eunice Gayson was the Bond girl who started it all. She starred in the first two Bond films from 1962 and ‘63,Dr. No and From Russia With Love, respectively.
Gayson was originally to play the role of Miss Moneypenny, but ended up playing Sylvia Trench, Bond’s first film crush. The studio floated the idea to allow Gayson to play a recurring role in the series, but they eventually nixed that idea. Still, she’ll always be known as our first Bond girl.
URSULA ANDRESS
Another of the original Bond Girls, Andress helped immortalize the roles with her scene-stealing ocean appearance that would decades later be cleverly nodded to by Halle Berry in Die Another Day.
DANIELA BIANCHI
Bianchi, born in Italy, was a model and the first runner-up in the 1960 Miss Universe pageant, which helped land her several film roles in both Italy and France.
But her big break came when Bianchi landed the role of Tatiana Romanova in From Russia with Love, alongside fellow Bond girl Eunice Gayson. Bianchi continued to work in film after Bond, but the film remains her most prominent role.
SHIRLEY EATON
Shirley Eaton had been an accomplished actress prior to landing a role in the Bond series, and continued to work in film to late 1969.
Eaton had only a brief appearance in a Bond movie, but it was perhaps one of the most memorable. Eaton appeared as the woman painted all in gold in what many consider one of the best Bond films, Goldfinger. The iconic scene was so popular LIFE magazine used Eaton on its cover for the November 1964 issue.
HONOR BLACKMAN
Blackman made her big screen debut in 1947 with the film Fame is the Spur and continued to land roles in film and TV, most notably in Jason and the Argonauts and the British TV series, The Avengers. Her role in The Avengers helped land her one of the most iconic Bond girl roles in the film series.
Joining the cast of Goldfinger, the third Bond film, Blackman played the role of Pussy Galore (man, that’s a cringe-worthy name in this day and age), which continues to be one of the most recognizable in the entire film series.
LUCIANA PALUZZI
