16 Iconic Bond Girls That You Might Have Forgotten About

The James Bond franchise first began in 1962, with Sean Connery being the very first 007. While other actors have portrayed the famous character since then, there is one thing that remains the same in every movie. This is the presence of a Bond girl, who is someone or more than one girl that the secret agent gets close to. We might be familiar with the most recent actresses who became Bond’s girlfriends, but you may not remember the older ones.

1. Shirley Eaton, 1964

James Bond’s Goldfinger was one of the most popular movies in the 60s. Jill Masterson, played by Shirley Eaton in 1964, was the famous gold-painted girl who helped Bond blackmail Goldfinger. Unfortunately, her story didn’t end well because Goldfinger killed her to get revenge.

Her career soared after Bond and she participated in more than 40 movies and TV series until 2001. In 1999 she even wrote about her experience as a Bond girl under the title Golden Girl, which had great success.

2. Honor Blackman, 1964

English actress Honor Blackman was one of Bond’s girls in Goldfinger back in 1964. She played Pussy Galore, who was running a group of female pilots under the control of Auric Goldfinger.

Blackman never stopped acting, with her most recent appearance in 2015 in the You, Me & Them TV series. She was best known for her long-time role as Catherine Gale on The Avengers TV show. She has also played Professor Lasky in several episodes of Doctor Who back in the 80s.

3. Tsai Chin, 1967

Tsai Chin is a Chinese-born British actress who played a Bond girl named Ling, in the very first scene of You Only Live Twice in 1967. In the famous scene, the 2 of them talk about how Chinese girls are different from all other girls.

Chin didn’t confine herself to acting, she is also a singer, a teacher, and an author of the book Daughter of Shanghai. After Bond she played in several major movies like Memoirs of a Geisha, Now You See Me 2, and Casino Royal. Her latest movie appearance was in Lucky Grandma in 2019.

4. Karin Dor, 1967

The beautiful ginger-haired Helga Brandt in You Only Live Twice was played by German actress Karin Dor back in 1967. Helga pretends to fall for Bond only to get the chance to kill him. After she fails, she ends up being killed herself.

Dor played in more than 70 movies in her career as an actress both in America and Germany. Her latest role was Rosa in Die abhandene Welt. She died in 2017.

5. Jane Seymour, 1973

In Live and Let Die from 1973, Jane Seymour plays the role of Solitaire, a psychic and tarot card reader. At first she’s working against Bond, but soon she ends up partnering with him.

She is an actress and producer and is present in one of these manners in many Hollywood movies including, Wedding Crashers. Seymour won a Golden Globe for her role in the East of Eden miniseries in 1982, has been nominated for more, and also is an Emmy award winner for her role in Onassis: The Richest Man in the World.

6. Britt Ekland, 1974

Britt Ekland, a Swedish actress, was well known for her role as Mary Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974. Mary was Bond’s personal assistant in London and during a mission in Hong Kong.

Ekland is a singer and a writer, having written 3 books under the titles: True Britt, Sensual Beauty: And How to Achieve It and Sweet Life. She has played in several action movies especially during the 70s and 80s and she’s been off the screen since 2013.

7. Barbara Bach, 1977

Barbara Bach was Triple X in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me. Under this code name, Anya Amasova had the same mission as Bond regarding some stolen microfilms. After many conflicts, they end up working together.

Bach didn’t make many appearances after her participation in the James Bond film. Her last movie role was in To the North of Katmandu. On the set of Caveman in 1981 where she played Lana, she met Beatles drummer Ringo Starr who she’s been married to ever since.

8. Carole Bouquet, 1981

In the film For Your Eyes Only (1981), Carole Bouquet plays the role of Melina Havelock. After finding out who killed her family, Melina works with Bond against the same enemy, seeking revenge.

Bouquet mostly participated in French movies. She also won the César Award for Best Actress for her role in Too Beautiful for You. In 2004 she played a small role as Juliet, in the Sex and the City episode “An American Girl in Paris: Part Deux.”

9. Grace Jones, 1985

The famous model and singer played Bond girl, May Day. In the film, A View To a Kill (1985), May was an assassin working with Bond’s enemy and killed his driver, but after being betrayed by her own, she joins Bond’s team.

The American-Jamaican supermodel has played in several films after James Bond, but mostly has made many movie soundtracks for major movies over the years. Rumor has it that she’s going to make a cameo appearance in the new Bond movie.

10. Carey Lowell, 1989

Carey Lowell, an American actress, played Pam Bouvier, a CIA freelance pilot, in one of the Bond series in 1989. In the movie License to Kill, Pam meets up with Bond at a bar and they fly together.

Lowell has played in American movies like Sleepless in Seattle and Leaving Las Vegas, but her biggest role was on the Law & Order TV series where she played Jamie Ross from 1996 to 2001.

11. Famke Janssen, 1995

Famke Janssen was first introduced as a Bond girl in Goldeneye in 1995 as Xenia Onatopp. Even though she flirted with Bond, she also tried to kill him.

The Dutch actress has not only played in many TV series including Nip/Tuck, Blacklist, and How to Get Away With Murder, but also in major movies. Her most popular roles were Jean Grey / Phoenix in the X-Men and Lenore Mills in the Taken film trilogy.

12. Denise Richards, 1999

Denise Richards played Dr. Christmas Jones in Bond’s film The World is Not Enough in 1999. James Bond saved her life and she helped him discover a hidden bomb.

She’s played in several secondary roles in blockbuster movies like Scary Movie 3 and Love Actually. Her latest appearance was in The Bold and the Beautiful as Shauna Fulton and she is now filming more shows.

13. Sophie Marceau, 1999

The gorgeous French actress Sophie Marceau was also a Bond girl, under the name Elektra King in The World is Not Enough in 1999. After she was kidnapped, she developed Stockholm syndrome and then planned to destroy Istanbul with her kidnapper.

Marceau is an actress, director, screenwriter, and author. She has played in more than 40 movies so far, mainly French ones, and her latest role was Hélène in Madame Mills, une voisine si parfaite.

14. Eva Green, 2006

Eva Green, from France, was chosen for the role of Vesper Lynd. Lynd was managing the funds that were lent to James Bond for his poker game with Le Chiffre in Casino Royale in 2006. Vesper ended up saving Bond’s life after he was poisoned.

Green’s cinema career began in Bernardo Bertolucci’s film The Dreamers in 2003. After her role as a Bond girl, she played in several movies and TV series. Her latest work was the recreation of the Disney film Dumbo where she plays Colette Marchant.

15. Olga Kurylenko, 2008

Camille Montes, a Bolivian agent, teamed up with Bond in Quantum of Solace (2008) to get revenge on Bond’s enemies for the murder of her family. Camille was played by Olga Kurylenko, a French-Ukrainian actress.

Kurylenko started her acting career in 2005 and after her appearance in the Bond movie she has played many secondary roles, mostly in action movies like Hitman, Oblivion, and The November Man.

16. Tonia Sotiropoulou, 2012

The Greek actress initially auditioned for the role of Sévérine that French actress Bérénice Marlohe got to play in Skyfall. Even though she missed out on a bigger part, the movie’s casting director really liked her and gave her a different, smaller role. She appeared next to James Bond as his companion only for a night.

Have you watched all the Bond movies from the very first one until the most recent one? Which one is your favorite and which Bond girl is the most memorable for you?