The 10 Most Striking Actresses Who’ve Played Bond Girls

This high-profile role has been a coveted one. It has served to sky rocket many actresses’ career and to bring added Kudos to the ones like Diana Rigg or Halle Berry who were already successful, prior to being cast as Bond-girls. Regardless of their differences, there is one thing that all of these actresses have had in common from 1962 to 2008 – stunning good looks. Here are the ten most stunning women to play the role of Bond girl so far (in no particular order).

All images are taken from these three sites: bond girls, bond movies,  info girls.

Jinx

Played by Halle Berry in ‘Die Another Day’ – 2002

Halle Berry started getting noticed when she was elected prom queen in high school.  Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1968, she was destined for the lime light with the brains and looks so many other women have wished to have. She became a model after winning a place in Miss USA pageant, which in turn led to her part in a TV series called ‘Living Dolls.’ In the height of her acting career, Halle won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball.

In ‘Die Another Day,’ Halle plays Jinx – a spy for the NSA. Jinx is a brave and assertive, an equal and true match for Bond. They first meet in Havana where they’ve both ended up after a long search for a dangerous North Korean terrorist, and join forces to triumph over the wickedness of Bond’s nemesis.

Mayday

Played by Grace Jones in ‘A View To A Kill’ – 1985

Grace Jones was born in Jamaica to a religious family. She then moved to New York where the beautiful, amazingly smooth young woman, began working as a model.  She won the coveted spot as a cover girl for popular publications like Vogue and Elle, then shifted perspectives a little when she got into acting in 1973. The versatile (and outrageously wild) Grace then made it big as a funk singer in the pop-music world, gaining several hits in the disco scene.

Grace plays a very naughty May Day, rightly named because she seeks to bring destruction to everyone who crosses the path of her evil lover and microchip business man, Max Zorin.  She attempts to kill Bond on several different occasions in her capacity as henchwoman and scary lover/bodyguard of the baddie, but gets thwarted at every move.

Wai Lin

Played by Michelle Yeoh in ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ – 1997

Michelle Yeoh is a fantastically talented actress and martial arts performer.  She is known for bravely performing terribly dangerous stunts in her films.  She was born in Malaysia (and later became Miss Malaysia after returning home in her early 20s), but moved to Hong Kong to follow a successful modelling career. At the age of four she started dancing ballet and also did very well in athletics events, becoming a national competitor in swimming and diving. Michelle is also brainy, and gained a bachelor’s degree in Dramatic Arts from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Michelle plays a Chinese Security Force Spy in ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ and is a formidable force to be reckoned with. She and Bond are wary of each other to start with, but soon develop a mutual trust when they’re both captured and imprisoned. Up until then, Wai Lin was the only Bond girl to resist his charms.

Natalya Simonova

Played by Izabella Scorupco in ‘Golden Eye’ – 1995

Izabella was born in Poland in 1970 and lived there with her mother who was a doctor, until they moved to Denmark when she was eight.  She became a local teenage idol at seventeen, after being cast in a film called ‘No One Can Love Like Us.’ She later became a very successful model in Sweden and throughout Europe, and made use of her ability to fluently speak four languages. Izabella, a versatile performer, had another talent up her sleeve, and became a popular pop singer, attaining a gold album.

In ‘Golden eye,’ Izabella plays a Russian computer programmer who saves the day by her brains and quick thinking. She prevents a nuclear warhead missile from destroying London by breaking into the computer room and resetting the satellite’s course to burn itself over the Atlantic Ocean instead.

Octopussy

Played by Maud Adams in ‘Octopussy’ – 1983

Maud Adams’ real name is Maud Wikstrom.  She was born in Sweden and worked as a model there before becoming an actress.  After her role in the ‘Man With The Golden Gun,’ her career sky rocketed and she starred opposite screen legends like Telly Savalas, Peter Fonda and James Caan. This leading role as Octopussy was the biggest of her career. She is now the President of a large Scandinavian company which manufactures skin-care products.

Maud plays the lead role in Octopussy, and is a jewel smuggler and owner of an international circus.

Pussy Galore

 Played by Honour Blackman in ‘Goldfinger’ -1964

Honour Blackman was born in London and has become an icon of British cinema. She completed her course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, while working part time jobs to pay the fees. She soon snapped up various sizeable roles in West End and TV roles. By the time she was Pussy Galore, (she was 37 which made her the oldest Bond Girl) she had neatly tucked years of TV and cinema parts under her belt.

Honour played the charming leader of the flying circus. She told Bond that she was immune to his charms, only to end up giving in to his seduction. She plays a vital role in Bond’s success, as it was she who eventually informs the CIA of Goldfinger’s crazy nerve gas plan.

Paris Carver

Played by Teri Hatcher in ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ – 1997

Teri Lynn Hatcher was born in California and studied at the American Conservatory Theatre, as well as pursuing an undergraduate degree in maths and engineering.  Her first TV role in ‘The Love Boat’ came as an accident when she accompanied a friend to an open Hollywood casting and ended up with the part after being offered the chance to audition. A string of parts followed, including her well-known role as Lois in ‘The New Adventures of Superman.’ Of course she is now one of the central characters in Desperate Housewives.

In ‘Tomorrow Never Dies,’ Teri plays a character who was formally involved with Bond in a big way.  He obviously had true feelings for her, but a lasting relationship was never embarked upon.  By the time they meet again in this installation of the 007series, she’d married a clever but evil newspaper magnate, who conspires to fabricate a war in order to make money on the news.

Aki

Played by Akiko Wakabavashi in ‘You Only Live Twice’ – 1967

Akiko was born in Japan in 1941 and quickly rose to stardom there, at a time when the film industry was just making its mark in that country. Her stunning looks and amazing talent won her the good parts of many major  Japanese  films.

Akiko plays a top Japanese secret service agent who becomes Bond’s guardian angel, and manages to save him from danger on several occasions. She is a clever and tough Bond girl, and sees right through his ploys to seduce her.  Sadly, she meets a terrible end, and dies before the end of the movie.

Honey Rider

Played by Ursula Andress in ‘Dr No’ – 1962

Ursula Andress was born in Switzerland to an Italian-Swiss mother and German father. She began modelling  in  Rome before hitting it big-time and entering the movie scene.  She had no formal acting experience, but it was clear from the way she romanced the camera, that she had a natural aptitude for acting. Before she was Honey Rider, she had acted in a number of small time Italian films, and when she did Dr No, her voice was dubbed because producers felt that her Germanic accent was too strong for her character.  For this most superb role in 1962, she was awarded with the Golden Globe’s Most Promising Newcomer.

Ursula plays a cool, calm character who’s lived a life of luxury, travelling from one tropical island to the next with her marine biologist father.  She looks stunning in a white bikini when she meets Bond on the beach, an iconic Bond scene if there ever was one. As the first bond girl ever, Ursula set a very high standard for actresses who followed in her footsteps.

Tatiana Romanova

Played by Daniela Bianchi in ‘From Russia With Love’ – 1963

Daniela was born in Rome in 1943. She did ballet before launching into an extremely successful modelling career. When she was 17, she won the Miss Rome pageant, and the same year, came runner up at the Miss World competition. After branching out into Italian films, Daniela won the role of Titiana Romanova (from a head shot – she couldn’t make the audition because of illness) from 200 actresses who auditioned for the part from all over the world.

Daniela’s role is a cipher clerk in the Russian security service’s Istanbul office.  Knowing Bond’s weakness for a beautiful woman,  Colonel Klebb hires her to seduce him.  It all becomes nasty when it’s made clear that her character is merely a pawn in a deadly game which can lead to certain death for both herself and 007.

These are only some of the stunning women who won the Bond crowns.  They are all fabulous in their own rights, and have talents which served to add a certain finesse to the various parts they played opposite the mighty, most well-known agent in the world.  Stirred they may have been, but in the stellar way they played their various roles, they were never, ever shaken.