Bond girl

Inspiration

James Bond was created by the author Ian Fleming, who wrote a series of novels featuring the character. Ben Macintyre of The Times has speculated that Fleming's lover Muriel Wright may have been a powerful inspiration for his female characters. Macintyre describes both Wright and Bond girls as "pliant and undemanding, beautiful but innocent, outdoorsy, physically tough, implicitly vulnerable and uncomplaining, and then tragically dead, before or soon after marriage." Wright was a wealthy model, a skilled skier and a talented polo player. After her death in 1944, a devastated Fleming called her "too good to be true".

In film

According to Fox News Magazine, Ursula Andress (as Honey Ryder) in Dr. No (1962) is widely regarded as the first Bond girl, although Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench and Zena Marshall as Miss Taro appeared onscreen before Andress in the same film. Goldfinger (1964), the third film, established the Bond girl as regularly appearing in Bond films.

There is no set rule on what kind of person a Bond girl will be or what role she will play. She may be an ally or an enemy of Bond, pivotal to the mission or simply there for her looks. There are female characters such as Judi Dench's M, Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), a Bolivian intelligence agent who teams up with Bond in Quantum of Solace, and Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson) in For Your Eyes Only, who are not romantic interests of Bond, and hence may not be considered Bond girls. It has been argued that M's pivotal role in the plot of Skyfall qualifies her as a Bond girl or Bond woman.

There have been many attempts to break down the numerous Bond girls into a top 10 list for the entire series; characters who often appear in these lists include Anya Amasova (from The Spy Who Loved Me, portrayed by Barbara Bach); Pussy Galore (from Goldfinger, portrayed by Honor Blackman); Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (from On Her Majesty's Secret Service, portrayed by Diana Rigg); and often ranked Number 1 on the list, Honey Ryder (from Dr. No, portrayed by Ursula Andress). Entertainment Weekly put "Bond bathing suits" on its 2009 end-of-the-decade "best-of" list.

Roles and impact

Roald Dahl said that when writing the script for You Only Live Twice, he was advised to use three Bond girls: The first should die "preferably in Bond's arms" early, the second a villain whom Bond seduces before she dies in an unusual and gory way midway, and the third survives to the end of the film.{{Cite magazine

As of 2013, there had been only two films in which James Bond falls in love with the Bond girl. The first was On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), in which Countess Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) marries Bond but is shot dead by Irma Bunt and Ernst Stavro Blofeld at the story's end. The second was Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) in Casino Royale (2006). Bond confesses his love to her and resigns from MI6 so that they can have a normal life together. He later learns that she had been a double agent working for his enemies. The enemy organisation Quantum had kidnapped her former lover and had been blackmailing her to secure her co-operation. She ends up actually falling in love with Bond, but dies, as Quantum is closing in on her, by drowning in a lift in a building under renovation in Venice.

Effect on career

The role of a Bond girl, as it has evolved in the films, is typically a high-profile part that can sometimes give a major boost to the career of unestablished actresses, although a number of Bond girls were well-established beforehand. For instance, Diana Rigg and Honor Blackman were both cast as Bond girls after they had already become stars in the United Kingdom for their roles in the television series The Avengers. Teri Hatcher was already known for her role as Lois Lane in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman before she was cast in Tomorrow Never Dies. A few years after playing a Bond girl, she became one of the most highly paid actresses on television, starring in Desperate Housewives.

Albert R. Broccoli's original choice for the role of Domino Derval was Julie Christie following her performance in Billy Liar in 1963. It seems he was disappointed when he met her so instead he considered Raquel Welch after seeing her on the cover of the October 1964 issue of Life magazine. Welch, however, was hired by Richard Zanuck of 20th Century Fox to appear in the film Fantastic Voyage the same year instead. French actress Claudine Auger was ultimately cast in the role. Thunderball launched Auger into a successful European film career but did little for her in the United States.

The producers encountered difficulty in casting the female lead in Casino Royale (2006), due to the perception among many leading actresses that appearing in a Bond film could hinder their careers. Catherine Zeta Jones was one of several actresses who turned down a role in the film. However, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, with several former Bond girls going on to have very high profile acting careers. Of the earlier actresses, Ursula Andress and Honor Blackman both had well regarded careers, and Jane Seymour—who was an unknown when she was cast in Live and Let Die—later won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1988 for playing Maria Callas in the TV movie Onassis: The Richest Man in the World and then became a household name playing the title role of Dr. Michaela Quinn in her TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Since Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli took over producing the films in the mid-1990s, several actresses have also won or been nominated for an Oscar: Kim Basinger in 1998 (Best Supporting Actress for L.A. Confidential), Halle Berry in 2002 (who won Best Actress for Monster's Ball while she was filming Die Another Day), Rosamund Pike (nominated for Best Actress for Gone Girl in 2015), and Michelle Yeoh in 2023 (Best Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once). Ultimately, the up-and-coming actress Eva Green was cast as Vesper Lynd, and won BAFTA's Rising Star Award for her performance at the 60th British Academy Film Awards.

Multiple appearances

Prior to the series being rebooted in 2006 with Casino Royale, Sylvia Trench was the only Bond girl character to appear in more than one film (Dr. No in 1962 and From Russia with Love in 1963). She was meant to be Bond's regular girlfriend, but was dropped after her appearance in the second film. Léa Seydoux, who played Madeleine Swann in Spectre, reprised her role in No Time to Die (2021).

In the Eon series, three actresses have made reappearances as different Bond girls: Martine Beswick and Nadja Regin both first appeared in From Russia with Love, and then appeared in Thunderball and Goldfinger, respectively. Maud Adams played Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and the eponymous character in Octopussy (1983).

If the non-Eon produced films, Casino Royale (1967) and Never Say Never Again (1983), are included, several other actresses have also been a Bond girl more than once: Ursula Andress in Dr. No (1962) and Casino Royale (1967); Angela Scoular in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and Casino Royale (1967); Valerie Leon in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Never Say Never Again.

Criticism

Naomie Harris, who plays Eve Moneypenny in three Bond films, has criticised the term "Bond girl". In 2015, she called it demeaning and suggested that it be replaced with "Bond woman". Monica Belluci, who became the oldest "Bond girl" at the age of 50, when she was cast in Spectre, stated, "I can’t say I’m a Bond girl because I’m too mature to be a Bond girl. I say Bond lady; Bond woman."

List of Bond girls

Ian Fleming stories

Mary Goodnight was a supporting character in several Bond novels before graduating to full Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun. Several short stories, such as "Quantum of Solace", "The Hildebrand Rarity", "The Living Daylights", and "The Property of a Lady", feature female characters in prominent roles, but none of these women interact with Bond in a romantic way.

Post-Fleming stories

Eon Productions films

There are several different archetypes for Bond girls: romantic interests, those who assist him, femmes fatales (who make an attempt on Bond's life), and sacrificial lambs (female allies or associates of Bond who wind up dead). Since it is debatable whether certain female characters fulfil certain tropes, the following criteria are used for determining inclusion: romantic interests have (implied) sexual encounters with Bond; those women who have a principal role in assisting Bond; femmes fatales attempt to kill Bond; sacrificial lambs have an allegiance to or affiliation with Bond, and their deaths are instigated by the main villain or his henchmen.

Non-Eon films

In addition to the Eon Productions films, there have been two Bond films produced by other studios and one television production.

The women featured in the 1967 film Casino Royale are somewhat difficult to categorise due to its nature as a spoof and its plot involving multiple "James Bonds." In this table, "romantic interests" are women to whom the original Sir James Bond shows a romantic or sexual attraction; "main sidekicks" are those who are part of Sir James' team combating SMERSH; and "femmes fatales" are those who attempt to murder any of the Bonds.

Video games

Documentary

In 2002, former Bond girl Maryam d'Abo co-wrote the book Bond Girls Are Forever: The Women of James Bond. This book later became a DVD exclusive documentary featuring d'Abo and other Bond girls, including Ursula Andress. In some locations, the documentary was released as a gift with the purchase of Die Another Day on DVD. The featurette was included on the DVD release of Casino Royale (2006).

Notes

References

Works cited

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References

1. Funnell, Lisa. (25 March 2020). "The Bond Girl (1962-2002)".
2. Ford, Clementine. (October 14, 2015). "Are Bond girls sexist?". BBC Culture.
3. Handy, Bruce. (27 October 2015). "Girls" to Spectre". [[Vanity Fair (magazine).
4. Smith, Nigel M.. (17 September 2015). "Monica Bellucci: 'I'm not a Bond girl, I'm a Bond woman'". [[The Guardian]].
5. Anderson, Steve. (26 October 2015). "Spectre's Naomie Harris: We should ditch demeaning 'Bond girl' term – and it's time we stopped talking about a black James Bond". [[The Independent]].
6. For a general discussion of the characteristics of the Fleming Bond girl, see the relevant chapters of O. F. Snelling, ''007 James Bond: A Report'' (Signet, 1965).
7. Macintyre, Ben. (5 April 2008). "Was Ian Fleming the real 007?". The Times.
8. (5 November 2012). "Get The Look: Bond Girl Bikinis".
9. Brown, Brigid. (8 November 2012). "The Early Bond Girls: Where Are They Now?". BBC America: Anglophenia.
10. (25 October 2012). "Skyfall – review". The Guardian.
11. (2 November 2012). "Judi Dench: the ultimate Bond girl".
12. (9 November 2012). "The End of the Bond Girl and the Rise of the Bond Woman".
13. (8 January 2008). "The 10 Best Bond Girls".
14. Zdyrko, Dave. (26 February 2007). "Top 10 Bond Babes".
15. (4 December 2009). "100 greatest movies, TV shows, and more".
16. (12 November 2006). "Eva Green is Vesper Lynd in 'Casino Royale'". Movie Web.
17. (4 December 2014). "'Quantum of Solace's Mr. White Says He's Returning for 'Spectre'".
18. "Production notes for Thunderball". MI6.co.uk.
19. Mann, Roderick. (29 November 1986). "Bond Was No Boost For Auger". Los Angeles Times.
20. (25 April 2001). "Curse of the Bond Girl". Cinema.com.
21. "From Bond Girl To Medicine Woman: Jane Seymour's Big Break". NPR.org.
22. (2020-11-02). "Sir Sean Connery remembered by Bond girl Valerie Leon after caring for her during awkward sex scene". Associated Newspapers Limited.
23. Anderson, Steve. (26 October 2015). "Spectre's Naomie Harris: We should ditch demeaning 'Bond girl' term – and it's time we stopped talking about a black James Bond". [[The Independent]].
24. Smith, Nigel M.. (17 September 2015). "Monica Bellucci: 'I'm not a Bond girl, I'm a Bond woman'". [[The Guardian]].
25. McCluskey, Megan. "Monica Bellucci Says She Is a Bond Woman, Not a Bond Girl".
26. Persall, Steve. (7 November 2012). "Four kinds of unforgettable Bond girls". Tampa Bay Times.