From Ursula Andress to Naomie Harris, we celebrate James Bond’s 100th birthday with our top 10 Bond girls
Experts have determined our favourite spy was born in 1918
IT’S the coolest secret agent’s biggest secret – and we are revealing it today in The Sun on Sunday.
James Bond is celebrating his 100th birthday this year.
007 has always kept his age a mystery but following extensive research we have established he is due to receive a telegram from Her Majesty, which will no doubt cheer up 007 in a week when he has come under fire for his un-PC approach to women.
One tweeter even branded him a "rapist".
And Bond experts believe he would still be seducing women — but at a slightly slower pace.
Media historian and Bond author Professor James Chapman confirmed: “Bond was born in 1918, making this year his centenary.
“In Moonraker, which was published in 1955, there’s a reference that Bond was eight years away from the retirement age for an agent, which is 45. So this would have made him 37.
“So while Bond in the films and books never ages, if he were real he would be 100 this year.”
But Professor Chapman also told us that Britain’s most famous spy would probably also be a bit grumpy.
The film studies lecturer at Leicester University said: “Bond wouldn’t have wanted to live to 100 — he would have wanted to die on the job.
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"He’d be a crotchety old man probably. Although as a monarchist, he’d appreciate a telegram from the Queen.
“I think he’d want to be playing golf and cards for high stakes.
"He’d be seducing women and doing the same things he did in the books and the films, but just at a lesser pace.”
Bond was created in 1953 by the late British journalist and former naval intelligence officer Ian Fleming, who wrote 12 books and two short stories about the spy.
Set between 1951 and 1964 — the year Fleming died of heart disease aged 56 — they chart the secret agent’s adventures around the world.
Eight actors — Barry Nelson, David Niven, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig — have played Bond and Craig, 49, is set to continue in the role until 2022.
Confident, charming, strong and sophisticated, James Bond is a British icon.
The ladykiller wears the sharpest suits, drives top-of-the-range cars, uses the coolest gadgets and always gets what he wants.
Professor Chapman — who is author of Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History Of The James Bond Films — puts his universal appeal down to the glamorous world in which he lives.
He said: “Bond is a British hero in an age where the British Empire is over.
"He’s a fantasy of materialism and consumerism.
"There’s the clothes, the cars and the expensive lifestyle.
“He’s also a male fantasy of sexual prowess, confidence with women, and success with women and it’s a fantasy that has proved very durable.
“Even at 100 — he would still have some killer charm.”
Those who famously fell for 007’s seduction technique were the Bond girls.
Landing the role in the movies is a dream come true for many actresses but some have been more memorable in the role than others.
Here, to celebrate the centenary of master seducer 007, we present our top ten Bond girls.
1. Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in Dr No (1962)
The original Bond girl alongside Sean Connery, Ursula made her entrance on the beach in a skimpy bikini. Then the world was her oyster.
Ursula, now 81, said: “This bikini made me a success. As a result of starring in Dr No as the first Bond girl, I was given the freedom to pick future roles.”
2. Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova in From Russia With Love (1963)
One of the sexiest women to play a Bond girl, Daniela was an ex-Miss Universe runner-up and beat more than 200 actresses to the role.
Her character was a Russian corporal who seduced Bond, played by Connery, by sneaking into his hotel wearing nothing but a lace choker.
3. Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964)
At 39, Honor was the oldest actress to play a Bond girl with Connery, who was five years her junior.
A martial arts expert, she did her own stunts.
Honor, now 92, said acting with Connery was the best part: “If you have to have somebody opposite you, I can’t think of anybody better and sexier.”
4. Diana Rigg as Teresa Di Vicenzo in Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Game of Thrones star Diana, now 79, was the only Bond girl to marry 007 when she played Teresa opposite George Lazenby, in his one film as Bond.
But tragedy struck on Teresa’s wedding day when she was killed in a drive-by shooting by 007’s arch enemy, Blofeld.
Diana said she loved the role and added: “I was propositioned lots of times. I was very good-looking in those days.”
5. Jane Seymour as Solitaire in Live And Let Die (1973)
The actress took the role of a Tarot card-reading virgin and says she was so innocent at 20 years old it was like playing herself.
She says Roger Moore was a true gentleman, and as she was his first Bond girl they remained close.
Jane, now 66, said: “It was Roger’s first time in Connery’s shoes, so there was a lot of pressure on him.”
6. Barbara Bach as Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
In her role as a KGB agent, Bach, 70, was involved in one of Bond’s most memorable one-liners.
At the end of the film Anya and Bond — played by Sir Roger Moore — are seen in bed in a submarine escape pod and his boss calls in to ask, “Bond! What do you think you’re doing?”
He responds dryly, “Keeping the British end up, sir.”
7. Maud Adams as Octopussy in Octopussy (1983)
Asked about his favourite Bond girl, Sir Roger said: “I was lucky Maud Adams made two Bonds.” The 72-year-old Swede is the only actress to appear as two separate lead Bond girls — jewel smuggler Octopussy and villain’s mistress Andrea Andres in 1974’s The Man With The Golden Gun.
8. Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp in Goldeneye (1995)
Dutch actress Famke played a fighter pilot whose signature move was to strangle lovers by gripping them with her thighs.
Famke, 53, said it transformed her life.
She said: “It catapulted me into stardom. I was a struggling actor and that changed everything.”
9. Halle Berry as Giacinta “Jinx” Johnson in Die Another Day (2002)
Halle recreated Ursula Andress’s famous beach scene by coming out of the sea in a bikini as assassin Jinx.
She teams up with Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, to spy on North Korean agent Zao.
Halle, 51, loved being Bond’s equal.
She said: “What better Bond woman to be than one who keeps up with him?”
10. Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015)
Miss Moneypenny is secretary to Bond’s boss, M.
After an absence in Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace, the character was reintroduced in 2012’s Skyfall, played by Harris, 41, and was given a first name, Eve.
She's the first Moneypenny to have romantic moments with 007, played this time by Daniel Craig.
— Additional reporting by Doug Wight.
Bond baddies
BOND has battled many foes. We pick four of the best.
1. Blofield
Cat-stroking supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld features in eight films. He was played by six actors, including Donald Pleasance and Telly Savalas.
2. Jaws
Metal-mouthed assassin Jaws was meant to be killed off in The Spy Who Loved Me but was spared to then appear in Moonraker. Of playing him, actor Richard Keil said: “Those teeth, it’s like swallowing a car bumper!”
3. Dr No
Dr No, played by Joseph Wiseman, was the original Bond villain in the 1962 film. Radiation experiments led to the loss of his hands, which he replaced with steel ones, capable of crushing metal objects.
4. Oddjob
Goldfinger’s hat-throwing henchman Oddjob was played in the 1964 film by the American professional wrestler Harold Sakata.