"Bond girl" is a term for a female character who is a love interest, ally or adversary of the character James Bond in a novel, film, or video game. According to Lisa Funnell, an editor of multiple books about the James Bond series, the "Bond girl" is a staple of the series and has been a powerful contributor to its worldwide success.[1] Funnell believes that the term is overused in popular discourse, being applied to almost every female character who appears in a Bond film. In recent years, some actresses in the franchise have stated that they prefer the term "Bond woman" over "Bond girl".[2][3][4][5][6]
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".[7]
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.[8][9]Goldfinger (1964), the third, established the Bond girl as regularly appearing in Bond films.[10]
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.[11][12][13] It has been argued that M's pivotal role in the plot of Skyfall qualifies her as a Bond girl or Bond woman.[14][15][16]
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).[17][18]Entertainment Weekly put "Bond bathing suits" on its 2009 end-of-the-decade "best-of" list.[19]Monica Bellucci in Spectre became the oldest Bond girl at the age of 51, although she stated that she does not consider herself to be a "Bond girl", but a "Bond woman".[20]
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.[10] In several, the Bond girl is revealed, after her tryst with Bond, to be a villainess. Examples are Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera) in Never Say Never Again (1983), Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) in The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike) in Die Another Day (2002). The Timothy Dalton films of the 1980s introduced the "Bond woman", who is equal to and challenges Bond, but he remains the heterosexual hero; they are depicted with Dalton and later Bonds and their cars and gadgets, implying that all are possessions that Bond can use and dispose.[10]
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.[21][22]
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.[23] 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.[24]
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).[citation needed]
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.[27]
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.
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).[28] Since it is debatable whether certain girls 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.
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.
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).
↑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).
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