1. Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg is a combination of the James Bond series with the British TV original version of The Avengers. She played from 1965 to 1968 the main role of Emma Peel. In addition to this role, Rigg had a very successful career before her James Bond.
In 1969, Rigg was cast as Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, Bond’s wife in Her Majesty’s Secret Service. And if you wonder what she’s doing right now, Rigg is still a good actress and you can see her in the hit HBO series Game of Thrones as Olenna Tyrell.
2. Eunice Gayson
Eunice Gayson was the Bond girl that started it all. She starred in the first two Bond films from 1962 and 1963, “Dr. No” and “From Russia With Love”. Gayson was originally intended to play the role of Miss Moneypenny, but ended up with Sylvia Trench, Bond’s first movie lover.
The studio had the idea that Gayson should play a recurring role in the series, but this idea was eventually rejected. Nevertheless, she will always be known as our first Bond girl.
3. Daniela Byianchi
Bianchi, born in Italy, was a model and first runner-up at the Miss Universe Festival in 1960, with whom she has produced several film roles in both Italy and France.
But when Bianchi took on the role of Tatiana Romanova in “From Russia with Love”, she had a big break-through with Bond girl Eunice Gayson. Bianchi continued to work in the film after Bond, but Bond remains her most prominent role.
4. Honor Blackman
Blackman had released her feature film debut film “Fame is the Spur” in 1947 and continued to film and play television roles, most notably for “Jason and the Argonauts” and the British television series “The Avengers”. Her role in The Avengers helped her to become one of the most iconic Bond Girl roles in the film series.
In addition to casting “Goldfinger”, the third Bond film, Blackman played the role of Pussy Galore (man, that’s a damn questionable name these days), which is still one of the most famous in the entire film series.
5. Claudine Auger
French actress Claudine Auger began her career as a model. She won the title “Miss France Monde” and became the first runner-up in Miss World in 1958, before moving into smaller film roles, which contributed to her playing in the Bond film Thunderball (1965) as Dominique “Domino” Derval. Auger played after Bond until the 1990s in many film roles.
6. Ursula Andress
Andress, another one of the original Bond Girls, helped immortalize the characters with their scene-obsessed appearance, which was later re-enacted by Halle Berry decades later in “Die Another Day”.
7. Luciana Paluzzi
Paluzzi was born in 1937 in Rome (Italy) and played the role of Fiona Volpe in “Thunderball” in 1965.
8. Akiko Wakabayashi
She was a relatively unknown actress in Japan in the ’50s and’ 60s, but Akiko Wakabayashi (say three times fast !, we wait …) got a breakthrough role in the 1962 movie, “King Kong vs. Godzilla”. Akiko then played a subordinate role for “You Only Live Twice”, but her acting skills proved better than expected by the producers, and she was offered a bigger role by Aki, the first non-European Bond girl in the series. Although the role was very successful, Wakabayashi retired after her big Bond role.
9. Lana Wood
Lana Wood is the younger sister of the famous movie actress Natalie Wood, who died under mysterious circumstances at the height of her career. Lana Wood followed in the footsteps of her older sister to the bright spotlight Hollywood, where she got several film and TV roles. In 1971, Lana got a series on Bond with the movie “Diamonds are Forever,” in which she portrayed Plenty O’Toole. Wood continues to work as an actress and producer in the film industry.
10. Jill St. John
In addition to Lana Wood’s “Diamonds are Forever”, Jill St. John starred in the 1971 film Bond Girl Tiffany Cas. Born in Los Angeles, California, St. John began her acting career in the 1960s and continued working in the 1990s, but never found another major role, as in “Diamonds are Forever”. Diamonds may be forever, but an acting career is not necessarily…
11. Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour, one of the most famous faces from the early years of the James Bond franchise, made sure that Fan Boys fell in love with her as Soltaire. As many know, Seymour has had a very successful career in film and television, with shows such as “dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman” and movie roles like Wedding Crashers. Seymour has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her acting.
12. Shirley Eaton
Shirley Eaton had been an accomplished actress before the Bond series and continued to work in the film until the end of 1969. Eaton only made a brief appearance in a Bond movie, but perhaps one of the most memorable. Eaton appeared as the woman completely in gold, which many consider one of the best Bond films, Goldfinger. The iconic scene was so popular that the LIFE magazine portrayed Eaton on its cover page for the November 1964 issue.
13. Gloria Hendry
Gloria Hendry made waves in the James Bond franchise, becoming the first African American woman to play a Bond girl. Hendry starred alongside Jane Seymour in “Live and Let Die”. CIA agent named Rosie Carver was a real hit. Unfortunately, Hendry’s role in “Live and Let Die” has not found fame in Hollywood. She could not land any other roles outside the franchise.
14. Maud Adams
After years of using European models and actresses, and then switching to leading American Bond ladies for several films, Swedish-born Maud Adams once again brought a European flair to the Bond series, twice: Adams played a relatively minor role in Andrea Anderson’s famous Bond classic from 1974, The man with the golden weapon. In 1983, she again met James Bond on the big screen as the title role, Octopussy in … yeah, you know what movie that is.
15. Britt Ekland
The man with the golden weapon apparently needed help from several Swedes, as next to Maud Adams was another Swedish-born actress Britt Ekland. Ekland had established a prominent acting career before she took on the role of James Bond assistant Mary Goodnight in the film and that only helped her become even more popular. Ekland remained active in films until the 1990s.
16. Barbara Bach
Bach grew up in Queens New York before breaking off a promising modeling career at 16. Bach first appeared in several European films before finally catching the eye of a Bond producer and being cast as Anya Amasova for the 1977 Bond classic, The Spy Who Loved Me. This role probably helped her to attract attention to one of her musical contemporaries, Beatles member Ringo Starr, who married 1981’s Bach.
17. Caroline Munro
Munro had a long career in film before joining the venerable list of Bond girls. She starred in The Spy Who Loved Me as the Naomi as one of the best Bond girls of all time.
18. Lois Chiles
Lois Chiles grew up in Texas, where she attended college, and her good looks attracted some modeling agencies. She started a successful modeling career in the early 70’s, which led her to small movie parts … and then to BIG! She landed roles in The Great Gatsby, along with Robert Redford and then Death on the Nile. These two films have helped her to play a role in 1979’s Moonraker Bond movie Holly Goodhead played. Um, should not that be a name in Austin Powers or something?
19. Corinne Cléry
Corinne Cléry is a French-born actress who has had a remarkably successful career in Europe in more than 50 films and TV series, according to IMDB. But her biggest claim to making a name for herself on this side of the Atlantic is her role in the 1979 James Bond film, Moonraker, where she starred with Corinne Dufour, an assistant to the film’s antagonist, Hugo Drax.
20. Lynn-Holly Johnson
Lynn-Holly Johnson grew up as an emerging figure skater. She was so good that she won the silver medal at the 1974 US Figure Skating Championship. This notoriety would facilitate Johnson’s transition to the world of acting. She was nominated in 1978 for a Golden Globe for the movie “Ice Castles”, which brought them three years later on the screen to play as Bond girl Bibi Dahl in For “Your Eyes Only”. However, after her role in the Bond series her career never got much more.
21. Carole Bouquet
Carole Bouquet was originally born in France and had already gained experience as a model and in acting at a young age. She has had a long film career, has appeared in more than 40 films and is still there today. She debuted alongside Lynn-Holly Johnson and Roger Moore in For Your Eyes Only as the deadly Melina Havelock.
22. Alison Doody
Alison Doody grew up in Dublin, studied in a monastery and learned art and finally acting. Her dream came true in her feature film debut “A View To Kill” when she played Jenny Flex. Doody is still acting and apparently does not age.
23. Grace Jones
Grace Jones, one of the most successful Bond girls, has had a remarkable career in the United States after moving from Jamaica at just 13 years old. Jones started out as an extremely successful model for Elle, Vogue, and many other brands at an early age, before moving on to a music career before going on to film with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer. She played as a Bond girl in the movie A View to a Kill in 1985.
24. Tanya Roberts
Tanya Roberts was born and bred in the Bronx, New York, before moving to Toronto, Canada, and eventually returning to New York City to pursue a fashion and modeling career. She starred in several small budget films, but then gained a starring role in the famous television series Charlie’s Angels. This role led to her starring as a Bond girl in 1985’s A View to a Kill as Stacey Sutton. Roberts had a successful career in film and television, most recently as Midge in That 70’s show.
25. Maryam d’Abo
Maryam d’Abo is an English-born actress who grew up on the silver screen. She attended the Drama Center London to study drama and worked as a model. D’Abo would cause a sensation in the Bond series when she got a role as Kara Milovy in 1987 in the thriller The Living Daylights.
She also helped write the book “Bond Girls are Forever,” a tribute book to all women who have portrayed Bond girls over the years.
26. Carey Lowell
Carey Lowell was quite secular before her Bond days. Her family often traveled when Lowell was young but would eventually end up in Colorado. Lowell attended college at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she studied literature. After that she would pursue a modeling career in New York City. Her big break came when she was cast as Pam Bouvier, a CIA agent who teamed up with Bond in the 1989 movie License to Kill. Then Lowell appeared as Jamie Ross in Law & Order.
27. Talisa Soto
James Bond in License to Kill. Soto grew up in Brooklyn, New York, to a Puerto Rican family. She’s married to Benjamin Bratt.
28. Famke Janssen
This Bond girl does not have to be introduced. Since her big breakthrough in the Goldeneye in 1995 alongside Pierce Brosnan, in which she portrayed Xenia Onatopp, Janssen, a Dutch-born, has come to an incredible acting and modeling career. She has appeared in X-Men films as well as in Taken films , I mean, when I look at these pictures, does this woman age?
29. Izabella Scorupco
Izabella Scorupco is a European actress, model and singer. She started as a model in the 1980s, where she ended up doing a cover shoot for Vogue magazine. From there, she pursued a lifelong dream of being a singer and forming a pop group that would be a hit in Sweden. Her fame helped her to play a role in the hit Goldeneye, starring Natalya Simonova alongside Pierce Brosnan and Famke Janssen.
30. Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher is another Bond girl who has had tremendous success outside of her role in the Bond series, where she starred as Pierce Brosnan’s Paris Carver in “Tomorrow Never Dies.” Hatcher has spent the last decades in the limelight. Prior to Bond, she starred in the hit series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman a memorable role. She also played in Seinfeld and eventually won a Golden Globe with her role in Desperate Housewives.
31. Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh was a big success in Asia in the 1990s, playing in some of China’s biggest movies at the time. Her ice-cold style in many martial arts action films helped her land as a Bond girl in “Tomorrow Never Dies” in 1997. But Yeoh was not done yet. She eventually starred in 2000, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Oscar-winning film for which Yeoh was also nominated for the BAFTA Best Actress Award.
32. Cecilie Thomsen
Thomsen is from the Netherlands and started acting early. Of course, there is nothing better than a good Bond movie that opens the door to every aspiring actress to become famous. Although it’s easy to miss anyone starring alongside Teri Hatcher or Michelle Yeoh, Thomsen earns sexy professor Inga Bergstorm in Tomorrow Never Dies.
33. Serena Scott Thomas
Serena Scott Thomas was born in England and spent her first years overseas in several small roles. Eventually, she managed to convince the casting director for a new Bond movie. She played dr. Molly Warmflash in The World is Not Enough (1999) with Pierce Brosnan. Thomas has continued to play in movies and you can last see her in Inherent Vice.
34. Sophie Marceau
Marceau is a French-born actress who has been playing great roles in Europe for over three decades. As a young star, she quickly gained notoriety and this led to her role as Elektra King in the James Bond movie “The World is Not Enough”. Marceau continued to play major roles, notably in the Oscar-winning Mel Gibson movie Braveheart and alongside Robin Williams in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Nevertheless, she prefers to play in French films rather than American films.
35. Denise Richards
Denise Richards is probably better known today as the ex-wife of sociopath Charlie Sheen (the guy who went mad), but Richards enjoyed several years as one of Hollywood’s hottest actresses, “good, she’s hot”, both professionally and personally. Richards has starred in several major films over the years, including Starship Troopers, Wild Things, and even some of the most famous television series, including Seinfeld and Melrose Place, but everyone remembers what she looked like as a Bond girl. This is a gift that you certainly do not have to complain about.
36. Maria Grazia Cucinotta
In no case can we withhold “Cigar Girl” from The World Is Not Enough. Cucinotta has been working continuously in Italian cinema since the early 1990s, and it’s pretty clear why everyone is going to the movies to see them.
37. Rosamund Pike
She seems to be very familiar to many people by now, but in 2002, when Die Another Day was premiered, Pike was a little better known than before. But the role of Miranda Frost was just the beginning of a long career in Hollywood for this actress. She won rave reviews for her role in the psycho thriller Gone Girl.
38. Halle Berry
It’s the one you’ve been waiting for. Every Bond girl has her own memorable appearance, but Halle Berry, who comes from the sea, is perhaps the most famous bond scene in all 24 films.
39. Eva Green
Casino Royale was the fourth major role of this young starlet, but she has since contributed to sending her career into the stratosphere. Green starred in 2011’s short-lived Camelot series Morgan, but found more fame in the 2014 cult show Penny Dreadful.