James Bond’s baddies are legendary - and we don’t just mean Blofeld and Jaws. Far from simply playing Bond ‘girls’ who can’t get enough of 007, Bond has battled his share of sassy female villains.
Here are some of the many secrets of Bond’s beguiling bad girls.
Colonel Rosa Klebb
Lotte Lenya, the Austrian-American actor and Academy Award nominee is also a singer - she recorded Mack the Knife with Louis Armstrong - but she was still relatively unknown to Americans when she portrayed Col. Rosa Klebb in From Russia with Love. Klebb helped establish the 007 formula for baddies. Her legendary knife shoes played an even bigger part in the novels where she initially used them to kill Bond - at least until Ian Fleming decided to revive him and write another book.
Blofeld’s Angels of Death
George Lazenby seems right at home surrounded by Blofeld's beautiful Angels of Death in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The angels are on a mission to contaminate the world's food supply based on their food allergies. Chief among them is Joanna Lumley, better known to some as Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous. “I only had two lines but it was one of the most exciting things in the world,” she later recalled of her Bond girl experience. In addition to commenting on the eggnog, Lumley had to glance suspiciously at 007’s Scottish kilt in OHMSS, wondering aloud what kind of man wore a skirt and muttering: "I know what he's allergic to.”
Jane Seymour
It’s been decades since Seymour graced the screen as Tarot card reader Solitaire in Live and Let Die (1973) but her role is still memorable. Seymour said Roger Moore saved her life while filming a stunt involving a forklift. As they descended, the structure collapsed and Roger grabbed Seymour by the hair: "I fell with my elbow in a very painful part of his anatomy." They kept in touch for the next 40 years until his death in 2017. Asked whether she’d return to the franchise Seymour didn’t hesitate: “I would absolutely go back. Barbara [Broccoli] where are you?”
This story is part of our weekly briefing. Sign up to receive the FREE briefing to your inbox.
James Bond’s baddies are legendary - and we don’t just mean Blofeld and Jaws. Far from simply playing Bond ‘girls’ who can’t get enough of 007, Bond has battled his share of sassy female villains.
Here are some of the many secrets of Bond’s beguiling bad girls.
Colonel Rosa Klebb
Lotte Lenya, the Austrian-American actor and Academy Award nominee is also a singer - she recorded Mack the Knife with Louis Armstrong - but she was still relatively unknown to Americans when she portrayed Col. Rosa Klebb in From Russia with Love. Klebb helped establish the 007 formula for baddies. Her legendary knife shoes played an even bigger part in the novels where she initially used them to kill Bond - at least until Ian Fleming decided to revive him and write another book.
Blofeld’s Angels of Death
George Lazenby seems right at home surrounded by Blofeld's beautiful Angels of Death in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The angels are on a mission to contaminate the world's food supply based on their food allergies. Chief among them is Joanna Lumley, better known to some as Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous. “I only had two lines but it was one of the most exciting things in the world,” she later recalled of her Bond girl experience. In addition to commenting on the eggnog, Lumley had to glance suspiciously at 007’s Scottish kilt in OHMSS, wondering aloud what kind of man wore a skirt and muttering: "I know what he's allergic to.”
Jane Seymour
It’s been decades since Seymour graced the screen as Tarot card reader Solitaire in Live and Let Die (1973) but her role is still memorable. Seymour said Roger Moore saved her life while filming a stunt involving a forklift. As they descended, the structure collapsed and Roger grabbed Seymour by the hair: "I fell with my elbow in a very painful part of his anatomy." They kept in touch for the next 40 years until his death in 2017. Asked whether she’d return to the franchise Seymour didn’t hesitate: “I would absolutely go back. Barbara [Broccoli] where are you?”
Spectre agent Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) seduces 007 before taking him captive at gunpoint, but shooting the love scene with Sean Connery was anything but romantic, Paluzzi recalled. There were 50 photographers watching their every move during filming and the clicking noise was so overwhelming the snappers were asked to leave. Paluzzi’s character was initially imagined as an Irish bombshell named ‘Fiona', but the name and part was changed to suit the Italian actress who was cast after being rejected for the role of Bond ‘girl’ Domino. “I rejoiced,” Paluzzi said, “because actually I thought that was more fun to play.”
Grace Jones
Grace Jones was perfectly cast as May Day, a bodyguard and assassin in A View to a Kill (1985), even using some of her own clothing on set and working on the character’s silhouette to ensure that - even from a distance - the audience knew trouble was coming. Jones took acting lessons to find her ‘inner story’, one that gave her the confidence to portray a strong woman, so strong even Roger Moore was afraid of her at times, Jones wrote in her autobiography I’ll Never Write My Memoirs. “If you messed with her, she was going to kill you.”
Dr. Vogel
While we’ve only seen snippets of actress Brigitte Millar in Spectre (2015) and No Time To Die (2021), we are likely to see more of Dr. Vogel. Audiences overheard the evil doctor discussing Spectre’s prostitution ring and trafficking, recounting that they’ve "placed 160,000 migrated females into the leisure sector". Millar said she’s thrilled to be a recurring character, noting her favorite all-time ‘Bond girl’ is Catharine Schell in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and one of her favorite Ian Fleming books is From Russia with Love. George Lazenby had a huge impact on Millar while starring in OHMSS, particularly the moving scene involving Diana Rigg: “I cried when I saw that.”
Teri Hatcher
American actress Teri Hatcher sizzles in the role of Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Pierce Brosnan admits he had a few stinging words for her when Hatcher arrived late for filming, however. Brosnan said he "let slip a few words which weren't very nice". What he didn’t realize until much later was that Hatcher was pregnant and feeling ill. “By that time I’d already shot my mouth off and cussed and moaned and groaned.” Hatcher seems to have let her hands do the talking, however, particularly when the script called for Paris Carver to slap 007.
Honor Blackman
Judo buff Honor Blackman was considered ‘old’ at 38 when she played Bond ‘girl’ baddie Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964). Her judo skills helped Blackman stand up for herself mentally and physically, however. The role turned Blackman into a feminist icon but Blackman told the Guardian she regretted leaving The Avengers TV show: “I walked away at the wrong moment. They were just going from black and white to color; they were starting to get real film money.”
Famke Janssen
Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), the feisty assassin in GoldenEye (1995), was still being asked about her killer thighs years after her appearance opposite Pierce Brosnan. She admitted having a difficult relationship with the press following her breakout role: Indie Wire reports: “Honestly, after GoldenEye, I felt like I was thrown to the wolves. It was just an onslaught of attention, good and bad and everything in between. I realize every actor in the world thinks they can control the press, but ultimately the press always wins.”
Elektra King
While Renard (Robert Carlyle) is the main villain in The World Is Not Enough, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) is at the twisted heart of the operation with oil - even thicker than blood - running through her veins. Despite her memorable turn as a wealthy Bond supervillain, the French actress grew up in a working-class family (her father was a truck driver) and isn’t comfortable being viewed as a sex object: “I am very happy to move men by my beauty, but I would also like them to be interested in something else…” she told Figaro.
Gloria Hendry
Rosie Carver in Live and Let Die (1973) was both a CIA officer and a double agent working for Dr. Kananga. The role was a dream job for Hendry. When her agent told Hendry to fly to New York to audition for a Bond film her reaction was: “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Less than 15 minutes after greeting producer Harry Saltzman, she was on her way to Louisiana to meet Moore. “I said [to myself] ‘Hold it together, girl. Hold it to-ge-th-er.’” Two weeks later she was hired to portray 007’s first black love interest.
Eva Green
Vesper Lynd still haunts 007 (Daniel Craig) in No Time to Die (2021). The stylish French actress won the part over Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron even though she’d initially turned it down. She relented after reading the Casino Royale script nine months later. "I didn't want to be a bimbo,” Green said, but the script won her over. “I didn’t see her as a Bond girl. She’s a strong character; she’s got cracks.”
Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng
Is she a villain?Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng) plays a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) but while they sometimes work for opposing teams, the attraction between Wai Lin and Bond is undeniable. Michelle’s performance was so exceptional that rumors circulated about a female Bond, but the Malaysian-born actress said she doubted a woman would get away with having so many lovers. “They think it’s cool with a guy that has many girlfriends but when a woman tries to do that the connotation goes downhill,” she told Radio Times. Never say never, though.
Maud Adams
Despite her beauty and talent, Maud Adam was insecure about her ability. “I had very little confidence in myself as an actress,” Adams admitted. Bond’s producers obviously disagreed. The Swedish-born star stands out for being the first actress to have appeared in three James Bond movies: The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), Octopussy (1983), and A View to a Kill (1985). She was Scaramanga's mistress in the 1974 movie but producer Albert Broccoli thought it was a pity she died so soon in the film and offered her a role as a baddie in Octopussy, the title character.
Miranda Frost
Die Another Day (2002) villain Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike) plays a traitorous MI6 agent and gold medalist fencer. More than a decade after starring in the film, Pike said she would love to tackle the character again. "I'd like her to have the experience that I now have, not just as an actress but as a woman,” Pike said. "I think she would be formidable." Pike also suggested that gender-flipping the character of James Bond wasn’t the way to go in the future: "Why not make a kick-ass female agent in her own right?" We live in hope, Miranda Frost.
This story is part of our weekly briefing. Sign up to receive the FREE briefing to your inbox.
Gadgets & Gifts
Put your spy skills to work with these fabulous choices from secret notepads & invisible inks to Hacker hoodies & high-tech handbags. We also have an exceptional range of rare spy books, including many signed first editions.
We all have valuable spy skills - your mission is to discover yours. See if you have what it takes to be a secret agent, with our authentic spy skills evaluation* developed by a former Head of Training at British Intelligence. It's FREE so share & compare with friends now!
