Ten Most Memorable Bond Girls

Our picks for the 10 Most Memorable Bond Girls before SPECTRE opens on November 6!

From the very beginning of the James Bond franchise, there has always been a “Bond Girl” or “Bond Girls” in the novels and in the movies that followed. The female leads of the Bond movies are almost always breathtakingly beautiful, but they don’t always follow a strict formula. They can be Bond’s allies, his love interests, or even his enemies. Some of the Bond Girls have managed to be all three in a single movie!

The early Bond girls were also notable for having very “provocative” names like Pussy Galore, Plenty O’Toole, or Holly Goodhead. And while the modern Bond movies have largely moved away from that tradition, even Quantum of Solace used “Strawberry Fields” as the name of Gemma Arteron’s character.

In the latest Bond movie, SPECTRE, two more women will join the ever-growing ranks of the Bond Girls. Léa Seydoux (pictured above) is portraying Dr. Madeleine Swann, Bond’s newest love interest who also happens to be the daughter of his old nemesis, Mr. White (Jesper Christensen). Bond also has a connection to Monica Bellucci’s Lucia Sciarra, as he killed Lucia’s husband because he was a professional assassin. It’s currently unclear if either Madeleine Swann or Lucia Sciarra will become Bond’s lovers as well, but it just wouldn’t be a Bond movie if one of them doesn’t betray him at some point.

Ahead of SPECTRE’s North American release on November 6, ComingSoon has taken a look back at 10 of the most memorable Bond Girls. Feel free to share your favorite Bond Girls in the comment section below! If you’d like a complete guide, check out our Bond Girls slideshow.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress)

There’s a quote from Skyfall that applies here: “Sometimes the old ways are best.” When it comes to Bond Girls, few could match the screen presence of Ursula Andress’ Honey Ryder; whose first scene in Dr. No has become iconic thanks to Ryder’s swager and that very famous white bikini and hunting knife ensemble.

Nikki van der Zyl’s voice was dubbed over Andress’ lines, and Diana Coupland provided Honey’s singing voice…but Andress still deserves the bulk of the credit for setting a high bar for every Bond girl who came after her.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton)

Eaton’s character, Jill Masterson, had only a small amount of screentime in Goldfinger, and she is better known for the way her character died than anything else. But it’s still enough to make Jill an unforgettable Bond girl.

Early in Goldfinger, Bond convinces Jill to switch sides and betray Auric Goldfinger. In response, Goldfinger had Jill murdered and covered her body with gold paint, which created an instantly iconic image for the franchise.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman)

Also making her debut in Goldfinger was Honor Blackman’s Pussy Galore, a pilot hired by Goldfinger in his plans to drop nerve gas on Fort Knox. Blackman previously co-starred on “The Avengers” TV series as Cathy Gale, but it was Pussy Galore who made her famous in America. And during the film’s promotional tour, Blackman hilariously embarrassed reporters by repeating her character’s name during interviews.

Like the late Jill Masterson, Bond convinced Pussy to switch sides and help him take down her former boss. And when the credits rolled, Bond and Pussy were the last two standing.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach)

As elluded to above, Barbara Bach’s Anya Amasova — also known as Agent Triple X of the KGB — was one of the few Bond Girls to be his enemy, his ally, and his lover. In The Spy Who Loved Me, Amasova proved to be Bond’s match and she nearly managed to have him killed before they are forced to team up against Karl Stromberg and his henchman, Jaws.

Amasova also vowed vengeance on Bond when she found out that he killed her lover, but you can probably guess how that turned out in the end.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Tracy Bond (Diana Rigg)

For On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the Bond producers once again took the female lead of “The Avengers” TV series and placed her in a prominent role. Diana Rigg’s Tracy Bond is arguably the Bond Girl who had the biggest effect on Bond. He was so taken by the Contessa Teresa Di Vicenzo that he fell in love with her and married her!

Upon her marriage to Bond, Teresa took the name Tracy Bond. But their happy ending didn’t last, as Tracy was killed in front of Bond by his nemesis, Blofeld.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Octopussy (Maud Adams)

Maud Adams’ Octopussy is the only Bond Girl to have a movie named after her! She’s also one of Bond’s enemies before he convinces her to switch sides. Nine years before Octopussy, Adams had previously appeared in The Man with the Golden Gun as Andrea Anders, a Bond Girl who didn’t have much agency before her demise. As Octopussy, Adams was far more formidable. 

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Xenia Onatopp

Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp was perhaps the most unrepentantly (and cartoonishly) evil of the Bond Girls who was a sexual thrill killer.  Xenia’s favored method of execution was using her thighs to crush her victims to death while getting off on the act.

She’s so much fun in GoldenEye that her very disappointing demise can almost be overlooked. Almost.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh)

Michelle Yeoh livened up the otherwise unmemorable Tomorrow Never Dies as Wai Lin, a Chinese spy who was Bond’s ally throughout the film. Yeoh was already an action star in Hong Kong when she filmed Tomorrow Never Dies, and that lent Wai Lin a greater credibility during the action sequences.

In the climax, Wai Lin doesn’t get to save herself (that’s still Bond’s job, apparently). But Wai Lin wasn’t one of Bond’s disposable conquests either, which marked a major step forward for the Bond Girls.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Vesper Lynd (Eva Green)

Vesper Lynd is the original Bond Girl, as she was featured in Ian Fleming’s novel, Casino Royale in 1953. It took 43 years for “Casino Royale” to be adapted as one of the “official” Bond movies, and Eva Green stepped into the role of the woman who broke Bond for all other women.

While Bond fell hard for Vesper, she fell equally hard for him… especially when it came time to betray him. And rather than face Bond after that betrayal, Vesper allowed herself to drown. It was only after Vesper’s death that Bond was forced to realize that she had only betrayed him to save his life and the life of her ex-lover.

James Bond Girls Spotlight: Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris)

Miss Moneypenny was in nearly every Bond movie up to Die Another Day in 2002, and she was portrayed by Lois Maxwell, Caroline Bliss, and Samantha Bond. But with the modern reboot of Bond, Moneypenny was offscreen for ten years until Skyfall.

In Skyfall, Harris joined the franchise as Eve Moneypenny, a fellow MI6 agent who nearly killed Bond in the opening sequence. After he resurfaced, they had a complex relationship which was not acted upon or consummated in the movie. Instead, she assisted Bond in the field and eventually retired from active duty to become the secretary for the new M.

However, Harris made quite an impression in her first turn as Moneypenny, and she will be back for SPECTRE.