Here's What Happened To Every Single Bond Girl

Since there have been James Bond movies, there have been so-called Bond girls. While that name may seem outdated — why not Bond women? — until the 007 franchise changes things up, it's the one that fans are apparently stuck with. 

Bond girls don't necessarily fit any one particular prototype. Over the course of the spy movie franchise's six-decade history, there have been many types of Bond girls — some villains, some allies, some outright femme fatales, some other things entirely, but often possessing hilariously provocative names (Pussy Galore of "Goldfinger" and Holly Goodhead remain the gold standard). In fact, the concept of what a Bond girl is has evolved over the course of those years, just as Bond himself has altered. Meanwhile, Bond girls have also proven to be something of a mixed bag when it comes to launching and/or building a Hollywood career. Some women who fought shoulder to shoulder with 007 went on to bigger things, while others were already famous when they entered the franchise — and, of course, there are those for whom being a Bond girl represented the apex when it came to acting roles. 

For an even deeper dive, read on to find out what happened to every Bond girl. 

Ursula Andress holds the distinction of being the very first Bond girl, playing seashell-loving Honey Ryder alongside Sean Connery in the debut Bond film, 1962's "Dr. No." The native of Switzerland was already a rising star in Europe when she landed "Dr. No." "After being the first Bond girl, I had offer after offer and could take my pick of the roles that were around," she told The Sunday Post in 2018. "All I did was wear this bikini in 'Dr. No' — not even a small one — and whoosh! Overnight, I made it. It gave me financial independence and changed my life completely."

After "Dr. No," Andress did indeed nab some plumb roles, including co-starring with Elvis Presley in "Fun in Acapulco," with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in "4 for Texas," with Peter Sellers and Peter O'Toole in "What's New Pussycat?" and, interestingly enough, playing Bond girl Vesper Lynd in 1967's unofficial Bond film "Casino Royale," in which David Niven played 007 and Woody Allen was his nefarious nephew, Jimmy Bond. 

Andress continued acting in movies throughout the 1960s and '70s, and in the '80s began appearing in television. Among her small screen credits are "Manimal," "The Love Boat," and "Falcon Crest." Her final screen credit was in the 2005 Swiss satire "St. Francis Birds Tour." "I have retired, really, but do you ever retire?" she told The Sunday Post.

In the second Bond film, 1963's "From Russia with Love," Bond (Sean Connery) was drawn into a SPECTRE plot by Russian beauty Tatiana Romanova, played by Italian-born Daniela Bianchi. She reportedly beat out 200 other women for the coveted role (although her voice wound up being dubbed).

Following "From Russia with Love," Bianchi appeared in a few more movies (including, oddly enough, the spy spoof "Operation Kid Brother," starring Connery's younger brother, Neil Connery), and three episodes of U.S. medical drama "Dr. Kildare." She hung up her acting career before the end of the 1960s when she wed Italian shipping mogul Alberto Cameli, with her last screen credit the 1968 film "The Last Chance." 

Meanwhile, Bianchi's bedroom seduction scene with Connery remains a high-water mark for Bond girls. According to Bond producer Michael G. Wilson, that scene was the one that aspiring Bond girls were asked to navigate when auditioning for future movies. "We always use the same scene ... and that's the one in 'From Russia With Love,' where Bond comes back to his room after the assassination, and he starts taking off his shirt, goes into the room to bathe. Then he hears something, takes his gun, goes in and the girl's in the bed," he said during 2022's "In Conversation: 60 Years of James Bond" event at the British Film Institute, as reported by Deadline. 

Is there a Bond girl with a moniker more salaciously memorable than Pussy Galore? The character, from the 1964 film "Goldfinger," was played by British thespian Honor Blackman, who had already skyrocketed to TV stardom courtesy of her role as Catherine Gale in British spy romp "The Avengers." Blackman went on to a thriving post-Bond career in film and television, extending through to the mid-2010s. Highlights from her eclectic career ranged from playing a posh socialite in "Bridget Jones's Diary," to a London rest-home resident battling the undead in "Cockneys vs Zombies."

Blackman died in 2020 at the age of 94, and it shouldn't be surprising that "Goldfinger" and "The Avengers" were both at top of her obituary in The Guardian, which also pointed out stage roles including "My Fair Lady," "The Sound of Music," and "Cabaret." Her obituary also noted her activism on behalf of Britain's Liberal Democrat party, her two marriages (and two divorces) and two adopted children.

"I never considered myself a sex symbol," Blackman said of her Bond legacy in a 2015 interview with Saga. "I hate watching myself. I've only seen 'Goldfinger' twice: once at the premiere and once at the 50th anniversary. I've turned down parts in the past because they required a sexy woman and I didn't think that was me. I always wanted to play the secretary. I know, it's extraordinary, but it's the truth."

Honor Blackman wasn't the only Bond girl featured in "Goldfinger." In fact, the most memorable role in the film arguably went to Shirley Eaton, whose character, Jill Masterson, was famously poisoned to death by being coated in gold. Eaton had an extensive roster of screen credits prior to "Goldfinger," beginning with her first film role in 1950 when she was just 14 years old.

As has been the case with most Bond girls, "Goldfinger" boosted Eaton's film career, leading to roles in films ranging from "Ten Little Indians" to 1969's "The Girl from Rio," her final screen role before she retired from acting. "I hated being away from my baby Jason and his brother Grant," Eaton explained in an interview with Classic Film and TV Café of how motherhood led her to cut short her acting career. 

Interviewed by James Davies in 2008, Eaton looked back at her "Goldfinger" role, and how hard she fought to land it. However, she added, being covered in sparkling gold paint to become one of the most iconic images in the entire 007 franchise was no picnic. "It didn't take long to get it on. About an hour I think," she said. "But getting it off was awful. I had to scrub it off with soap and water, then have several Turkish baths." 

By the arrival of 1965's "Thunderball," the Bond franchise had begun firing on all cylinders, cementing the elements that fans came to expect from 007. That was certainly true of Bond girl Paula Caplan, Bahamas-based intelligence operative played by Martine Beswick (who had landed on producers' radar after a brief appearance as a completely different character in "From Russia with Love"). As Beswick revealed in a 2017 interview with Movie Ramblings, her "Thunderball" role paved the way for a successful future career, including starring opposite Raquel Welch in the caveman exploitation flick "One Million Years B.C." and several over-the-top cult-classic horror flicks for Britain's Hammer Films. "Being a Bond girl opened doors for me," she said. 

Beswick's roster of low-budget Hammer films, in fact, included the likes of "Prehistoric Women" and "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde," while other credits included American TV series including "Mannix," "Fantasy Island," and "Falcon Crest," and the title role in the 1980 sex comedy "The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood." 

In that 2017 interview, Beswick described herself as "happily retired," adding, "I do several autograph shows every year with my signing family that includes my lovely friend Caroline Munro [who appeared in "The Spy Who Loved Me' in addition to several Hammer films] and we have such fun. That is really what life is all about for me. Fun!"

As James Bond fans surely realize, not all Bond girls survive until the end of the movie. Such was the case with "You Only Live Twice" love interest Helga Brandt (played by Karin Dor), who met a grisly end in a giant tank stocked with ravenous piranhas. Following her role in the 1967 Bond flick, Dor was cast in several film and TV roles, most notably in Alfred Hitchcock's 1969 thriller "Topaz" (in which, by the way, her character also perishes before the movie's end). 

During that post-"You Only Live Twice" period in the late 1960s and early '70s, Dor also appeared in some American TV shows, including "It Takes a Thief," "Ironside," and "The F.B.I." Despite that launching pad, Dor's career in Hollywood never extended much beyond that, although she did attain a degree of fame in Austria and her native Germany throughout the 1970s, '80s, '90s and beyond. Her final screen role was in the 2015 German film "Die abhandene Welt." She died in 2017 at the age of 79.

Of all her many roles over the decades, "You Only Live Twice" remained the one for which she was best known. "It's unbelievable and I get a lot of people asking for autographs," she told Bond fan site MI6 shortly before her death. "A lot from America and Japan. Even from Russia. It was very enjoyable. I loved the picture and the people I worked with." 

Of all the many Bond girls, Diana Rigg may be one of the most famous — even if she did star alongside the franchise's most scorned 007: one-film Bond George Lazenby in 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Rigg played Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, later known as Tracy Bond after marrying 007 before following that time-honored Bond Girl tradition of being whacked before the end credits roll. 

Rigg, who had shot to fame by playing Emma Peel on "The Avengers," enjoyed a long and thriving career over the ensuing decades, ranging from such projects as the 1977 film adaptation of the acclaimed musical "A Little Night Music," to 1981's "The Great Muppet Caper," to a 1983 TV production of "King Lear." She went on to win her first and only Emmy in 1997 for her performance in "Rebecca" for PBS series "Masterpiece." 

Rigg subsequently experienced a huge career resurgence in 2013 when she made the first of many memorable appearances as Lady Olenna Tyrell in "Game of Thrones." In addition to earning her four Emmy nominations, "Game of Thrones" also led to more juicy roles for Rigg, including Mrs. Pumphrey in "All Creatures Great and Small," Mother Dorothea in "Black Narcissus" and Ms. Collins in the time-twisting big-screen thriller "Last Night in Soho." The latter film, released in 2021, was Rigg's final screen credit, released posthumously after her death in September 2020 at age 82.

For a variety of reasons, George Lazenby quit the franchise after just one outing as Bond, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Producers then re-enlisted Sean Connery to return for the 1971 followup, "Diamonds Are Forever." For his return, Connery was partnered with Jill St. John as seductive diamond smuggler Tiffany Case. Speaking with the Miami News (via MI6) in 1971, St. John admitted her character wasn't that far removed from her actual self. "She's a very smart lady," said St. John. "She's a survivor... In some ways, she's a lot like me."

Throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the '80s, St. John starred in some TV movies and guest spots on series such as "Fantasy Island," "Magnum P.I.," and "The Love Boat." In 1997, she guest starred in the now-iconic episode of "Seinfeld" that introduced the phrase "yada yada" into the lexicon. She also ventured into the culinary world by writing "The Jill St. John Cookbook," which was published in 1987.

In 1982, Wagner began a romantic relationship with fellow actor Robert Wagner, not long after the death of his wife, Natalie Wood. In 1990, AP News reported the two tied the knot; they've been married ever since. The spouses have also worked together; most recently, Wagner and St. John played Santa and Mrs. Claus, respectively, in the 2014 TV movie "Northpole." They've also performed together onstage for dinner-theater productions of the play "Love Letters." 

Of all the women to wear the label of Bond girl, it's arguable that few have gone on to the same level of solo success as Jane Seymour after playing Solitaire opposite Roger Moore in his 007 debut, "Live and Let Die." In retrospect, Seymour now concedes the role was sexist. "I was a woman, a virgin, who ran three paces behind a man with a gun, wearing very ... well, actually for a Bond girl, a lot," she told The Guardian in 2022.

For the remainder of the 1970s and '80s, Seymour toiled away in a string of TV movies and guest spots on various shows. Everything changed in 1993, however, when she was cast in a frontier drama called "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," which became a massive TV hit that ran for five successful seasons and spawned a few subsequent made-for-TV movies. That led to a career renaissance that continues to this day, with recent projects including hit Netflix comedy "The Kominsky Method," the CBS sitcom "B Positive," and her own British whodunit "Harry Wild," which aired in 2022. She also wrote a self-help book, 2017's "The Road Ahead: Inspirational Stories of Open Hearts and Minds."

Despite her misgivings, Seymour isn't averse to reprising Solitaire in a future Bond movie. "Of course, I'd do it," Seymour told People. "I've always been very open about saying that I'd be happy to just walk behind the scene and someone could go, 'Is that Solitaire?'"

For Britt Ekland, becoming a Bond girl was far from a career-making role. The Swedish model/actor had been acting professionally for a decade and had amassed an impressive roster of screen credits before being cast as Mary Goodnight in 1974's "The Man with the Golden Gun." Previous movies, in fact, included "Get Carter" with Michael Caine, and horror classic "The Wicker Man." By the 1980s, Ekland gravitated toward television, but it was her personal life that made headlines, including her marriages (Peter Sellers, 17 years her senior, during the 1960s and, during the 1980s, Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, who was 19 years her junior), and long-term relationship with rocker Rod Stewart during the 1970s. 

While there are some former Bond girls who bristle at the moniker, Ekland is not among them. "I'm the proudest Bond girl there is because there are not a lot of us left, and there won't be any in future," Ekland declared in a 2020 interview with The Guardian. "The Bond girl has to look good in a bikini: that was her role ... The Bond girl of my era exists no more because they're not presented that way. You wouldn't see her in a bikini next to Daniel Craig in a suit today — the PR department would make sure that didn't happen."

Barbara Bach had acquired a modest roster of screen credits, primarily in Italian movies, when she was cast opposite Roger Moore as Major Anya Amasova in 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me." That role in the Bond blockbuster led to further parts, in films ranging from "Force 10 From Navarone" along with more Italian flicks. It was her role in the 1981 comedy "Caveman" that would change her life forever when she fell in love with the movie's star, former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. Meeting on the set in 1980, the pair were married in April 1981, and have remained wed ever since. Speaking to People in 2015, she shared the simple secret to their long-lasting marriage. "I love the man, and that's it," she declared. After marrying Starr, Bach appeared in a few more movies, but stepped away from acting before the end of the 1980s.

Looking back at "The Spy Who Loves Me," Bach apparently had little fondness for her Bond girl status. In a 1983 interview with People (via Express), she described Moore's Bond as "a chauvinist pig who uses girls to shield him against bullets." She was, however, fond of Moore personally. "It was a pleasure working with Roger, he was a kind and good man," Bach said in a statement to People after Moore's death in 2017, adding, "A true gentleman."

Lois Chiles was a model-turned-actor when she was cast opposite Roger Moore in 1979's "Moonraker" as Dr. Holly Goodhead, one of the more provocatively named Bond girls. According to Chiles, she was somewhat hesitant about taking the role. "There were mixed feelings," she admitted in a 2012 interview with the The New York Times. "You have to realize this was the 1970s and women were very upset about being portrayed as sexual objects. So becoming a Bond girl was not necessarily desirable. There was also this stigma that this was the peak and you were never going to work again. That was painful to hear."

That didn't quite end up happening for Chiles, who followed up "Moonraker" with a lengthy recurring stint on TV mega-hit "Dallas," playing oil heiress Holly Harwood. Subsequent projects included such feature films as "Sweet Liberty," "Broadcast News," "Creepshow 2," "Twister," and "Speed 2: Cruise Control." Chiles also remained a frequent guest star on television, in series ranging from "The Nanny" to "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." 

"Moonraker" remains the biggest movie in her list of credits, but Chiles doesn't feel that being a Bond girl was as detrimental to her career as Hollywood ageism, something she experienced after her role in "Dallas." "Suddenly, it was 'Whoops! I'm in my late thirties and I'm getting only secondary parts,'" she conceded in an interview with Texas Monthly.

Maud Adams holds the distinction of being the only Bond girl to play the title role in a 007 movie, portraying villainous Octopussy (a.k.a. Octavia Smythe) in 1983's "Octopussy." That, however, wasn't Adams' first toe dipped in the Bond franchise; a few years earlier, the Swedish-born actor romanced Roger Moore's 007 as Andrea Anders in "The Man with the Golden Gun" — the only woman to ever play two significant Bond girls in two different films. "I had the part if I wanted it," Adams told Umgås of how her work in her first Bond film led to a bigger role in her second. "I've never quite been able to figure out why." Super-fans of the franchise may also recall that she had an uncredited blink-and-you'd-miss-it walkthrough in "A View to a Kill."

Adams continued acting steadily throughout the rest of the 1980s, in both film and television, and more sporadically in the 1990s and 2000s before making her final screen appearance in a 2010 TV movie called "The Rooneys." She never appeared in anything as big or as memorable as "Octopussy." 

Adams looked back at her achievements in the Bond franchise with modesty. "I'm pleased at what I was able to do but I've never thought of myself as a great dramatic actor," she told Umgås. She also remains proud to have been a Bond girl. "It's been a very nice club to be a part of over the years," she admitted.

Prior to being cast in 1985's "A View to a Kill," Tanya Roberts had already achieved a significant level of fame when she was tapped to replace Shelley Hack (who had previously replaced Kate Jackson) in the final season of "Charlie's Angels," which led to starring roles in such films as "Beastmaster," and "Sheena." As the 1980s bled into the '90s, her projects became less prestigious. Just as her career teetered on the edge of oblivion, in 1998 she landed the recurring role of Midge Pinciotti, mother of Laura Prepon's character, in "That '70s Show." 

As Roberts told the Daily Mail in 2015, she approached becoming a Bond girl with some healthy trepidation. "I sort of felt like every girl who'd ever been a Bond Girl had seen their career go nowhere, so I was a little cautious," she said. "I remember I said to my agent, 'No one ever works after they get a Bond movie' and they said to me, 'Are you kidding? Glen Close would do it if she could.'" Figuring she'd already been stereotyped from her previous roles, however, Roberts surmised that the upside far outweighed the downside. "Before James Bond I'd been in 'Charlie's Angels,' which pigeon-holed me, so it was always going to be hard to get myself out of that pigeon hole after that," she mused.

Sadly, Roberts died in 2021 at the age of 65.

When Grace Jones was cast as villainous henchwoman May Day in 1985's "A View to a Kill," she was known more for her music hits such as "Pull Up to the Bumper" than for her work as an actor (although she did make her acting debut the previous year in "Conan the Destroyer"). In the years that followed, Jones continued to split her time between her music career and the movies, landing roles in films including "Vamp," the Eddie Murphy-starring "Boomerang," "Straight to Hell Returns," and Cyber Bandits."

As Jones revealed in her 2015 memoir, "I'll Never Write My Memoirs," she was initially supposed to play Maud Adams' titular role in "Octopussy" before producers had a change of heart. "There was some anxiety about having a Black woman as a villain," wrote Jones. "A Bond movie is, for all appearance of sex and violence, a fundamentally very conservative franchise."

Jones also admitted she was way out of her depth as an actor, and credits Roger Moore for helping her pull off a scene in which May Day is supposed to react with surprise upon discovering James Bond in her bed when, take after take, she was unable to effectively convey surprise. "Eventually Roger stuck something stupid on his head, and I was really surprised to see it, so I looked surprised, and that was the take they used," wrote Jones.

The 1987 Bond film "The Living Daylights" marked the fourth major transition in the Bond franchise, with Timothy Dalton making his debut as 007. Starring opposite Dalton was Maryam D'Abo as cellist Kara Milovy, girlfriend of a rogue Soviet general who eventually, as is the case with all Bond girls, winds up as the British agent's love interest. It's not hyperbole to describe the role as having catapulted D'Abo into the big leagues, propelling her to a successful acting career in film and television during the decades that followed.

In 2002, D'Abo drew upon the Bond girl cred she earned in "The Living Daylights" for the documentary "Bond Girls are Forever," on which she's listed as a writer and host in which numerous Bond girls from the franchise share their experiences. 

Speaking with The Times and the Sunday Times, D'Abo credited Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (daughter of franchise founder Arthur "Cubby" Broccoli) for ensuring the evolution of Bond girls progressed alongside the empowerment that women were experiencing in society, compared to the way Bond girls were depicted decades earlier. "I'm very glad I'm part of the Bond girls club because it was certainly a memory that will stay with me forever," she said.

For Timothy Dalton's second (and final) outing as James Bond in 1989's "Licence to Kill," Carey Lowell was cast as Pam Bouvier, the former CIA pilot enlisted by 007 to help him on a revenge-fuelled mission to bring down a drug lord who murdered the wife of his pal Felix Leiter. The role proved to be a springboard for Lowell, sending her on to a fruitful Hollywood career, appearing in such films as "Sleepless in Seattle," "Leaving Las Vegas," and the John Cleese comedy "Fierce Creatures." On television, Lowell is best known for portraying ADA Jamie Ross (later a judge) in "Law & Order."

In her personal life, Lowell married actor Griffin Dunne, her second husband, the same year that "Licence to Kill" premiered. They divorced in 1995, and in 2002 she married Richard Gere; they split up in 2013 after 11 years of marriage.

Interviewed by Entertainment Weekly in 1993, Lowell was happy to give all the credit for the ease she experienced in achieving screen success to being a Bond girl. "My career was sort of handed to me," Lowell explained. "I mean, I've taken acting lessons and I've worked very hard, but really it's been easy for me. I haven't had to struggle."

Carrie Lowell wasn't the only Bond Girl to grace "Licence to Kill." Talisa Soto played Lupe Lamora, girlfriend of drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) who, like all Bond girls, cannot resist the seductive lure of James Bond. Like Lowell, "Licence to Kill" pushed Soto's acting career to the next level, with subsequent roles in films including "The Mambo Kings," 1995”s "Mortal Kombat" and its 1997 sequel "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation." Other credits for Soto include "Vampirella," "Island of the Dead" and the Leslie Nielsen-starring Bond spoof "Spy Hard." Soto retired from acting after her final role, the 2009 film "La Mission."

In 2002, Soto married actor Benjamin Bratt. In 2022, the couple — parents of two — celebrated 20 years of marriage while also revealing some unhappy news. "This is something I typically would keep close-held, but through the pandemic, through self-exam and then by going to her yearly mammogram, she discovered that she was positive for breast cancer," Bratt told Today. "She's doing great. The medication rocks the hormonal system a little bit, but the good news is, she was found to be cancer-free at this point. So we're just on guard to make sure it doesn't come back." 

After Timothy Dalton's exit from the franchise, Pierce Brosnan stepped into the role of James Bond, ultimately starring in four 007 films. In his first, 1995's "Goldeneye," Brosnan starred opposite former model Famke Janssen as Bond girl Xenia Onatopp, Soviet fighter pilot turned lethal assassin. A few years later, Janssen starred in another massively successful film franchise when she was cast as psychokinetic Jean Grey in 2000's "X-Men." She would go on to play the character in "X-Men 2: X-Men United," "X-Men: The Last Stand," "The Wolverine," and "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

In fact, Janssen's post-Bond girl roles were considerably more diverse than playing a mutant superhero, including "City of Industry," "House on Haunted Hill," "I Spy," "Taken 2," and its sequel "Taken 3." She's also appeared frequently on television, in series such as "Ally McBeal," "Nip/Tuck" and "The Blacklist," reprising her character in the short-lived spinoff "The Blacklist: Redemption." She also appeared in a 10-episode guest arc in "How to Get Away with Murder."

Like many Bond girls, Janssen's experience with the 007 franchise had its pros and cons. "I already had to deal with the stereotype of having been a model, but then I added another thing: model turned actress turned Bond Girl," she explained in an interview with the Independent.

Prior to being cast as Bond girl Paris Carver in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies," Teri Hatcher had already skyrocketed to TV fame via her role as Lois Lane in the superhero series "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman."

Hatcher's post-Bond years found her working continually, but in nothing nearly as successful as what she'd experienced in those two high-profile projects. It wasn't until 2004 that Hatcher landed the role that would eclipse both Lois Lane and Bond girl: Susan Mayer in television mega-hit "Desperate Housewives," which ran until 2012 and cemented Hatcher as a household name. More recently, in 2022, Digital Spy reported that Hatcher had signed on for the lead role in the Hallmark Channel rom-com "Mid-Love Crisis."

While sparks flew between Hatcher's character and Pierce Brosnan's James Bond, the same was not true in real life. As Brosnan told Italian Vanity Fair (via The Mirror), he found Hatcher's chronic tardiness to be exceedingly annoying. "I got very upset with her on the set. She was always keeping me waiting for hours," Brosnan said. "I must admit I let slip a few words which weren't very nice."

"Tomorrow Never Dies" marked Michelle Yeoh's entrance into the Bond franchise, playing Chinese espionage agent Wai Lin. While the film introduced Yeoh to North American audiences, she had already racked up an extensive roster of screen credits in Hong Kong action films. Drawing on her background in martial arts movies for her action sequences in "Tomorrow Never Dies," Yeoh felt that she never encountered the kind of typecasting that beset other Bond girls. "Looking like me, I don't think sexualization was going to be a big problem!" she told the Independent. "Bond was ready for change," Yeoh explained. "Bond had to evolve because the fan base was also evolving. Women were choosing the movies to go and watch, and we don't always want to watch ones where we're being sexualized."

Being a Bond Girl proved crucial in Yeoh breaking into Hollywood from Hong Kong, leading to roles in such films as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," "Crazy Rich Asians," and Marvel's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." In 2022, Yeoh experienced her biggest year to date, generating Oscar buzz for her role in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," as well as appearing in Netflix's "The Witcher: Blood Origin" and "The School for Good and Evil." In 2023, Yeoh is starring in the long-awaited TV adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel "American Born Chinese" for Disney+.  

Denise Richards earned her Bond girl cred starring opposite Pierce Brosnan as nuclear physicist Dr. Christmas Jones in 1999 Bond flick "The World is Not Enough." Richards' performance was savaged by critics, even earning her a Razzie award for worst supporting actress. "I was so crushed," she told The Washington Post. "But I was thinking I'm a Bond girl playing a scientist. Would they want me wearing a lab coat and dressed conservatively? It's tongue in cheek."

Despite the critical drubbing, Richards' career skyrocketed after "The World is Not Enough." While Richards appeared in numerous films and television series during the 2000s, her acting career was eclipsed by her turbulent marriage to Charlie Sheen, their scorched-earth divorce, and the messy custody battle that ensued. However, Richards continued acting in both film and television. In 2018, Richards' career took a sharp left turn when she joined "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." 

More than a decade after her turn as a Bond girl, Richards reflected on how it had impacted her career. "I'll be honest, I didn't realize how big Bond was until I was cast and it was all over the news. I'd had never seen James Bond when I screen-tested and got the movie. Seriously," Richards recalled for USA Today, adding, "It's opened a lot of doors for me."

In addition to Denise Richards, "The World is Not Enough" also starred French actor Sophie Marceau as Elektra King, the beautiful but lethal oil heiress under the protection of Pierce Brosnan's James Bond. Marceau continued her acting career in the decades that followed, in both Hollywood movies and French films. Highlights include "Alex and Emma," "Don't Look Back," and "Sex, Love and Therapy." In 2022 she starred in Prime Video rom-com "I Love America" and French police drama "Une femme de notre temps." Marceau has also ventured behind the camera, directing and writing several films — the most recent of which, "Mrs Mills," also featured her as star. 

Speaking with France Today, Marceau looked back on her extensive and eclectic movie career, comprising massive blockbusters and small foreign films. "I have been in Polish films, English films, Italian films. I feel that I have an international career," she explained. "I'm lucky, because these have been films that have been viewed all over the world."

Halle Berry was already an established star when she was cast as Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson opposite Pierce Brosnan in 2002's "Die Another Day" — in fact, the previous year she won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in "Monster's Ball." Berry made quite a splash in the movie, making her first appearance in the film emerging from the ocean wearing an orange bikini that paid homage to the introduction of first Bond girl Ursula Andress in "Dr. No." As Berry revealed in an interview with Vogue, there was nothing random about her bikini. "We tried on so many bathing suits. So many bikinis and so many belts," she said. "We had a knowing that it would maybe, because it was in a Bond movie, end up being an iconic situation. Something that would live a very, very long time."

Something else that has thrived for a very long time has been Berry's acting career, which rocketed on full speed ahead after her Bond role and never slowed down. Among her many post-Bond projects have been playing Storm in a few "X-Men" movies, and starring in the feature films "Catwoman," "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," and "John Wick 3: Parabellum," in addition to headlining the TV series "Extant."

Berry made her directorial debut with the 2020 Netflix movie "Bruised," in which she's also the star.

In addition to Halle Berry, "Die Another Day" also featured Rosamund Pike in the role of Miranda Frost, a British intelligence operative who's secretly working for notorious diamond magnate Sir Gustav Graves. Being a Bond girl caused Pike's fledgling movie career to take off, including "Pride and Prejudice," "An Education," "Jack Reacher," "Gone Girl" (for which she received an Oscar nomination), "I Care a Lot," and many more. In 2021, she starred in Prime Video's hit fantasy series "The Wheel of Time."

Looking back at her experience as a Bond girl, Pike told Entertainment Weekly what it was like to be in such a massive movie so early in her career. "There's so much mythology around the Bond films, there's so much riding on it, so much attention on it, there's so many eyes on it — I didn't really understand any of that," Pike admitted. 

The Bond franchise was reimagined and toughened up when Daniel Craig was cast as 007 in 2006's "Casino Royale." Starring opposite Craig was Eva Green, playing doomed Bond girl Vesper Lynd. The movie did its job by invigorating the franchise and earning rave reviews (not to mention more than $600 million at the box office), and also put Green on the map. From there, Green went on to appear in films including "The Golden Compass," "Dark Shadows," "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," and "Dumbo." She also made a big splash on the small screen in the Showtime series "Penny Dreadful." 

However, as Green revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she initially balked at signing on for "Casino Royale." "I was probably a bit stupid or naive. I said, 'Ugh, a Bond girl? What kind of prissy girl is that?' They also kept the script secret," Green said. "So it wasn't until they gave me the script [nine months later] that I realized it was a meaty role."

Just as the film reinvented 007 for a new era, so too did Green's role in "Casino Royale" revamp the notion of what a Bond girl could be. "I didn't see her as a Bond girl," Green explained. "She's a strong character; she's got cracks."

Gemma Arterton is a well-known actor these days, but she was significantly less famous when the 21-year-old was cast as British intelligence agent Strawberry Fields in "Quantum of Solace," the 2008 followup to "Casino Royale." After that, her star rose thanks to high-profile roles in films such as "The Boat That Rocked," "Clash of the Titans," "The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," "The King's Man," and her work in the 2022 TV series "Funny Woman." 

Looking back, Arterton later admitted she'd come to have reservations about being a Bond girl. "At the beginning of my career, I was poor as a church mouse and I was happy just to be able to work and earn a living," she said. "I still get criticism for accepting 'Quantum of Solace,' but I was 21, I had a student loan, and you, know, it was a Bond film," Arterton told The Sun. "But as I got older I realized there was so much wrong with Bond women."

She also regrets the scene in which Daniel Craig's Bond seduces her character. "Strawberry should have just said no, really, and worn flat shoes," Arterton declared.

French actor Bérénice Marlohe starred opposite Daniel Craig in 2012's "Skyfall," playing former sex slave and reluctant SPECTRE associate Sévérine. Up until that point, Marlohe's credits had predominantly been in French films. After "Skyfall," however, that all changed. She starred in films such as "5 to 7," "Song to Song," "Kill Switch," "Revolt," and "Valley of the Gods." She also appeared in the TV series "The Spoils Before Dying," and in David Lynch's 2017 "Twin Peaks" revival. In 2020, Deadline reported that Marlohe had enlisted new representation. In addition, in 2012, she had become the brand ambassador for Omega watches. 

Speaking with Interview, Marlohe said she believed that being cast in "Skyfall" wasn't a lucky break, but something that was predestined. As she recalled, she'd just arrived in Los Angeles, and felt she was up against a brick wall trying to break into Hollywood. "I was asking myself, 'How am I ever going to get an agent?'" she said, noting it was then that she had a dream in which actor Javier Bardem — who played the villain in "Skyfall" — made an appearance. "I woke up with a sensation in my stomach that told me everything was going to be fine," she added, revealing she landed the "Skyfall" role not long after.

Léa Seydoux made 007 history when she was cast as French psychiatrist Dr. Madeleine Swann in 2015's "SPECTRE," playing the same Bond girl in two consecutive films when she reprised the role in "No Time to Die," released in 2021. Seydoux has been in high demand since making her debut as a Bond girl, appearing in such movies as "It's Only the End of the World," "The Command," "Oh Mercy!," "The French Dispatch," and "Crimes of the Future." 

Seydoux shared an interesting take on her particular iteration as a Bond girl, proclaiming her character as an example of how much Bond girls had evolved since the franchise's beginning 50 years earlier. "My character is not a stereotype," she said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar. "It's not clichéd. She's a real woman, and an interesting woman. That's what we needed."

While it was Léa Seydoux's character who had the larger and more poignant role in "No Time to Die," Ana de Armas made one heck of an impression during her scene-stealing, action-packed fight sequence in which her Bond girl, Paloma, helps Daniel Craig's 007 fend off an army of baddies. While there was a period when de Armas had been best known for her romance with Ben Affleck, she also garnered attention for her role in 2019's "Knives Out," in which she also co-starred with Craig. 

After "No Time to Die," de Armas has been working at a furious pace, appearing in the films "Deep Water," and "The Gray Man." It was her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the controversial 2022 Netflix movie "Blonde," however, that garnered the most attention. 

As she explained in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, making all those films (as of January 2022, she had one film in the can, "Ghosted," and another in production, "Ballerina") was far from a hardship. "I'm not complaining," she said of her relentless workload, "because it's taken me a long time to get here, and I'm living my dream."