Nothing says clichéd damsel in distress or clichéd action heroine like a James Bond Girl. It’s one of the biggest trademarks of the series, you just can’t have a 007 adventure without a token Bond Girl to steal the show, or perhaps I should say “supply the eye candy”. It’s not always about who’s the most well developed character, who’s the strongest fighter or even the most attractive, for this list it’s all about who’s the most memorable and who left the biggest impact. Now this all is subject to personal opinion, so forgive me if I leave off some of the classic Bond Girls.
Obviously
she’s one of the franchises most famous and beloved leading ladies, but
personally, I never liked her that much. I just found her to be kind of
generic, and even forgettable. So why is she on my list, because her name is “PUSSY GALORE”, that's the definitive silly yet awesome name for a 007 girl. It’s become a tradition that Bond
girls have a name with some kind of sexual pun built in, but they all pale in
comparison to this hilarious title, even James Bond has a funny reaction to how
obscured her name is.
#9 Domino
(played by Kim Basinger) – Never Say
Never Again (1983)
Before Kim Basinger shined as one of Batman’s most memorable girl friends in the 1989 “Batman” classic and before winning a Golden Globe for the 1984 film “The Natural”, she was first a note worthy James Bond Girl friend that often gets overlooked. The character herself may come off like your typical, one note Bond Babe, but she has some memorable scenes, including an upbeat tango dance with 007 and a note worthy finally where she saves the day by rescuing James Bond and axing off the main villain, not to many Bond girls do that.
Before Kim Basinger shined as one of Batman’s most memorable girl friends in the 1989 “Batman” classic and before winning a Golden Globe for the 1984 film “The Natural”, she was first a note worthy James Bond Girl friend that often gets overlooked. The character herself may come off like your typical, one note Bond Babe, but she has some memorable scenes, including an upbeat tango dance with 007 and a note worthy finally where she saves the day by rescuing James Bond and axing off the main villain, not to many Bond girls do that.
No other
Bond girl is as conventional or as clichéd as Mary Goodnight. This young blond
has all the traits of your classic token female, and yet somehow she stands as
one of the most memorable of the series. While a little dimwitted, she proves
she can rescue herself before our hero can get the chance and of course no
other Bond girl rocks a bikini like her. Sure there have been others, but
honestly I think Goodnights blue swim suit even out matches the iconic figure
of Ursula Andress from “Dr. No”,
yeah, I said that.
Actress Maud
Adams was featured as a Bond girl once before in the 1974 film “The Man with the Golden Gun”, but her
character was killed before she could make a lasting impression. She got her
second chance as the title character Octopussy whose name might just be the
most memorable sense Pussy Galore. This joule smuggler is yet another Bond girl
originally employed by the bad guys, but then struck out on her own and became
one of the franchises most iconic ladies. She’s just the girl to put 007 in
double O Heaven.
#6 Tracy Di Vicenzo (played by Diana Rigg) – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
While I
wouldn’t call her one of the most attractive Bond girls, she’s definitely one
of the most intriguing and helped make George Lazenby’s single Bond picture a
classic amongst fans. While James Bond always has a relationship with his
girls, no one stole his heart like Tracy. To further prove the point, she’s the
only Bond girl that our hero has ever married. Unfortunately, their honeymoon
is cut short in one of the most tragic and unforgettable endings of the whole
series.
Born on
Friday the 13th, this Bond girl was appropriately nicknamed “Jinx”,
and is regarded as a bad luck charm to all but James Bond, who had the best
luck in the world receiving her as a partner. She’s a sword fighting, bikini
warring babe that pays omega to some of the classic Bond girls, while creating
her own traits and can kick some serious ass.
I might have
mentioned earlier that I really like Asian woman ... well, this chick has a lot
more to offer then your typical Asian good looks. She’s a martial arts master,
doesn’t fall for seductive tricks, has surprisingly good chemistry with our
main spy hero and is just a strait up awesome character. This Chinese spy is
widely regarded as one of the best Bond Babes, and her character was so
successful that MGM tinkered with the idea of giving her a standalone spin-off
movie. It also helped launch the carrier of Michelle Yeoh, leading her to star
in awesome films like “Crouching Tiger
Hidden Dragon”.
Now here’s
one of the more interesting Bond girls, with Solitaire you can never tell if
she’s good, evil or both. She’s a girl with psychic powers, is under the employ
of an evil drug lord, but meets her match when she fails to predict that her
heart will be stolen by 007. Jane Seymour was in her mid 20’s when she took on
the role of Solitaire, making her one of the youngest Bond girls, but also one
of the most beautiful and had a note worthy carrier in films like “Somewhere in Time” and she also stood
out as Sinbad’s love interest in “Sinbad
and the Eye of the Tiger”. With one heck of an attractive figure, and
always shrouded in mystery, she’s one Bond girl to watch out for.
Probably the
most complex and tragic of the Bond girls, Vesper has trouble deciding where
her elegance lies, but one thing’s for sure, she’s one of the phew woman to
really win the heart of James Bond. Launching the carrier of Eva Green, this
captivating agent proves to be both a valuable ally to Bond and also his
greatest weakness. Their back and forth relation is one of the highlights of
the series, and concludes with the most tragic ending sense “On Her Majesties Secret Service”.
Before I
crown my #1 girl, here are some honorable mentions ...
Mata Bond – Casino Royale (1967)
Tiffany Case
– Diamonds are Forever (1971)
Lupe Lamora –
Licence to Kill (1989)
#1 Agent XXX (played by Barbara Bach) – The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
#1 Agent XXX (played by Barbara Bach) – The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Of all the memorable Bond
girls, my absolute favorite by far who stands proud and tall among them is the
Russian KGB agent Anya Amasova, code named XXX from “The Spy Who Loved Me”.
This was a chick that could put up a fight and had a sly demeanor. Her
relation with Bond was also really good, instead of just falling in love
with him, she actually hated his guts because he was responsible for her
husband’s death and that built conflict between them. Under the circumstances,
she had no choice but to work with 007 and that made for a far more interesting
character than what we’re use to seeing in Bond films. She had great chemistry with Bond, owned
every scene she was in and helped make “The
Spy Who Loved Me” my favorite of the entire Bond film series.
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ReplyDeletethank you for the commentaries about the Bond girls and the films, very interesting. My favorites are Jane Seymour and Ursula Andrews.
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