Bond girl

A female actor taking a lead role in a James Bond movie, or the character they play. Bond movies are known for the appearance of extremely attractive women in major roles, (although secondary to Bond). Bond Girls are not recurring characters, and generally appear in only one movie. (Characters such as M and Miss Moneypenny are not usually thought of as Bond Girls). Bond Girl characters often have names that are double entendres, such as 'Pussy Galore'.

Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers

Bond girl roles are high profile parts, and the announcement of the actresses playing them is usually surrounded with a large amount of publicity. For actresses not already established, the parts can be a major boost to a career.

Most Bond Girl characters fall into one of the categories of:

• victim rescued by Bond early in the movie
• fellow agent assigned to the same task
• villain or member of enemy organisation bent on Bond's destruction

Enemy Bond girls frequently change sides during the course of the movie. Supposedly friendly girls have also been known to betray Bond. Initially Bond girls were relatively ineffectual characters, needing to be rescued and protected by Bond. In later movies they became more equal, having special skills needed by Bond to complete his mission, and sometimes rescuing Bond. It is usual for surviving Bond girl characters at the end of the movie to express their gratitude and affection for Bond in the most intimate way possible. Uniquely one Bond Girl (Tracy in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, played by Diana Rigg) married Bond at the end of the movie, only to be killed the same day.

Although it is sometimes thought that the only requirements for an actress in a Bond girl role are to look good in a variety of skimpy costumes, many fine actresses have played the roles, and have had distinguished careers before and afterwards. As of 2003 Halle Berry is the only Oscar winner to play a Bond girl.

The list of Bond girls so far:

1. Dr. No (1962) Ursula Andress
2. From Russia With Love (1963) Daniela Bianchi
3. Goldfinger (1964) Shirley Eaton, Honor Blackman
4. Thunderball (1965) Claudine Auger
5. You Only Live Twice (1967) Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama
6. Casino Royale (1967) Ursula Andress, Jacqueline Bisset, Deborah Kerr, Daliah Lavi, and Bond's girl Joanna Pettet)
7. Diamonds are Forever (1971) Jill St. John
8. Never Say Never Again (1983) Kim Basinger)
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Diana Rigg
10. Live and Let Die (1973) Jane Seymour
11. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) Britt Ekland and Maud Adams
12. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Barbara Bach
13. Moonraker (1979) Lois Chiles)
14. For Your Eyes Only (1981) Carole Bouquet
15. Octopussy (1983) Maud Adams
16. A View to a Kill (1985) Tanya Roberts and Grace Jones
17. The Living Daylights (1987) Maryam D'Abo
18. Licence to Kill (1989) Talisa Soto and Carey Lowell
19. GoldenEye (1995) Izabella Scorupco and Famke Janssen
20. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Teri Hatcher and Michelle Yeoh
21. The World Is Not Enough (1999) Sophie Marceau and Denise Richards
22. Die Another Day (2002) Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike

In author Ian Fleming's first Bond book, Casino Royale, it is believed that he based the female character "Vesper Lynd" on real life SOE agent, Christine Granville.