The success of the James Bond franchise is due in large part to the iconic women who came to be known as “Bond girls.” We’ve recently discovered what these beautiful, mysterious, and intriguing women are up to these days. Some of their stories might surprise you.
Claudine Auger – Domino
Claudine Auger is a French actress and former Miss France Monde. While on holiday in Nassau, writer-producer Kevin McClory spotted her and suggested she audition for his new film, Thunderball. She took his advice and ended up with the part of Domino, which was originally written for an Italian actress. Because Auger impressed the producers so much, they adjusted to part to fit a French woman. Despite her efforts to perfect her English, her voice was eventually dubbed over by Nikki van der Zyl.
Claudine Auger – Now
Claudine Auger’s performance in Thunderball was the start of a long successful career in European film. Unfortunately, she never really broke through the US industry again following her time as a Bond girl. Auger has remained close with fellow Bond-girls, appearing alongside Ursula Andress in the 1968 Italian comedy, Anyone Can Play, and alongside future Bond girls Barbara Bach and Barbara Bouchet in Black Belly of the Tarantula. Her last movie was 1997’s The Red and the Black, which featured Bond girl, Carole Bouquet.
Mie Hama – Kissy Suzuki
Before Mie Hama was a Bond girl, she was one of Japan’s most popular actresses, appearing in over 60 movies. Hama became famous in Western cinema when she portrayed the Bond girl Kissy Suzuki in 1967’s You Only Live Twice. Along with her co-star, Akiko Wakabayashi, Hama was one of the first Asian Bond girls. She was originally meant to play Wakabayashi’s character, Aki, but because of Hama’s poor English, the two traded roles and her voice was overdubbed by Nikki van der Zyl.
Mie Hama – Now
Following her time as a Bond girl, Mie Hama left acting, telling the New York Times in a 2017 article that she was interested in pursuing a normal life in Japan. Hama is now a dedicated environmentalist and advocate for the preservation of old farms and farming techniques. She is a big supporter of Japan’s natural wonders and anything having to do with preserving the environment. Hama is now the author of 14 books, as well as a television and radio host.
Diana Rigg – Tracy Bond
Before becoming the wife of James Bond, Diana Rigg got her big break playing Emma Peel in the 1960’s television series The Avengers. Rigg was then cast as Tracy bond in the 1969 Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. While it was originally planned that Rigg’s character would remain in the Bond movies for the 1971 film, Diamonds Are Forever, this idea was dropped during the filming of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service when George Lazenby chose to step down from playing James Bond.
Diana Rigg – Now
Diana Rigg, now almost 80 years old, has remained busy, landing roles in film, television, and theater since her time as a bond girl in the 1960s. In the past few years, she is most recognizable from her role as the noble Olenna Tyrell on the popular HBO series, Game of Thrones. In addition, Rigg has recently appeared in an episode of Dr. Who, as well as the Broadway production of My Fair Lady. Throughout her career, she has been an outspoken critic of feminism.
Shirley Eaton – Jill Masterson
Shirley Eaton is an English actress who was popular in British film throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964, Eaton became the Bond girl Jill Masterson in the film Goldfinger. In the film, Jill Masterson dies of skin suffocation after being covered from head to toe in gold paint. The gold lifeless body of Jill Masterson became one of the most striking shots from the entire Bond series. The iconic image was even featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1964.
Shirley Eaton – Now
Following her character’s bizarre death in Goldfinger, rumors emerged that Shirley Eaton had actually died during filming. Eaton appeared in a 2003 episode of Myth Busters to dispel the urban myth. Shirley made a few more films in the late 1960s before retiring to spend more time with family in 1969. In a 1999 interview with Starlog magazine, she supported her own decision to leave acting by saying, “A career is a career, but you’re a mother until you die.”