Where the Best Known Bond Girls are Now

James Bond has been a cultural icon for decades, and has remained relevant regardless of trends and the time period, partially due to his female costars, AKA the Bond girls. As popular as the character is, perhaps what grabs more headlines when a new Bond film is announced is who will be the newest Bond girl?

Through more than 20 films, the Bond series has introduced the world to dozens of women, many of them relatively unknown before their turn in the Bond franchise. And many times, that role provides a huge break in the actress’ career that often leads to greater fame. Do you remember these famous Bond girls?

Eunice Gayson

Eunice Gayson was the Bond girl who started it all. She starred in the first two Bond films from 1962 and ‘63, Dr. No and From Russia With Love, respectively.

Gayson was originally to play the role of Miss Moneypenny, but ended up playing Sylvia Trench, Bond’s first film crush. The studio floated the idea to allow Gayson to play a recurring role in the series, but they eventually nixed that idea. Still, she’ll always be known as our first Bond girl.

Ursula Andress

Another of the original Bond Girls, Andress helped immortalize the roles with her scene-stealing ocean appearance that would decades later be cleverly nodded to by Halle Berry in Die Another Day.

Daniela Bianchi

Bianchi, born in Italy, was a model and the first runner-up in the 1960 Miss Universe pageant, which helped land her several film roles in both Italy and France.

But her big break came when Bianchi landed the role of Tatiana Romanova in From Russia with Love, alongside fellow Bond girl Eunice Gayson. Bianchi continued to work in film after Bond, but the film remains her most prominent role.

Shirley Eaton

Shirley Eaton had been an accomplished actress prior to landing a role in the Bond series, and continued to work in film to late 1969.

Eaton had only a brief appearance in a Bond movie, but it was perhaps one of the most memorable. Eaton appeared as the woman painted all in gold in what many consider one of the best Bond films, Goldfinger. The iconic scene was so popular LIFE magazine used Eaton on its cover for the November 1964 issue.

Honor Blackman

Blackman made her big screen debut in 1947 with the film Fame is the Spur and continued to land roles in film and TV, most notably in Jason and the Argonauts and the British TV series, The Avengers. Her role in The Avengers helped land her one of the most iconic Bond girl roles in the film series.

Joining the cast of Goldfinger, the third Bond film, Blackman played the role of Pussy Galore (man, that’s a cringe-worthy name in this day and age), which continues to be one of the most recognizable in the entire film series.

Claudine Auger

French actress Claudine Auger started her career as a model, earning the Miss France Monde title and as first runner-up in the 1958 Miss World competition before moving into some minor film roles, which helped put her on the radar for 1965’s Bond flick, Thunderball as Dominique “Domino” Derval.

Auger would continue to star in many film roles after Bond up through the 1990’s.

Luciana Paluzzi

Paluzzi was born in Rome, Italy, in 1937, an dissimilar to many women on this list, Paluzzi had an immense resume before landing a role Fiona Volpe in 1965’s Thunderball. Though never starring in another huge blockbuster, Paluzzi would continue to act well into the 1980’s.

Akiko Wakabayashi

She was a relative unknown actress in Japan through the 1950’s and ‘60s, but Akiko Wakabayashi (say that three times fast! Go! We’ll wait…) got a breakthrough role in the 1962 film, King Kong vs. Godzilla.

Akiko was then cast in a minor role for You Only Live Twice, but her acting skills proved better than the producers anticipated and she was offered a larger role, that of Aki, the first non-European Bond girl in the series. Though the role was successful, Wakabayashi would retire after her big Bond role.

Lana Wood

Lana Wood is the younger sister of famed film actress Natalie Wood, who died under mysterious circumstances at the height of her career. Lana Wood followed in her older sister’s footsteps to the bright spotlight of Hollywood where she landed several film and TV roles.

Then in 1971, Lana got a crack at the Bond series with the film, Diamonds are Forever, portraying Plenty O’Toole. Wood continues to work in film as an actress and producer.

Jill St. John

Starring alongside Lana Wood in Diamonds are Forever, Jill St. John played Bond girl Tiffany Cas in the 1971 film.

St. John, a Los Angeles, California native, began her acting career in the 1960’s and continued to work through the 1990’s, but never found another big time role as she found in Diamonds are Forever. Diamonds might be forever, but an acting career isn’t necessarily…