TV & Movies
Its been a long journey.
(Some people dont even like to use the term Bond girl, labeling it dismissive.)
The benefit of the franchises longevity is that this archetype has been given time to evolve.
Sylvia Trench
Dr. No(1962)
The first Bond girl ever!
Trench: Trench, Sylvia Trench.
I admire your luck, Mr… ?
Bond: Bond, James Bond.
Honey Ryder
Of course, when you think Bond girl, you probably think about thesecondwoman who appears inDr.
Her introduction, in which she rises from the sea in a white bikini, is iconic.
Fiona Volpe
Thunderball(1965)
To call Fiona formidable would be an understatement.
She joins forces with Bond and unlike some of the women before her doesnotdie.
She actually manages to kill Largo herself, andshes glad she did it.
For a character dragged into the action, she really holds her own.
Spoiler alert: she is immediately murdered.
I guess thats one way to preserve Bonds single status, but its still a tragedy.
The first major American Bond girl didnt get a very fair shake.
Rosie Carver
Live and Let Die(1973)
Bonds first Black love interest dies depressingly quickly.
The first one, as the mistress of an assassin, is the less fun role.
She enlists Bonds help because she feels trapped.
Bond surprises her in the shower, threatens her, and then smacks her in the face.
Then she still decides to sleep with him later and is immediately murdered by her assassin boyfriend.
Shes a Russian spy who resolves to kill Bond for murdering her lover, a fellow Russian agent.
During their attempts to out-spy each other, she and Bond develop some pretty amazing chemistry.
But then the film ends with Holly and Bond sleeping together in orbit.
I mean,she literally lifts a man over her head!
Her breathy performance is sometimes criticized, but shes also not given a ton to work with.
Xenia Onatopp
GoldenEye(1995)
This character basically sexes people to death!
Famke Janssen is having the best time in this, and I love every second shes on screen.
She dies, of course, but shes also a pilot and a ruthlessly efficient agent to boot.
Natalya Simonova
Natalya (Izabella Scorupco) is one of those really good at her job Bond girls.
She successfully evades a mass execution alongside her fellow programmers, then helps Bond as his impromptu IT guru.
As with a number of deaths on this list, this instance offridgingdrives Bond to seek revenge.
Wai Lin
Michelle Yeoh was the female James Bond, according to Bond actor Pierce Brosnan himself.
(She totally killed her dad!)
She gets Bond to trust her before happily revealing her true nature.
She sure does, but she instigates a ton of enjoyable mayhem beforehand.
Jinx was another character whowas considered for a spinoff, but ultimately didnt get one.
EvenArterton herselfhas spoken about the characters depressing arc.
Camille (Olga Korylenko) is an intelligence officer seeking to kill the general who slaughtered her family.
Still, its a step.
Harris trains as a field officer alongside Bond before giving it up to sit behind her historic desk.
Silva wins by shooting her in the head.
Like I said, a bummer.
While not a traditional Bond girl jot down, M has snappier banter with 007 than anyone else does.
To see him take direction from someone so smart and powerful is a joy to watch.
Still, she imbues a ton of life into her few scenes.
Shes also a major character in 2021sNo Time to Die.
Nomi
No Time to Die(2021)
Lashana Lynch plays the first Black woman 007.
Even though trolls protested her casting online, shes happy to be in the revolutionary role.
“I feel very grateful that I get to challenge those narratives … Paloma
Ana de Armas rolehas been hailed as one of the best parts of the movie.
She’s a lot of fun very active, very badass!”
