The first Bond girl in cinema history: Who is Ursula Andress?
Until the 1980s, she continued to be among the most desired women in the world. She broke away from cinema in the 1990s. She played the most remembered role of her career in 1962.
Ursula Andress is a Swiss actress. She went down in cinema history as the first 'Bond girl' with her role as Honey Ryder in the first Bond movie, Dr No.
She was born in 1936 in Ostermundigen, near Bern, as the third of six children of the German couple Anna and Rolf Andress. Besides German, she also learned French and Italian.
She studied painting in Paris for 1 year, then went to Rome and worked in various jobs such as babysitting. She made a name for herself by starring in various Italian films through a producer she met here.
Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962). She later starred as Vesper Lynd in the 1967 Bond parody Casino Royale. Other credits include Fun in Acapulco (1963), 4 for Texas (1963), She (1965), The 10th Victim (1965), The Blue Max (1966), The Southern Star (1969), Perfect Friday (1970), Red Sun (1971), The Sensuous Nurse (1975), Slave of the Cannibal God (1978), The Fifth Musketeer (1979), Clash of the Titans (1981), and Peter the Great (1986).
Andress, who started receiving offers from America thanks to her beauty, went to Hollywood but did not appear in many films for the rest of the 1950s because she had difficulty learning English.
She played the most remembered role of her career in 1962. She became a legend not only for her role as Honey in Dr. No but also for the white bikini she wore in a scene in the movie. She continued to be among the most desired women in the world until the 1980s, with films such as Fun in Acapulco, Casino Royale, Anyone Can Play, Red Sun, Slave of the Cannibal God, and Clash of the Titans (1981).
She broke away from cinema in the 1990s. Andress, who married American actor and director John Derek in 1957, parted ways in 1963 and was officially divorced in 1966. Apart from this marriage, she had media relations with names such as James Dean, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Ryan O'Neal. In 1980, she gave birth to a son named Dimitri Hamlin from her relationship with another American actor, Harry Hamlin.