A man is only as strong as the woman at his side! Ever since Ursula Andress made her debut as the original “Bond girl” in 1962’s Dr. No, the leading ladies of the iconic 007 action flicks became just as important as the man himself.
More than 70 women have portrayed Bond girls through the years, almost always proving to be independent, strong women.
“Bond has really changed with Daniel [Craig], in the sense that he’s less misogynistic,” Leá Seydoux, who starred in 2015’s Spectre, told Sky News before reprising her role in 2021’s No Time to Die.
“I think that this time the female characters have more depth and are stronger, but not only stronger because they are skilled and powerful, but also we want to have more interesting female characters,” the actress said. “We want to relate to them.”
She also noted how far the women’s roles have come in the Bond movies.
“It’s the first time that a female character is coming back,” she said of her character, Madeleine Swann. “We get to know her and we get to know Madeleine in No Time to Die. So I think that in that sense, it’s much more interesting.”
Ana de Armas, who will make her debut in the 2021 film, said that her character is like no other.
“Paloma is a really complete character. She’s definitely something else that I don’t think we’ve seen in other Bond girls in previous movies,” she told The Sun in September ahead of No Time to Die‘s release. “She’s a lot of fun — very active, very badass.”
The Knives Out star also said her friendship with Craig helped keep things go smoothly on set.
“It was so easy working with him because we had become friends, so I didn’t feel out of place being part of a huge production that you have with a Bond film,” she shared. “I love Daniel. He’s relentless. It doesn’t matter how exhausted he is, or how many broken bones he has, he still shows up and goes to work every day. It’s so inspiring.”
Scroll down to see more of the most memorable Bond girls over the years: