Bond Girls: A Scholars’ Spotlight – (Part 1)

Introduction

This is Part I in a series of biographical articles that are focused on the iconic “Bond Girls”  that appeared throughout the entire James Bond franchise. Since this is the first entry, we will focus on three of the ladies that appeared in the Sean Connery era – Claudine Auger (Thunderball), Daniella Bianchi (From Russia With Love), and Lucianna Paluzzi (Thunderball).

Lucianna Paluzzi

Early Years

Luciana Paluzzi was born in Rome on June 10, 1937. Her father was an Italian Naval officer. This would influence her decision to study Naval Engineering at the Scientific Academy of Milan. Notably, she was the only woman in her class.

Acting Beginnings

In 1954, Paluzzi got a walk-on role in Three Coins in a Fountain (1954). This was because a friend of her father’s was invited to their house for dinner, and happened to be looking for a young actress to perform a very short two-line role for the movie.

Over the next few years, the actress appeared in several Italian films. This included My Seven Little Sins (1954), The Lebanese Mission (1956), and Mademoissel Striptease (1956). In 1957, Paluzzi was cast in a pair of movies produced in the UK – No Time to Die and Sea Fury.

Hollywood Calls

In 1959, Paluzzi decided to move to Hollywood, as she was under contract to 20th Century Fox. Her first series was Five Fingers, starring James Mason. This was canceled after only three months.

In 1960, Paluzzi was cast in Return to Peyton Place. In it she played the wife of a character played by Brett Halsey. The pair got married in real life that same year. They would go on to have a son, before divorcing in 1962.

She would appear in a few guest spots on television over the next few years. This included an episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. As well as starring opposite Buddy Hackett in the comedy Muscle Beach Party (1964).

Thunderball and Beyond

In 1965, Paluzzi auditioned for the role of Domino Vitali in the James Bond thriller Thunderball. The producers didn’t like her for that role, and she was subsequently cast as the movie’s lead villainess Fiona Volpe instead.

After Thunderball, Paluzzi primarily starred in Italian movies. Such as 99 Women (1969) and The Italian Connection (1972). In the United States, she mostly did television work. This included guest spots on The Six Million Dollar Man (1973) and Hawaii Five-Oh (1978). In 1979, Paluzzi married American media mogul Michael Jay Solomon. Soon after she retired from acting.

Claudine Auger

Early Life

Auger was born in Nazi-occupied Paris, France on April 26, 1941. In 1958 she earned the title of “Miss France Monde.” She was also the first runner-up in the Miss World contest. A year later, she married her first husband, writer-director Pierre Gaspard-Huit. He was 25 years her senior. They divorced many years later.

Early Roles

Auger’s first role was an uncredited one as a ballerina in Jean Cocteau’s 1960 movie, Testament of Orpheus. Her husband cast her a couple of years later in Le Masque De Fer and Kali Yug: Goddess Of Vengeance.

Thunderball

When Auger was on holiday in the Bahamas, writer-producer Kevin McClory saw her. He recommended to her that she audition for the part of Domino in the upcoming James Bond movie Thunderball. After the movie’s release, she appeared semi-nude in Playboy magazine.

Post-Bond Roles

Auger’s film roles were more abundant in Europe than in America after Thunderball. This included Triple Cross (1966) and The Killing Game (1967). She also starred with fellow Bond girls Ursula Andress in Anyone Can Play (1968). As well as with Barbara Bach (and Barbara Bouchet) in Black Belly Of The Tarantula (1971).

Auguer would retire from acting in 1995. Her final role would be in Los Hombres Simper Mienten. The actress passed away in 2019 in her hometown of Paris.

Daniela Bianchi

Daniela Bianchi was born in Rome on January 31, 1942. Prior to working as a model and an actress, she studied ballet for eight years. Bianchi’s first role in a movie was a bit part in an Italian movie. 1958’s En cas de malheur. In 1960 she was the first runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant. The press voted her Miss Photogenic during the contest.

From 1961-2 Bianchi would appear in three more Italian movies; Les Démons de minuit (1961), La spada del Cid (1962), and Una domenica d’estate (1962).

Her big breakout role came the following year when she was cast as Tanya, the Russian love interest of Agent 007 in the James Bond vehicle From Russia With Love (1963). Her Italian accent was so heavy that her voice had to be dubbed by British Shakespearean actress Barbara Jefford.

Bianchi primarily appeared in French and Italian movies over the next few years. The most famous role was in the James Bond spoof Operation Kid Brother (1967). This starred Sean Connery’s brother, Neil. Along with other actors that appeared in the first four Bond movies (including Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell).

Her only American role was in Dr. Kildare (1964). Bianchi would later retire from public life in 1970. After she married Alberto Cameli, an Italian shipping magnate. They were married until his death in 2018.

If You Enjoyed This Article on “Bond Girls” We Recommend:

The Making of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (Click Here)

Scholars’ Spotlight: Bond Girls – Part 2 (Click Here)

Scholars’ Spotlight: Robert Shaw (Click Here)

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