Introduction
This is the third installment in our biographical series on Bond Girls. Please Click Here for Part 1. In this article, we cover three of the ladies that appeared in the Daniel Craig movies: Eva Green, Gemma Arterton, and Olga Kurylenko.
Eva Green
Eva Gaëlle Green was born in Paris, France on July 6, 1980, the older twin born 2 minutes earlier than her sister, Joy. Green was raised in France but spent considerable time in Ireland and England while growing up. She attended the American University of Paris, an English-speaking institution. Eventually, she studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
“At drama school I always picked the really evil roles. It’s a great way to deal with your everyday emotions”
– Eva Green
Green then moved back to her native France, where she appeared on stage in Jalousie en Trois Fax (2001) and Turcaret (2002). Her performance in the former was nominated for France’s prestigious Molière Award.
She also appeared in the Bernardo Bertolucci movie The Dreamers (2003), which required her to perform a substantial amount of nudity, as well as graphic sex scenes. Any apprehension she felt doing this explicit material was eased when working with master director Bertolucci.
“You always feel quite vulnerable when you’re naked on a set. You feel quite silly, actually. And with the green screen around you, it’s not that sexy. But, it looks stunning. It’s art. It’s not vulgar…not indecent, it’s not realistic, it’s beautiful, I think.”
– Eva Green
Green’s breakout role was in Kingdom of Heaven (2005) directed by Ridley Scott. She was cast right before filming began and had to go through a process of six screen tests to get the role of Sibylla, Princess of Jerusalem. Most of her screen time was cut in the movie’s theatrical release in order to shorten the runtime. However, it was restored in the Director’s Cut of the film.
Next, she was offered the part of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (2006), which she turned down due to the fact that it was already filming without a final script. She was approached months later with a now final script. After reading it she accepted the part, which is now considered one of the best in the James Bond franchise, winning her a BAFTA award.
Since Casino Royale, Green has gravitated towards historical and stylized properties including Penny Dreadful (2014-16), and 300: Rise of an Empire (2014). She also appeared in multiple Tim Burton projects; Dumbo (2019) and Dark Shadows (2012).
“I don’t want to be a Hollywood star. I just want to do my job and enjoy it. My aim is to find my true identity and to remain true to myself.”
– Eva Green
Olga Kurylenko
Olga Kurylenko was born on November 14, 1979, in Berdyansk, Ukraine to a Ukrainian mother and a Russian father. Her parents split up when she was three, and she was raised by her mother, seeing her father only sporadically during her childhood.
“My mom Marina and I were poor and hungry. We could sometimes not afford to eat – seriously. We lived together in a small town, called Berdyansk, in Ukraine. I was an only child. I don’t think we would have survived if there had been more kids.”
– Olga Kurylenko
In 1996, at the age of 16, Kurylenko moved to Paris where she signed with the Madison modeling agency. Over the next couple of years, she primarily appeared in print ads for brands including Bebe, Clarins, and Victoria’s Secret.
“I just love France, I love French people, I love the French language, I love French food…love their mentality. I just feel like it’s me. I’m very French.”
– Olga Kurylenko
Kurylenko appeared in two music videos prior to officially transitioning to acting. The first was in 1998 for French-Algerian singer Faudel’s song “Tellement Je T’aime.” In 2003, she appeared in Seal’s music video, “Love’s Divine.”
In 2001, Kurylenko became a French citizen after being married to French fashion photographer Cedric van Mol. They divorced in 2005. The following year she married American mobile phone accessory entrepreneur Damian Gabrielle. However, that marriage only lasted a year.
“To be a Bond girl you need courage, charm, determination, and feistiness.”
– Olga Kurylenko
During her tumultuous love life, she had appeared in L’Annulaire (2005) as well as Paris, je t’aime (2006) opposite Elijah Wood. Her first role in an American movie was in the adaptation of the video game Hitman (2007), starring Timothy Olyphant.
In 2008, Kurylenko was cast in the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace opposite Daniel Craig. She beat out Gal Gadot for the role of Bolivian Secret Service agent Camille Montes, who teams up with Bond to settle a vendetta because of the death of her parents.
The following year Kurylenko moved to London. She became involved with English actor Max Benitz, with whom she shares a son with.
Since appearing in a James Bond movie, Kurylenko has worked steadily as an actress. She has appeared in prestigious and acclaimed movies such as The Death of Stalin (2017) and The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), directed by Terry Gilliam. Most recently she had a large but non-speaking role in Black Widow (2021).
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton was born in Kent, England on February 2, 1986. Her working class parents divorced when she was a child, with the end result being living in public housing with her mother and younger sister.
Arterton began acting while attending the Gravesend Grammar School for Girls in Kent. Her first role was in the play The Boy Who Fell into a Book, for which she won considerable acclaim within the local community. It wasn’t long before she gained the attention of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London who gave her a full grant to study at the prestigious school. She graduated in 2008.
I wouldn’t change a thing in my own life, but I’d like to go back in time anyway though, just to some sort of eras that I wish I’d lived in – like the ’60s. I’d love to have been in London in the ’60s, partying away.
– Gemma Arterton
In 2007, a year before Arterton’s academic career would come to a close, she performed at the Globe Theatre as Rosaline in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. She also had her first big-screen role in the comedy St Trinian’s.
2008 was a huge year for Arterton. She appeared in two television series in the UK; Lost in Austen and Tess of the d’Urbervilles. However, her most memorable role was in the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace, as Strawberry Fields. To coincide with the films release, a Bond Girl perfume was released by Avon, with Arterton as the spokesmodel.
The years following her turn as a Bond Girl have seen Arterton play a variety of roles on and off the big screen. Some of her blockbuster fare includes Clash of the Titans (2010), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), and The King’s Man (2021). These serve as a contrast to her work in plays on London’s West End, such as George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan in 2017, and Nell Gwynn the year prior.
In 2019 Arterton married Irish screen actor Rory Keenan. Her prior marriage to Italian businessman Stefano Catelli ended in divorce in 2015, after five years of marriage.
