Ursula Andress
| Ursula Andress | |
|---|---|
 Ursula Andress in 2006 during an event in Ostermundigen, Switzerland. |
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| Born | 19 March 1936 Ostermundigen, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1954–2005 |
| Spouse(s) | John Derek (m. 1957–1966) |
| Partner(s) |
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Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-American actress and sex symbol of the 1960s.[1] She is known for her role as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962), for which she won a Golden Globe. She later starred as Vesper Lynd in the Bond-parody Casino Royale (1967).
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Early life [edit]
Andress was born in Ostermundigen, Canton of Bern, Switzerland, the daughter of Anna, who was Swiss, and Rolf Andress, a German diplomat who was expelled from Switzerland for political reasons. He disappeared during World War II.[2]
Career [edit]
Andress became famous as Honey Ryder, a shell diver and James Bond's object of desire in Dr. No (1962), the first Bond movie.[3] In a well-known scene, she rises out of the Caribbean Sea in a white bikini. The scene made Andress the "quintessential" Bond girl,[4] and is now considered iconic.[5] "My entrance in the film wearing the bikini on that beautiful beach made me world famous as 'the Bond girl'", she said, and the bikini from this "classic moment in cinema and Bond history" sold at auction in 2001 for £41,125 ($59,755) including commissions and tax.[6][7] In 2003, in a UK Survey by Channel 4, her entrance in Dr. No was voted #1 in "the 100 Greatest Sexy Moments".[8]
Andress won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in 1964 for her performance in Dr. No.[9] Due to her heavy Swiss-German accent, her character's voice was provided by Nikki van der Zyl, while the calypso was sung by Diana Coupland.[10] In 1965, she posed nude for Playboy.[11] When asked why she had agreed to do the Playboy shoot she replied coolly, "Because I'm beautiful."[12]
Andress co-starred with Elvis Presley in the 1963 musical film, Fun in Acapulco, with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in 4 for Texas (1963), opposite Marcello Mastroianni in The 10th Victim (1965), alongside John Richardson in She (1965), and as the countess in The Blue Max (1966). She also appeared in the Bond satire Casino Royale (1967) as Vesper Lynd, an occasional spy who persuades Evelyn Tremble, as played by Peter Sellers, to carry out a mission. Her heavy accent was dubbed over in Dr. No, but she used her own voice in Casino Royale.
In 1967, Andress turned down the role of Matilda in the British-thriller Berserk!, a role that eventually went to English actress, Diana Dors. In 1981's Clash of the Titans she co-starred with Laurence Olivier. In 1995, Andress was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in film history."
After her son's birth, Andress scaled back her career, which focused mostly on European TV and films.
Personal life [edit]
In 1957, Andress married actor/director John Derek; they divorced in 1966. One of her longest affairs was with Jean-Paul Belmondo while he was still married to his first wife.[13] In 1980, she had a son, Dimitri, with American actor Harry Hamlin, her co-star in the film Clash of the Titans.[14]
On 18 May 2006, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Swiss Consulate General in Scotland, Ursula Andress celebrated her 70th birthday on board the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh in the presence of an international crowd of celebrities.
Filmography [edit]
| Film | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Un americano a Roma | 1954 | Astrid | |
| La catena dell'odio | 1955 | Unknown | |
| Le avventure di Giacomo Casanova | 1955 | ||
| Dr. No | 1962 | Honey Ryder | |
| Fun in Acapulco | 1963 | Marguerita Dauphin | |
| 4 for Texas | 1963 | Maxine Richter | |
| Once Before I Die | 1965 | Alex | |
| Nightmare in the Sun | 1965 | Wife | |
| She | 1965 | Ayesha | |
| What's New Pussycat? | 1965 | Rita | |
| Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine | 1965 | Alexandrine Pinardel | |
| The 10th Victim | 1965 | Caroline Meredith | |
| The Blue Max | 1966 | Countess Kaeti von Klugermann | |
| Casino Royale | 1967 | Vesper Lynd/007 | |
| Le dolci signore | 1968 | Norma | |
| The Southern Star | 1969 | Erica Kramer | |
| Perfect Friday | 1970 | Britt | |
| Red Sun | 1971 | Cristina | |
| Five Against Capricorn | 1972 | ||
| L'ultima chance | 1973 | Michelle Nolton | |
| Colpo in canna | 1974 | Nora Green | |
| L'infermiera | 1975 | Anna | |
| Africa Express | 1975 | Madeleine Cooper | |
| Le avventure e gli amori di Scaramouche | 1975 | Josephine De Beauharnais | |
| Safari Express | 1976 | Miriam | |
| Spogliamoci così senza pudor | 1976 | English title: Sex With a Smile II | |
| La montagna del dio cannibale | 1978 | Susan Stevenson | English title: The Mountain of the Cannibal God |
| Doppio delitto | 1978 | Principessa Dell'Orso | English title: Double Murder |
| The Fifth Musketeer | 1979 | Louise de la Vallière | |
| Letti selvaggi | 1979 | The Stroller and the Widow | English title: Tigers in Lipstick |
| Clash of the Titans | 1981 | Aphrodite | |
| Red Bells | 1982 | Mabel Dodge | |
| Manimal | 1983 | Karen | TV series |
| Liberté, égalité, choucroute | 1985 | Marie-Antoinette | |
| Peter the Great | 1986 | Athalie | TV series |
| Falcon Crest | 1987–88 | Madame Malec | TV series |
| Klassäzämekunft | 1988 | ||
| Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders | 1989 | Betty Starr | TV movie |
| Il Professore – Diva | 1989 | Susy Kaminski | TV |
| Fantaghirò 3 | 1993 | Xellesia | TV series |
| Fantaghirò 4 | 1994 | Xellesia | TV series |
| Alles gelogen | 1996 | ||
| Cremaster 5 | 1997 | Queen of Chain | |
| Vogelpredigt, Die | 2005 |
References [edit]
- ^ Tom Lisanti, Louis Paul (2002). Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962–1973. McFarland. p.38. ISBN 0-7864-1194-5.
- ^ Mark Anstead (7 December 2002). Bond girl who made a killing. The Guardian. Accessed 2008-06-30.
- ^ Dr No bikini for sale (12 January 2001). BBC News. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- ^ Rebecca Thomas (19 November 1999). One girl is not enough. BBC News. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- ^ Kathryn Westcott (5 July 2006). The bikini: Not a brief affair. BBC News. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- ^ Bond bikini sells for £35,000 (14 February 2001). BBC News. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- ^ Christie's Auction Result (14 February 2001). Christie's Auction. Accessed 2012-06-16.
- ^ Andress scene voted 'most sexy' (30 November 2003). BBC News. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- ^ Ursula Andress. GoldenGlobes.org. Accessed 2008-02-18.
- ^ Actress Diana Coupland dies at 74 (10 November 2006). BBC News. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- ^ Ursula Andress Playboy.co.uk.
- ^ Julie Burchill (10 October 2011). Selling sex... why be coy about it?. The Independent. Accessed 2011-10-10.
- ^ Elaine Sciolino (21 January 2009). French star as he is, stroke and all. NY Times. Accessed 2012-04-04.
- ^ Logan Bentley (5 May 1980). Urged by Her 28-Year-Old Lover, Harry Hamlin, Ursula Andress Faces Motherhood at 44. People. Accessed 2010-12-14.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ursula Andress |
| Preceded by None |
Bond girl 1962 |
Succeeded by Daniela Bianchi |
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