| Ursula Andress | |
|---|---|
Andress in her iconic Dr. No scene and famous white bikini |
|
| Born | 19 March 1936 Ostermundigen, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1954–2005 |
| Spouse | John Derek (m. 1957–1966) |
| Partner |
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Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss actress and sex symbol of the 1960s.[1] She is known for her roles as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, in 1962, for which she won a Golden Globe, and as Vesper Lynd in the 1967 James Bond parody Casino Royale.
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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] Andress has four sisters and one brother. She is fluent in English, French, Italian, German and her native Swiss German (Schwizertütsch).
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 for £35,000 at auction in 2001.[6] In 2003, in a UK Survey by Channel 4, her entrance in Dr. No was voted #1 in "the 100 Greatest Sexy Moments".[7]
Andress won a 1964 Golden Globe award for New Star of the Year for her performance in Dr. No.[8] Her voice was provided by Nikki van der Zyl, while the calypso was sung by Diana Coupland.[9] In 1965, she posed nude for Playboy.[10] When asked why she had agreed to do the Playboy shoot she replied cooly, "Because I'm beautiful."[11]
Andress co-starred with Elvis Presley in the 1963 film, Fun in Acapulco, with Frank Sinatra in 4 for Texas (1963), opposite Marcello Mastroianni in The 10th Victim (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 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 the her son's birth, Andress scaled back her career, which focused mostly on European TV and films.
In 1957, Andress married actor/director, John Derek; they divorced in 1966. Andress dated many of Hollywood's leading men, including co-stars Marlon Brando, and James Dean. One of her longest affairs was with Jean-Paul Belmondo while he was still married to his first wife. In 1980, she had a son, Dimitri, with American actor Harry Hamlin, her co-star in the film Clash of the Titans.[12]
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. Her birthday cake was made by Anton Mosimann who also presented the cake to Ursula Andress. On top of the cake was a sculpture of Ursula Andress showing her in her iconic Dr. No scene.
| Film | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Un americano a Roma | 1954 | ||
| La catena dell'odio | 1955 | ||
| 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 | |
| La decima vittima | 1965 | Caroline Meredith | English title: The 10th Victim |
| 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 | |
| Soleil rouge | 1971 | Cristina | English title: Red Sun |
| Five Against Capricorn | 1972 | ||
| L'ultima chance | 1973 | Michelle Nolton | |
| Colpo in canna | 1974 | Nora Green | English title: Loaded Guns |
| L'infermiera | 1975 | Anna | English title: The Sensuous Nurse |
| 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 2 | |
| 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 | |
| Krasnye kolokola, film pervyy - Meksika v ogne | 1982 | Mabel Dodge | |
| Manimal | 1983 | Karen | TV |
| Liberté, égalité, choucroute | 1985 | Marie-Antoinette | |
| Peter the Great | 1986 | Athalie | TV series |
| Falcon Crest | 1987 to 1988 | Madame Malec | TV series |
| Klassäzämekunft | 1988 | ||
| Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders | 1989 | Betty Starr | TV |
| 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 |
| Preceded by Linda Christian |
Bond girl 1962 |
Succeeded by Daniela Bianchi |
| Preceded by Claudine Auger |
Bond girl 1967 |
Succeeded by Mie Hama |