Ursula Andress

Über Ursula Andress

Ursula Andress, born on March 19, 1936, is a Swiss actress celebrated for her contributions to film and her status as a prominent sex symbol of the 1960s. She gained significant recognition for her portrayal of two iconic Bond girls: Honey Ryder in Dr. No and Vesper Lynd in the 1967 spoof Casino Royale. Ursual hails from Ostermundigen, Bern, Switzerland, where she was born to a Swiss-German mother and a German father, Rolf Andress, who served as a diplomat before going missing during World War II. She is the second youngest of six siblings, having four sisters and one brother, and is multilingual, speaking English, French, Italian, and German.

Andress began her professional journey as an art model in Rome, which facilitated her entry into the Italian film sector. Her rise to fame came with her role as Honey Ryder, a character who captivates James Bond in Dr. No, the inaugural film in the Bond franchise, released in 1962. The scene showcasing her emergence from the ocean in a bikini has since become legendary, establishing her as the "quintessential" Bond girl. "My entrance in the film wearing the bikini on that beautiful beach made me world famous as 'the Bond girl'," she remarked, with the iconic bikini from this moment fetching £35,000 at auction in 2001. Her memorable entrance was recognized as the number one in Channel 4's 2003 UK survey, "the 100 Greatest Sexy Moments," and was also ranked as the second sexiest movie moment by the Australian series 20 to 1 in 2007. For her role in Dr. No, she received a Golden Globe award in 1964 for New Star of the Year. Although her voice in Dr. No was dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl, she used her own voice in Casino Royale.

In addition to her Bond roles, Andress appeared alongside the legendary Elvis Presley in Fun in Acapulco (1963) and shared the screen with Frank Sinatra in 4 for Texas (1963) as well as with Marcello Mastroianni in The 10th Victim (1965). The character of Vesper Lynd allowed her to showcase her voice, differing from her earlier experience. In 1965, she also posed nude for Playboy. Later, she starred opposite the esteemed Laurence Olivier in the 1981 film Clash of the Titans. In 1995, she was acknowledged by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in film history," solidifying her lasting impact on cinema and popular culture.