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Ursula Andress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ursula Andress | |
 Ursula Andress |
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| Birth name | Ursula Andress |
| Born | March 19, 1936 (age 71) Berne, Switzerland |
| Notable roles | Honey Rider in Dr. No, Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale |
Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss actress who was a major sex symbol of the 1960s. She is best known for her role as the first Bond girl.
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Ursula Andress was born in Ostermundigen, Berne, Switzerland, to a Swiss mother and a German father. Her father, Rolf Andress, was a German diplomat. He disappeared during World War II. Andress has four sisters and one brother. She is fluent in English, French, Italian, and German.
Andress started her career as an art model in Rome, which led to her first roles in the active Italian movie industry. She became famous as Honey Ryder, a shell diver and James Bond's object of desire in Dr. No (1962), the first Bond movie. Her introduction in Dr. No became one of the most iconic moments of the franchise. She rises out of the Caribbean Sea in a white bikini, singing a calypso and tossing back her blonde hair. (The combination of sea, shells, and a stunning beauty has led some critics to trace the inspiration for this scene to Botticelli's The Birth of Venus.)
Andress has been considered the first and best Bond Girl by fans. In 1963, she won a Golden Globe for Best Promising Newcomer (Female).
Andress co-starred with the king of rock 'n' roll Elvis Presley in the 1963 film, Fun in Acapulco and she also appeared in the parody Bond movie Casino Royale (1967) as Vesper Lynd, an occasional spy who persuades Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) to carry out a mission. Her heavy accent was dubbed over by Monica Van Der Syl in Dr. No, but she used her own voice in Casino Royale.
In 1965, she posed nude for a picture for Playboy.
In 1981's Clash of the Titans, she starred opposite legendary English actor Sir Laurence Olivier
She was married in 1957 to actor/director John Derek. The marriage ended in divorce in 1966 due to her well-publicized love affair with French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. Andress dated many of Hollywood's leading men including co-stars Sean Connery, Marlon Brando and James Dean. In 1981, she had a son, Dimitri, with American actor Harry Hamlin, her co-star in the film Clash of the Titans.
- "If the role demands it, then naturally I will remove my clothes."
- "This bikini made me a success."
- "Bond, will you come back? Well, yes, I'm alone in this island, and you seem familiar to me."
In the 1963 James Bond novel, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, she is mentioned as a famous actor reflecting the fact that Ian Fleming thought she did a good job (this was the first Bond book written after the first Bond movie).
In 1995, Ursula Andress was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in film history."
In 2003, in a UK Survey by Channel 4, her entrance in Dr. No was voted #1 in "the 100 Greatest Sexy Moments."
In 2004, Selma Blair played Caprice whose stage name was Ursula Udders, a possible play on Ursula Andress.
Films: Dr.No (1962) • Fun in Acapulco (1963) • 4 for Texas (1963) • Once Before I Die (1965) • Nightmare in the Sun (1965) • She (1965) • What's New, Pussycat? (1965) • Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine (1965) • The 10th Victim (1965) • The Blue Max(1966) • Casino Royale (1967) • Perfect Friday (1970) • Red Sun (1971) • Africa Express (1975)• La Montagna del Dio Cannibale (1978) • The Fifth Musketeer (1979) • Clash of the Titans (1981)
TV Series: Falcon Crest • Manimal