Bond at 50: Top Dozen Bond Women

No James Bond book or movie would be complete without the sexy women characters - some with very interesting names.  Here's my picks for the top Bond women:

1.  Ursula Andress  (Honey Ryder). Dr. No - The first Bond girl set the standard and is still the best - Click here for the classic clip as Honey exits the water on Crab Key.
2.  Eva Green (Vesper Lynd) - With Casino Royale, the Bond series regenerated its original magic. Vesper Lynd is probably the most fully developed of all the Bond women - beautiful, smart and tragic -- and remarkably close to the original Ian Fleming book that started it all. Click here for the a clip (start at 2:10) showing why Eva Green rates 2d on my list - and arguably could be first.
3.  Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore). Goldfinger- The name says it all. Bond producers had to fight to keep the character's name. But the script did require changes. When Blackman says "I'm Pussy Galore", Bond's original response was "Of course you are, but what's your name."  Censors demanded it be changed  (Click here for the clip).   Note: Honor Blackman really was a judo expert.
4. Shirley Eaton (Jill Masterson). Goldfinger. Though her role was limited, Shirley Eaton's nude body painted gold became the iconic image of the Bond movies. Click here for the iconic scene.
5. Izabella Scorupco (Natiya Simonava) - Goldeneye. A Russian beauty and computer wiz, she displays brains, courage, and ingenuity - something missing from most Bond women.
6. Halle Barry (Jynx). To Die Another Day.  A CIA agent, her homage to Ursela Andress is almost as good as the original. 
7. Maude Adams (Octopussy). Octopussy - Commanding an army of women smugglers, she's beautiful, smart, and savvy - a near equal to Bond.
8. Daniela Biachi (Tatiana Romanova). From Russia With Love.  She's the girl whose photo draws Bond to Istanbul for love and the Lecter Decoder.
9. Martine Beswick and Aliza Gur - From Russia With Love. This pair played the sultry, sexy gypsies who cat-fight over a man in the classic Gypsy Camp scene.  Click here for clip of the fight scene.         NOTE:  Martine Beswick also appeared in Thunderball as CIA Agent Paula Caplan.  She is one of only 3 Bond girls (not counting Moneypenny) to appear in multiple Bond films.  The other two?  Eunice Gayson (see below) and Maud Adams was appeared in The Man With The Golden Gun nine years before her role as Octopussy.
10. Eunice Gayson (Sylvia Trench)  Dr. No and From Russia With Love.  The very first Bond girl, Bond's only girlfriend in the movies, and the only Bond girl to play the same character twice.  She first appears in the opening casino scene in Dr. No. and prompts the first time we here Sean Connery introduce himself as "Bond. James Bond."  Click here for the classic scene.  She reprized role in an early scene in From Russia With Love.
11.  Luciana Paluzzi (Fiona Volpe). Thunderball- With flaming red hair, she was No.3 in SPECTRE and the series first gorgeous assassin. (No, Kleb doesn't count.) 
12. Diana Rigg (Tracy Bond).  On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  Although I liked her better in the Avengers TV series, you can't leave off the only woman who got a ring on Mr. Bond's finger - even if it was short lived.    

A note about how time passes:  Like all of the actors who have played Bond, all of the Bond women on this list are still living.  Ursula Andress is now 76, Eunice Gayson is 84, Martine Beswick is 71, Aliza Gur is 68, Daniela Biachi is 70, Diana Rigg is 74, Luciana Paluzzi is 75, and  Honor Blackman, Pussy Galore herself, is 85.

Shirley Eaton, the Golden Girl, retired from acting in 1969, but now, at age 75, is filming a movie for True Entertainment, her first film in 40 years. She is also active on Twitter.

Eunice Gayson, who is now 84, was first Bond girl