The development of the Bond Girls

The girls are often victims who often need to be rescued by Bond, his love interest, play a more direct involvement in the Bond’s assignment and play a important role in the success of the mission.

Honey Ryder in Dr.No (1962)
Bond: Sean Connery
Actress: Ursula Andress

She is the star of arguably the most iconic bond moment. She emerges from the sea in a white bikini singing “Underneath the Mango Tree” holding shells. The moment has been recreated many times since.

In this clip you get a climpse of her feisty nature. Following the death of her father she has learned to fend for herself and at first is reluctant to listen to what Bond tells her to do. She is a strong minded woman and unlike many other Bond girls who followed her, she does not fall for his charms straight away and does not sleep with him until after the mission is complete.

Mary Goodnight in The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

Bond: Roger Moore

Actress: Britt Ekland

She is an inexperienced field agent working in Hong Kong. She is out of her depth when in the mission that she is on with Bond and end’s up in more trouble then she initially expects to find herself in. This is a negative portrayal of women as it is suggesting she is weak and not as competent at her job as a man, such as Bond is. Her weakness is also shown through the fact she has to be rescued by Bond after she is kidnapped and trapped in the boot of a car.

Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Bond: Pierce Brosnon

Actress:

She is a completely different Bond girl to Mary Goodnight. She is very much competent at her job and proves to be a match for the men, breaking a female stereotype. She is an equal to Bond as she is a secret agent for the Chinese People’s External security force. Like Bond she too has access to gadgets and even claims that her watch, an Omega Seamaster, which is a watch Bond is famous for wearing, is an improvement on James’.

Despite all this, she still has to be rescued by Bond after she has been captured for trying to destroy an engine control room, reverting back to the classic role for women in a bond film.

Vesper Lynd in Casino Royal (2006)

Bond: Daniel Craig

Actress:

Eva GreenMichelle Yeoh

We initially believe that she works for the Treasury Department but later learn that she is really a double agent working for MVD, showing that she can outsmart Bond and showing her intelligence. At the same time, once we learn about her true identity she seems somewhat detached and ruthless. She also does not initially fall for Bond’s charm and the pair do not get together until later on in the film. She is also the only Bond girl that he seems to genuinely fall in love with, and this is why he is most effected by her death then the demise of any other Bond girl.