Fiona Volpe, played by Luciana Paluzzi, is a fictional character in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball.

In the film

A deadly assassin in SPECTRE's execution branch, she becomes NATO pilot Major Francois Derval’s mistress in the operation to steal the Vulcan and its precious cargo of two atomic bombs, which SPECTRE plans to use to blackmail the world.

She organises Derval’s murder and kills Count Lippe by destroying his car with the missile launcher on her BSA motorcycle, after his numerous attempts to kill Bond fail. Volpe is later seen pushing the motorcycle into a pond, presumably to hide evidence.

Bond meets Volpe while hitchhiking, and she startles Bond with her fast driving. They soon arrive at their hotel in Nassau. Fiona holds Paula Caplan captive, but Caplan commits suicide by taking cyanide before revealing anything. Meanwhile she waits for Bond in his bathtub, she seduces him and they have erotic sex. Bond later describes her love making as pleasureless. But Fiona loved it. While dressing for the Junkanoo, Volpe lets in Vargas and another one of Emilio Largo's henchmen to hold Bond captive. Bond manages to flee Volpe and hide in the Junkanoo, but they soon catch up at the Kiss Kiss Club. Volpe approaches Bond as he is dancing with another woman. Assuming Volpe is his wife, the woman leaves, and the pair begin slow-dancing, while one of the other henchmen hides behind a curtain and aims a gun at Bond. Bond notices in time and spins Volpe into the bullet, piercing her spine and killing her. Leaving Volpe's corpse in a chair and the other henchmen in shock, Bond exits.

Death controversy

Her death has been a source of debate by Bond film fans for years, due to the ambiguous nature in which her killing is filmed. To some, Bond intentionally uses her as a human shield to protect himself against a bullet, which would make her the first woman in the Bond film series to be killed by 007. This is parodied in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, in a scene in which Austin Powers uses a female assassin to take an enormous amount of bullets for him.

Memorable quotes

{{cquote|Fiona Volpe: Do you like wild things Mr. Bond, James Bond? (Fiona bites him on the shoulder} James Bond: Wild? You should be locked up in a cage. (He starts kissing her on the lips and neck) Fiona:(putting fingers on bed) Mmm... this bed feels like a cage, all these bars. Do you think I'll be... (moans) safe?}}

Other versions

In the remake Never Say Never Again, also starring Sean Connery, this character is slightly modified as Fatima Blush.