Biography
Early life
Andress was born in Ostermundigen, Berne, Switzerland, the daughter of Anna, who was Swiss, and Rolf Andress, a German diplomat who was expelled from Switzerland for political reasons (Anstead 2002). Andress has four sisters and one brother. She is fluent in English, French, Italian, and German. The young Andress started her career as an art model in Rome, which led to her first roles in the Italian movie industry.Career
Andress became famous as Honey Ryder, a shell diver and James Bond's object of desire in Dr. No (1962), the first Bond movie (BBC January 2001). It is a moving sequence, as she rises out of the Caribbean Sea in a white bikini. The scene made Andress the "quintessential" Bond girl (Thomas 1999), and is now considered iconic (Westcott 2006). "My entrance in the film wearing the bikini on that beautiful beach made me world famous as 'the Bond girl'", she said, and the bikini from this "classic moment in cinema and Bond history" sold for £35,000 at auction in 2001 (BBC February 2001). In 2003, in a UK Survey by Channel 4, her entrance in Dr. No was voted #1 in "the 100 Greatest Sexy Moments" (BBC 2003). In 2007, Australian series 20 to 1 ranked her entrance in Dr. No as the #2 Sexiest Movie Moment.
Andress won a 1964 Golden Globe award for New Star of the Year for her performance in Dr. No. Her voice was provided by Nikki van der Zyl while the famous calypso was sung by Diana Coupland (BBC November 2006). In 1965, she posed nude for Playboy.
Andress has the singular distinction among Bond girl actresses of having actually appeared in the narrative of a Fleming novel, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, written after Fleming was present during filming of Dr. No. She is pointed out to Bond by Irma Bunt while they are dining at Piz Gloria.
Andress co-starred with the king of rock 'n' roll Elvis Presley in the 1963 film, Fun in Acapulco, with Frank Sinatra in 4 for Texas (1963) and opposite Marcello Mastroianni in The 10th Victim (1965). She also appeared in the Bond satire Casino Royale (1967) as Vesper Lynd, an occasional spy who persuades Evelyn Tremble, as played by Peter Sellers to carry out a mission. Her heavy accent was dubbed over in Dr. No, but she used her own voice in Casino Royale.
In 1981's Clash of the Titans, she starred opposite legendary English actor Laurence Olivier. In 1995, Andress was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in film history."
Personal life
In 1957, Ursula Andress married actor/director John Derek. The marriage ended in divorce in 1966. Andress dated many of Hollywood's leading men including co-stars Marlon Brando and James Dean. In 1980, she had a son, Dimitri with American actor Harry Hamlin, her co-star in the film Clash of the Titans.
On May 18, 2006, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Swiss Consulate General in Scotland, Ursula Andress celebrated her 70th birthday on board the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh. Among the guests were her former partner Harry Hamlin, their son Dimitri, Miss Switzerland Lauriane Gilliéron and Swiss model, actress and singer Michelle Hunziker who also grew up in Ostermundigen. Also present were The Rt. Hon. George Reid, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Woodard, former Commander of the Royal Yacht Britannia, and Lesley Hinds, Lord Provost of Edinburgh. Earlier that day, Swiss Federal Councillor Pascal Couchepin presented Ursula Andress with a bouquet of flowers and the best wishes for her birthday at the Signet Library in Edinburgh. Ursula Andress arrived at the Royal Yacht Britannia in the original Aston Martin DB5 once driven by her film partner Sean Connery in the James Bond films Goldfinger and Thunderball. The car was bought by a Swiss gentleman at auction in 2006.
Filmography
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Un americano a Roma | 1954 | ||
| La catena dell'odio | 1955 | ||
| Le avventure di Giacomo Casanova | |||
| Dr. No | 1962 | Honey Ryder | |
| Fun in Acapulco | 1963 | Marguerita Dauphin | |
| 4 for Texas | Maxine Richter | ||
| Once Before I Die | 1965 | Alex | |
| Nightmare in the Sun | Wife | ||
| She | Ayesha | ||
| What's New, Pussycat? | Rita | ||
| Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine | Alexandrine Pinardel | ||
| La decima vittima | Caroline Meredith | English title: The 10th Victim | |
| The Blue Max | 1966 | Countess Kaeti von Klugermann | |
| Casino Royale | 1967 | Vesper Lynd/007 | |
| Le dolci signore | 1968 | Norma | |
| The Southern Star | 1969 | Erica Kramer | |
| Perfect Friday | 1970 | Britt | |
| Soleil rouge | 1971 | Cristina | English title: Red Sun |
| Five Against Capricorn | 1972 | ||
| L'ultima chance | 1973 | Michelle Nolton | |
| Colpo in canna | 1974 | Nora Green | English title: Loaded Guns |
| L'infermiera | 1975 | Anna | English title: The Sensuous Nurse |
| Africa Express | Madeleine Cooper | ||
| Le avventure e gli amori di Scaramouche | Josephine De Beauharnais | ||
| Safari Express | 1976 | Miriam | |
| Spogliamoci così senza pudor | English title: Sex With A Smile 2 | ||
| La montagna del dio cannibale | 1978 | Susan Stevenson | English title: The Mountain of the Cannibal God |
| Doppio delitto | Principessa Dell'Orso | English title: Double Murders | |
| The Fifth Musketeer | 1979 | Louise de la Vallière | |
| Letti selvaggi | The Stroller and the Widow | English title: Tigers in Lipstick | |
| Clash of the Titans | 1981 | Aphrodite | |
| Falcon Crest | Madame Malec | TV series (1987–1988) | |
| Krasnye kolokola, film pervyy - Meksika v ogne | 1982 | Mabel Dodge | |
| Manimal | 1983 | Karen | TV |
| Liberté, égalité, choucroute | 1985 | Marie-Antoinette | |
| Peter the Great | 1986 | Athalie | TV Series |
| Klassäzämekunft | 1988 | ||
| Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders | 1989 | Betty Starr | TV |
| Il Professore - Diva | Susy Kaminski | TV | |
| Fantaghirò 3 | 1993 | Xellesia | TV series |
| Fantaghirò 4 | 1994 | Xellesia | TV series |
| Alles gelogen | 1996 | ||
| Cremaster 5 | 1997 | Queen of Chain | |
| Vogelpredigt, Die | 2005 |
References
- Actress Diane Coupland dies at 74 (10 November 2006) BBC. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- Andress scene voted 'most sexy' (30 November 2003) BBC. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- Mark Anstead (December 7, 2002). Bond girl who made a killing The Guardian. Accessed 2008-06-30.
- Bond bikini sells for £35,000 (14 February 2001) BBC. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- Dr No bikini for sale (12 January 2001) BBC. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- Rebecca Thomas (19 November 1999). One girl is not enough BBC. Accessed 2008-02-16.
- Kathryn Westcott (5 July 2006). The bikini: Not a brief affair BBC Accessed 2008-02-16.
- The 21st Annual Golden Globe Awards (1964) Golden Globes. Accessed 2008-02-18.
External links
- Ursula Andress at the Internet Movie Database
- Ursula Andress webpage
- Ursula Andress on CultSirens.com
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday July 22, 2008 at 12:42:04 PDT (GMT -0700)
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