50. Paula Caplan
Played by: Martine Beswick
Appears in: Thunderball
Paula is an early example of a Bond Girl who really deserved better. Like Bond, she’s a British agent tasked with going undercover. Unlike Bond, she doesn’t make it out of the mission alive. While Bond gets to cavort with Fiona Volpe, Paula takes care of business and is tragically kidnapped by Largo’s goons. She’s loyal to the end and dies rather than give up information.
49. Paris Carver
Played by: Teri Hatcher
Appears in: Tomorrow Never Dies
Paris is a “[footage not found]” kind of Bond Girl. She had an off-screen tryst with Bond that was so intimate 007 turned tail (she got too close!). Then she got married to the William Randolph Hearst of Bond villains. Why? Because he told her he loved her and that was good enough. But, of course, Paris is still hung up and risks it all for one last boink with Bond, sharing critical intel before getting whacked by the goofiest assassin in the franchise.
48. Molly Warmflash
Played by: Serena Scott Thomas
Appears in: The World Is Not Enough
Is Warmflash the most competent doctor in the world? Probably not. Was her issuing Bond a clean bill of health despite his dislocated collarbone directly responsible for Bond getting back in action and saving the world? You bet! Warmflash knows when to break the rules, and we have to respect that! She risked her career in order to get 007 back in the field. The medical community may disagree with her patient-relations strategy but we say job well done, Warmflash! You’re a hero!
47. Ling
Played by: Tsai Chin
Appears in: You Only Live Twice
A soundboard and a mouthpiece for some truly creative casual racism on the part of the script, our girl Ling has been shacked up with Bond for some time. Which means 007s famous “if I stick around much longer I have to start thinking of you as a person—bye!” limit is up. But what’s this? Ling traps Bond behind the Murphy bed and…goons shoot him to death? Fear not: Ling works for MI6 and is helping to stage Bond’s death.
46. Solange Dimitrios
Played by: Caterina Murino
Appears in: Casino Royale
Solange falls into the “risk it for the biscuit” Bond Girl category. Which is to say: the kind of Bond Girl who exists to fuck Bond, die, and move the plot forward in death. After enjoying some mid-2000s female gaze, Solange and Bond get carpet burn on the floor of 007’s suite while Solange’s evil husband gets up to no good. Solange is fully aware that Bond is seducing her for information, but well…risks it for the biscuit regardless. Even though her involvement with Bond leads to her untimely death, Solange feels more developed than a good number of the ladies on this list. She’s pleasure-seeking, melancholic, and another tragic casualty of Bond’s recklessness. RIP Solange.
45. Miss Taro
Played by: Zena Marshall
Appears in: Dr. No
Miss Taro falls under the “flirt fighting” category of Bond Girls. A secretary for the colonial government, Miss Taro is actually an informant for the titular Dr. No. After a meet-cute where Bond catches Miss Taro spying on him, she invites 007 to her secluded house in the countryside. When the planned en-route assassination fails and Bond actually shows up at her house, Miss Taro receives orders to keep Bond busy, and has sex with him. Eventually Bond deduces that Miss Taro is bad news, and sleeps with her again before the cops show up because of course he does. Miss Taro being played by a white woman only adds to the Western dragon lady stereotype she represents. It doesn’t do the character any favors.
44. Patricia Fearing
Played by: Molly Peters, voiced by Barbara Jefford
Appears in: Thunderball
Though not an intentional pun, Patricia Fearing is one of the more aptly named Bond Girls because she does indeed have quite a bit to fear when Bond and his mink glove are around. She’s a nurse just trying to do her job when Bond makes his way to the health farm. A near-death experience and some blackmail later, Patricia is pretty much removed from the plot. Probably for her own good.
43. Rosie Carver
Played by: Gloria Hendry
Appears in: Live and Let Die
Rosie was Bond’s first Black on-screen love interest, and if you think that means she fares well in the film’s script, you’ve come to the wrong franchise. Rosie, a rogue CIA agent sent to kill Bond, is immediately shown to be histrionic and comically incompetent. She’s dispatched a few scenes after her introduction and contributes very little. Not surprising, but certainly a missed opportunity.
42. Sévérine
Played by: Bérénice Marlohe
Appears in: Skyfall
Points here must go to Bérénice Marlohe’s performance as the ill-fated and woefully mistreated Sévérine. Marlohe is beautiful as the film-noir-inspired villainess and imbues genuine emotion into the scene where she relays the reasons for her involvement with Silva to Bond. It’s a shame that Bond barely takes a breath between learning that she was a sex slave and sleeping with her, a fact made worse by her unceremonious and needless death a couple of scenes later. Had she been a Fleming character, this arc would have been uncomfortable but mostly on-par. For a character written in the 21st century, it’s straight-up outrageous that the film’s only Bond Girl is wasted like this.
41. Melina Havelock
Played by: Carole Bouquet
Appears in: For Your Eyes Only
The “Bond Girl on her own mission of personal revenge” trope has been done prior to and after For Your Eyes Only, with Melina’s iteration falling towards the duller end of the spectrum. She’s undeniably beautiful, and we have nothing but love for the fact that her weapon of choice is a crossbow, but unfortunately, neither of those characteristics count as a real personality trait, making her tragically forgettable.
Related Topics: Bondathon, James Bond
