Ursula Andress
| Ursula Andress | ||
 Andress in her iconic Dr. No scene and famous white bikini | ||
| Background information | ||
| Born | Mar 19, 1936 / 88 yo Ostermundigen, Switzerland | |
| Spouse(s): | John Derek (1957-1966} Harry Hamlin 1 son (1978–1982) Lorenzo Rispoli (1983–present) | |
| Occupation: | Actress | |
| Years active | 1954–2005 | |
Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss actress and sex symbol of the 1960s. She is known for her roles as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, in 1962, for which she won a Golden Globe, and as Vesper Lynd in the 1967 James Bond parody Casino Royale.
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. In a well-known scene, she rises out of the Caribbean Sea in a white bikini (see below). The scene made Andress the "quintessential" Bond girl, and is now considered iconic. "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. In 2003, in a UK Survey by Channel 4, her entrance in Dr. No was voted #1 in "the 100 Greatest Sexy Moments".
Andress won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in 1964 for her performance in Dr. No. Her voice was provided by Nikki van der Zyl, while the calypso was sung by Diana Coupland. In 1965, she posed nude for Playboy. When asked why she had agreed to do the Playboy shoot she replied coolly, "Because I'm beautiful."
Andress co-starred with Elvis Presley in the 1963 film, Fun in Acapulco, with Frank Sinatra in 4 for Texas (1963), opposite Marcello Mastroianni in The 10th Victim (1965), and as the countess in The Blue Max (1966). 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 co-starred with Laurence Olivier. In 1995, Andress was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in film history."
After the her son's birth, Andress scaled back her career, which focused mostly on European TV and films
Personal life
In 1957, Andress married actor/director, John Derek; they divorced in 1966. Andress dated many of Hollywood's leading men, including co-stars Marlon Brando, and James Dean. One of her longest affairs was with Jean-Paul Belmondo while he was still married to his first wife, Elodie Constantin. In 1980, she had a son, Dimitri, with American actor Harry Hamlin, her co-star in the film Clash of the Titans.
On 18 May 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 in the presence of an international crowd of celebrities. Her birthday cake was made by Anton Mosimann who also presented the cake to Ursula Andress. On top of the cake was a sculpture of Ursula Andress showing her in her iconic Dr. No scene.
"The White Bikini"
The first bikini had been worn at a Paris fashion show in 1946, but in the 1950s the bikini was still seen as something of a taboo. Andress' bikini proved to be a very important moment in women's history, arriving at the "birth of the sexual revolution"; the 1960s.
The bikini was auctioned at Christie's auction house in London and sold for £35,000 ($61,500) in 2001, less than the £50,000 for which it had been expected to sell
Andress designed the bikini along with Dr. No's costume designer Tessa Prendergast, whom she first met living in Rome. Andress reported that upon arriving in Jamaica for filming no costumes were ready, and that she wanted something that fit her 5'6", 36-24-36 frame. It is a white belted, hipster style bikini, and made from cotton. The lower part of the bikini features a wide white British Army webbing belt with brass buckles and fittings, and a scabbard on the left side to hold a large knife. The top part of the bikini has narrow straps and is creased at the bottom of the breasts, and tied delicately in the middle.
The bikini and scene in Dr. No of Andress emerging from the water was emulated by Halle Berry, who wore an orange bikini with tool belt, in the 2002 James Bond film, Die Another Day.
External links
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-100-greatest-sexy-moments
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Ursula_Andress ]
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