Tania Mallet, Who Starred in the James Bond Film 'Goldfinger,' Has Died

From Esquire

Tania Mallet, the actress who played Tilly Masterson in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, has died, according to the official Bond Twitter account. She was 77.

Goldfinger is the third Bond film and arguably among the most iconic, helping to establish many of the franchise's themes. (For instance, Goldfinger is the first Bond movie in which he drives an Aston Martin.) In the movie, Tilly Masterson's sister, Jill Masterson, is killed early in the movie-her body is painted gold-which inspires Tilly to hunt down the evil mastermind, Goldfinger, responsible for her death. Along the way, she teams up with Sean Connery's James Bond. Eventually, Goldfinger's henchman, Oddjob, kills Tilly.

Her character is lauded as the first strong woman to stand opposite 007 in the Bond franchise, but Mallet didn't see it like that. "I don’t think any of the Bond girls have ever been a push over so I don’t consider I did much more than follow on in the movie," she told the Bond fan site, MI6, in a 2003 interview.

In that same interview, she told a story about her first day on the Goldfinger set at the legendary Pinewood Studios. "I had no idea where I was going let alone what I was meant to be doing, when I bumped into Shirley Eaton [who played Jill Masterson] and she said 'Hi, sis!' It was so friendly and reassuring, from that point I knew everything would be OK."

Prior to Goldfinger, Mallet, who was born in Blackpool, U.K. in 1941, was a successful model in the 1950s and early '60s, according to the Guardian. Mallet appeared on the cover of Vogue twice during that time. She was discovered for the Tilly Masterson role after Bond producer Alfred Broccoli saw a photo of her, according to the MI6 interview. She auditioned for From Russian With Love, the second 007 movie, before being cast in Goldfinger.

The initial pay for the job, she told MI6, was just ￡50 a week, which was less than her rate as a model. She managed to renegotiate to her triple that amount.

According to the Guardian, the British actress Helen Mirren was Mallet's first cousin. Mirren described Mallet as “impossibly beautiful and kind” and “a loyal and generous person" who paid for her brothers' education and supported her mother.

('You Might Also Like',)

• HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT SUNGLASSES FOR YOUR FACE SHAPE

• If You Don’t Have a Denim Shirt Yet, What’s Stopping You?

• Why You'll Never Understand Mezcal Like You Understand Scotch