Chuckonian Top 10 - Bond Girls

With a new Bond film to be released this weekend, we felt it appropriate to share another 007 "Top 5" as a follow-up to our earlier Top 5 Bond Villains list. But, this category is too far-reaching for a mere five items. This time, let's look at Chuck's top 10 favorite Bond girls (or Bond women, if that sounds less sexist). Every one a gem, the women of the Bond films add much to the story through drama and plot twists and are often less predictable than non-Bond-fans assume. It is difficult to rank them, as there truly are several categories of Bond girls. However, with this list, we will try to reveal some traits indicative to each category and each era of the Bond franchise. Note: we are only looking at the "first Bond series" - Connery thru Brosnan - as the franchise has reinvented the story and formula making modern Bond girls less comparable to past ones. Here is Chuck's top 10:

10.) Dr. Holly Goodhead of the CIA (Moonraker) - Though not the first Bond girl to be a spy, Holly was the first to be an allied spy who still resisted working with Bond on a mission of mutual importance. Some may see it as her overactive feminism showing, or perhaps Felix Leiter had told her all about 007 and she was simply not interested, or she felt that England had already lost a U.S. spacecraft so the limey wouldn't be any help. Either way, she held her own and followed the case quite independently until finally agreeing to join forces with Bond in South America, only to be captured shortly thereafter. In the end, Holly's quite literally being a rocket scientist is what saved their lives and the lives of millions that Hugo Drax might've killed. All the while, Holly kicked butt and still looked great.
007: "I'm looking for Dr. Goodhead."
Holly: "You just found her."
007: "A woman?"
Holly: "Your powers of observation do you credit, Mr. Bond."
9.) Melina Havelock (For Your Eyes Only) - Simple yet sexy in looks and demeanor, Melina was a true 80s lady. Her character was revenge-driven at a time and place in which such a pursuit put her in the middle of a much larger and more dangerous situation than just the tragic murder of her parents but, with time, Bond made her understand this and she was willing to help without getting in the way. She was deeper than most Bond girls before or after her, largely due to Carole Bouquet's excellent performance and the very well-written script of the film. Never a damsel-in-distress, we got to focus more on her personal struggle than Bond's protective or sexual pursuit of her.
Columbo: "We are only five men."
Melina: "And one woman."
8.) Tracy Bond, formerly Contessa Teresa Di Vicenzo (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) - Our dear Mrs. Bond was taken so soon but gave the character of Bond a new level of development that was rarely seen in the films (as opposed to Fleming's original novels). Diana Rigg's performance was flawless. She was the ideal British Bond girl - one part innocent, one part tough, one part stuck up, one part stubborn enough for Bond, and all sophisticated. Finally, there was a Bond girl who came to understand 007's struggle between his devotion to duty and his craving for a normal, healthy, duty-free life with love and happiness. Equally, her death enhanced his devotion to duty even in the midst of seeking revenge.
Tracy: "Why do you insist on rescuing me, Mr. Bond?"
7.) Elektra King of King Industries (The World Is Not Enough) - By the time Brosnan came on the scene, we were constantly reminded by characters in the films that women are Bond's fatal weakness. Elektra tried to make it a permanent fact. For the first time, a woman was not only a villain but the primary villain. Though she did most of her evil through Renard, he was merely a very active pawn with no real ambition or devotion except to Elektra. All the while, Elektra ran the show - killing her father, seducing Bond, kidnapping M, and plotting to blow up Istanbul for the sake of her oil empire. Her character redefined Bond girl-ism and Bond villainy, allowing for more depth in Bond's own struggle to trust his instincts and maintain his usual objectivity about the mission.
Elektra: "You couldn't kill me. You'd miss me"
007: (upon shooting her dead) "I never miss."
6.) Pussy Galore (Goldfinger) - In Fleming's original story, Pussy was a lesbian gangster from New York who "converts" at the end of the book when Bond saves her life at Fort Knox. This last-minute switch on her part leaves something to be desired but also made her an interesting character to translate for the silver screen. Never a lesbian on film, Pussy Galore did prove to be the first Bond girl with any real complexity of character. An ace pilot who knew how to use a gun well and was a judo expert when found unarmed, Pussy was initially driven by nothing but the almighty dollar until Bond convinced her that Goldfinger's brand of investment banking was nothing but cold-blooded murder. Ultimately, it was she who tipped off Felix Leiter and prevented the death of tens of thousands of American troops, even if Goldfinger still kept her at his side until Bond send him flying for good.
Pussy: "You can turn off the charm. I'm immune."
5.) Pam Bouvier (License to Kill) - Before she shook up the bar on Law & Order, Carey Lowell made a significant mark on the Bond world. Her portrayal of a tough-talking, tougher-fighting CIA contract pilot was a perfect fit for Timothy Dalton's more serious Bond in the film whose story was purely revenge-based. While she occasionally exhibited a touch of the faint-worthy longing for Bond that traditionalists still crave in their Bond girls and dug deep to put on a sexy secretary act to fit Bond cover in Panama, she was never in a damsel-in-distress situation and, in fact, pulled Bond out of a couple of snares before their job was done. A great combination of beauty, brains, grit, humor, and devotion, Pam was as good or better a partner in fighting evil as she was a lover in Bond's final romp of the 1980s.
Pam: "Look, pal, I was an army pilot. I have flown through the toughest hell-holes in South America, and I will not have you lecture me about professionalism."
4.) Xenia Onatopp (Goldeneye) - While Elektra King would come along two films later and change the rules for Bond girls who were also villains, I simply liked Xenia more. To me, she was the quintessential female Bond villain and his virtual equal. Sex was her weapon of choice, but she was fluent in practically every form of violence and destruction and seemed to revel in it. Basically, she made evil hot again. You can't beat that.
Xenia: "This time, Mr. Bond, the pleasure will be all mine."
3.) Major Anya Amasova of the KGB (The Spy Who Loved Me) - In Roger Moore's favorite of his Bond films, he worked with a stunning actress in Barbara Bach. She gave a no-nonsense performance as a character who was a little bit friend, a little bit villain, and a whole lotta woman. The series had not yet allowed its female spies to be without the damsel-in-distress scenes, but Anya's was fairly minimal and was necessary to her overall relationship with Bond. Otherwise, she would've killed him. Having a Bond girl wish to kill him and still cordially associate with him was a rare touch and made Anya a unique character. At the same time, Anya is important as she solidified some of the Bond girl stereotypes which make the series so important to Western pop culture. If there had not been an Anya Amasova, we would not look at the Bond series the way we do today.
Anya: "I have never failed on a mission, Commander... any mission."
2.) Tiffany Case (Diamonds Are Forever) - A truly liberated 70s woman, Jill St. John's Tiffany Case gave new life to the Bond franchise. A single, independent American woman living in Europe, Tiffany makes no bones about the fact that she is far less interested in Bond than the bundle she's being paid to smuggle diamonds into Los Angeles. Sex is merely a pastime and self-preservation is everything. Willing to turn herself over to any side that promises to make life less complicated for her, she never loses the goal of having it all. Also one of the more humorous Bond girls, Tiffany is the first to have a verbal exchange with Q.
Tiffany: "You don't kill James Bond and sit around waiting for the cops to arrive."
And Chuck's favorite Bond girl...
1.) Octopussy (Octopussy) - The only Bond girl to be a title character, Octopussy was not really a heroine or a villainess but a catalyst for one of the most well-crafted stories of the film series. Maud Adams made her a very believable and interesting character and earned the right to do so, having already been killed off as Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun. Octopussy was a businesswoman, professional smuggler, independent single woman, and child of a spy gone bad. To enhance her feminist credentials, she had men working for her - though Kamal Khan referred to himself as her partner, we know who brought home the bacon in that operation. She fought to keep profits flowing in from her shady dealings but still managed to help Bond stop the bombing of the U.S. Air Force base in Germany and mobilized her female fighting force against Kamal's all-male militia. She was the kind of woman that Bond wanted and had, but that he depended on for so much more. Among her many great attributes, Octopussy was in the category of Bond girls who gained there depth by being of far more importance than just sex and eye-candy. While we never want to lose that in Bond films, with over 20 films in circulation, one must have variety.
Octopussy: "I have no country. I have no price on my head. I don't have to apologize to you, a paid assassin, for what I am."

There were many amazing women in Bond films over the years, and I don't even like calling this my definite Top 10. The women would remain the same but, under certain considerations, the order may change. And there are certain reasons why different women did not make the list. In the end, we just have to sort it out. Who is your favorite? Comment or e-mail me and let us know.