Honor Blackman, one of the iconic actresses that starred in a James Bond movie, has died at the age of 94.
Blackman passed away peacefully of natural causes at home in Lewes, Sussex, according to her family’s statement as reported by the Associated Press.
"It's with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Honor Blackman aged 94," the statement reads.
Backman’s family said the actress was “a much-adored mother and grandmother” and “an actor of hugely prolific creative talent."
Her family celebrated her having "an extraordinary combination of beauty, brains and physical prowess, along with her unique voice and a dedicated work ethic.”
Blackman became popular in her late 30s after becoming the legendary James Bond girl Pussy Galore in the 1964 movie “Goldfinger.” She starred alongside Sean Connery.
“I consider Bond girls to be those ladies who took one look at Bond and fell on their backs,” Ms. Blackman was quoted saying on the website of Cambridge News in 2012. Early on in “Goldfinger,” Ms. Galore tells Bond, “I am immune to your charms.”
“Today we mark the passing of a film icon, Honor Blackman who shall forever be remembered as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger," said Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli on Twitter.
They described Blackman as an “extraordinary talent and a beloved member of the Bond family.”
Blackman also became known in the 1960s hit television series “The Avengers.” She played the character of Mrs. Cathy Gale, an anthropologist who was fond of martial arts and dressing head to toe in leather while saving the world from conspiracies.
Her other notable screen roles were the goddess Hera in 1963 film “Jason and the Argonauts” and appeared in “Bridget Jones's Diary.” She also made guest appearances on “Doctor Who,” “Colombo,” and “Coronation Street.”
She also performed on stage, particularly in productions such as “The Sound of Music,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Cabaret.”
Blackman became critical of the lack of good roles for older women in an interview in 2009.
"We have all these older men with their guts hanging out still acting - they can barely put their belts round their stomach so have to belt up round their crotch - and they all carry on getting roles and are accepted and praised, whereas older women are given rather boring parts or are cut off at their prime,” she said.
She credited her father for teaching her discipline.
“What he taught me has stood me in good stead,” she said during an interview with the Australian newspaper The Courier-Mail in 2007. “Self-discipline, the ability to work and order my life come from him, and I’m grateful for that. What’s done is done, and you can’t bemoan the past.”
Honor Blackman was born on in London, England on August 22, 1925. She was the third of four children of Frederick Blackman, a civil-service statistician, and Edith Eliza Stokes. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and started performing onstage. After several theatrical performances, Blackman returned to the television in 1990 on “The Upper Hand,” a British version of “Who’s the Boss?” Blackman became a breast cancer survivor, having undergone a lumpectomy in 2003.
