(November 13, 1923–July 22, 2011; birth name: Blanca Rosa Welter): Mexican-born leading lady who portrayed Valerie Mathis, a French double agent who became the first Bond girl, opposite Barry Nelson’s American 007, in the live television version of Casino Royale in 1954. Although she appears to be working for Soviet master spy Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre), Mathis is actually an agent with the French Deuxième Bureau who supplies Bond with 35 million crucial francs during the climactic baccarat game with Le Chiffre.

A native of Tampico who traveled around the world with her oil executive father, Christian made her feature film debut—under the name Linda Welter—in The Rock of Souls (1943), a Spanish-language romantic drama directed by Miguel Zacarías. After some uncredited performances in American films, she portrayed Hine-Moa in the adventure romance Green Dolphin Street (1947). Two years later, she married actor Tyrone Power, a union that produced two children, Taryn and Romina.