BESWICK, MARTINE

Contributed by: The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia by Steven Jay Rubin

(September 26, 1941–     ): Jamaican-born British actress who scored roles in two separate Bond films directed by Terence Young. In From Russia with Love, her film debut, she’s statuesque Zora, the gypsy girl who battles fellow gypsy Vida (Aliza Gur) in a memorable girl fight. A favorite of Young’s, Beswick returned in Thunderball, portraying Paula Caplan, assistant to James Bond (Sean Connery) in Nassau.

Beswick also appeared as the barmaid in Saturday Night Out (1964), a musical comedy that costarred fellow Bond veterans Bernard Lee and Margaret Nolan. She also starred opposite Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C. (1966), where she met her then husband John Richardson. In 1980, she starred as celebrated real-life madam Xaviera Hollander in The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood.

Note: In the From Russia with Love opening credits, her name is misspelled as “Martin Beswick.” Geez!

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