Honor Blackman, famously known as Pussy Galore of the James Bond franchise, has passed away today at age 94. According to her family, the actress died peacefully, of natural causes, at her home in Lewes, Sussex.
Born in Plaistow, in the London borough of Newham, Blackman began acting at age 15 when her parents entered her into acting lessons at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She went on to appear in several films, including Shakalo starring her future Bond co-star Sean Connery, and TV shows like The Four Just Men, Columbo, and Doctor Who. The part that truly earned her official stardom was the role of Cathy Gale in two seasons of British spy show The Avengers, which led to her casting as supporting villain and love interest Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. Blackman learned judo at the Budokwai Dojo for the part. In her first scene, when Galore introduces herself to Bond (Connery), the secret agent famously remarked, “I must be dreaming.” Later in her life, she starred in the sitcom The Upper Hand as Laura West, and made a cameo in 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary.
After divorcing her second husband, British actor Maurice Kaufmann, in 1975, Blackman did not remarry, claiming that preferred to stay single. She and Kaufmann adopted two children together, Lottie and Barnaby. She is survived by them and her four grandchildren, Daisy, Oscar, Toby, and Olive.
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