Honor Blackman

Lovely, seductive, and absolutely able to take care of herself in a jam, Honor Blackman helped to establish the tough girl persona that would be adopted and honed in later decades by successors like Milla Jovovich and Kate Beckinsale. The London native moved from stage to screen for roles in features like "Quartet" (1948) and "A Night to Remember" (1958), but would first find genuine fame on television with the droll adventure series "The Avengers" (ITV, 1961-69). As leather-clad tough girl Cathy Gale, Blackman wowed viewers with her femininity and physicality, and that appealing combination led her to be cast in the classic James Bond film "Goldfinger" (1964) as the memorably monikered Pussy Galore. Although many of the female leads in 007 adventures fell victim to the so-called "Bond Girl Curse," Blackman's career moved along in the wake of "Goldfinger," though the majority of her subsequent films proved to be minor and/or forgettable. She instead found satisfaction working on the stage in productions like "Wait Until Dark" and made periodic appearances on both American and British television. Although Blackman never became a top-tier star, she essayed two iconic characters and proved to be a dependable and desirable performer, expanding her already impressive résumé with assignments right up through her mid-eighties.