Dr. No (Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny)
The character of Miss Moneypenny may not have been considered an actual Bond Girl, but there has always been plenty of sexual tension between her and 007. As M’s secretary, she and Bond would trade flirtatious lines — “Flattery will get you nowhere, but don’t stop trying,” she said in Dr. No — and perhaps a kiss or caress, but nothing more, making her the perfect stand-in for every female audience member who longed to live dangerously with the spy.
Three actresses have portrayed the secretary with no first name: Lois Maxwell in the films from Dr. No (1962) to A View to a Kill (1985); Caroline Bliss in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989); and perhaps the best-named actress, Samantha Bond, who appeared in four films, including Die Another Day (2002). There was no Miss Moneypenny in Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace, and though early tabloid reports speculated that actress Naomie Harris, who had been cast as “Eve” (no surname disclosed), was actually Moneypenny, the actress herself has denied that the character is the deskbound assistant, insisting she is “a field agent.” We’ll have to wait and see if the role is ever resurrected …