After Ursula Andress walked out of the ocean wearing nothing but a white bikini and a dagger on her hips as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No, she went down in history as the first Bond Girl but another blonde bombshell, forgotten from the 1940's, actually lays claim to that title.
Linda Christian starred a decade earlier in 1954 television adaptation of Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel, Casino Royale, playing Valerie Mathis - a character later replaced by the infamous seductress, Vesper Lynd.
Breakthrough Bond girl: Barely our of high school, a full-lipped Linda Christian starred in the 1954 television adaptation of Ian Fleming¿s first Bond novel, Casino Royale, playing Valerie Mathis
LIFE.com has released exclusive images of Christian, it was Australian film star Errol Flynn - who starred alongside Olivia de Havilland in a handful of Thirties blockbusters - who discovered the teenager in her native Mexico and convinced her to move to Hollywood.
In Christian's 1954 James Bond debut, Peter Lorre (of Casablanca fame) played villain Le Chiffre, while Bond was played by Barry Nelson, who later went on to have roles in the Twilight Zone series, as well as a small part in the Shining.
Originally broadcast live, the television adaptation was believed lost until a kinescope emerged in the Eighties. It was subsequently released to home video, and is currently available on DVD as a bonus feature with the 1967 Casino Royale film adaptation - starring Ursula Andress.
Before she was famous: LIFE magazine released these never before published images of Christian, taken in 1945 before her Bond Girl debut in 1954
Making of a star: The blonde bombshell moved Hollywood from Mexico where her brother already lived, and after she got a job modelling hats, she was singed by MGM
Born in Tampico, Mexico in 1922 to an oil executive father, she travelled widely with her family throughout her childhood.
In 1941, she was evacuated to Mexico from Palestine with a bad case of malaria after a bomb scare. She recovered and moved to Hollywood where her brother already lived and after snagging a job modelling hats, she was signed by MGM.
Road to fame: It was after she landed her supporting role in the 1948 film Tarzan that the fashion industry started to take note of the actress' powerful looks
Hollywood wife: Before landing her Bond Girl role, Christian was already a household name thanks to her high-profile marriage to Hollywood heartthrob Tyrone Power which lasted seven years from 1949 to 1956
Christian died last year. Her real name was Blanca Rosa Welter, although she went uncredited in her first four films, her debut was alongside Danny Kaye in the 1944 musical comedy Up in Arms.
Her stunning figure had led toher Life magazine nickname, 'anatomic bomb,' giving the starlet her first significant national exposure in its pages in 1945.
In 1948, she landed the supporting role in Johnny Weissmuller’s last Tarzan movie, and the fashion industry began to take note of the actress' powerful looks.
Casino Royale: In Linda Christian's 1954 James Bond debut (pictured), Bond was played by Barry Nelson, who later went on to have roles in the Twilight Zone series, as well as a small part in the Shining
Forgotten from the Forties: Originally broadcast live, the television adaptation was believed lost until a kinescope emerged in the Eighties
Timeless glamour: The TV adaption was released to home video in the 1980's, and is currently available on DVD as a bonus feature with the 1967 Casino Royale film adaptation - starring Ursula Andress
First Bond Girls: After Ursula Andress walked out of the ocean as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No (right), she falsely went down in history as the first Bond Girl, a title which belongs to Linda Christian (left)
The couple had two children before their divorce in 1956, and two years later, Power died of a heart attack at just 44 years old.
The actress was married once more to another actor, Edmund Purdom, for a year in the early Sixties.
She continued to appear in foreign films well into the Eighties. She died in 2011 in Palm Desert, California at the age of 87.
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