What is it like to be forever known as a Bond Girl? Caroline Munro tells all

Caroline Munro, the Bond Girl in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’, is quick to shrug off accusations that the phrase is sexist – on the contrary, she tells James Rampton, it’s something to celebrate

Caroline Munro, Roger Moore and Barbara Bach in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ (1977) (Alamy)

Nearly half a century after appearing alongside Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me as Naomi, a dastardly helicopter pilot scheming to down 007, the 72-year-old actress Caroline Munro is still called a “Bond Girl”. In this very different, #MeToo, era does she mind about that? Not a bit!

Speaking to The Independent this week, she says: “I feel very honoured to be a little part of the huge, legendary Bond franchise.” Munro, who is still an immensely popular fixture on the 007 convention circuit, adds: “People ask whether or not the phrase Bond Girl is sexist, but I think it’s fine. To be called a Bond anything is wonderful! My fellow Bond Girl Martine Beswick [who appeared in both From Russia with Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965)] and I actually quite like it. Why not? It sounds very young!

“It is not something to resent – it’s definitely something to celebrate. I feel very lucky to have been a Bond Girl. It’s opened a lot of doors and led to a lot of other work for me.”