Ursula Andress

Biography

The quintessential jet-set Euro starlet, Ursula Andress was born in the Swiss canton of Berne on March 19, 1936, one of six children in a strict German Protestant family. Although often seeming icily aloof, a restless streak early demonstrated itself in her personality, and she had an impetuous desire to explore the world outside Switzerland. (For instance, she was tracked down by Interpol for running away from boarding school at 17 years old.) The stunning young woman found work as an art model in Rome and did walk-ons in three quickie Italian pictures before coming to Hollywood and getting absolutely nowhere professionally. At 19, she met and had an affair with fading matinée idol 'John Derek' (qv), who abruptly left his wife 'Pati Behrs' (qv) and two kids for Ursula even though she barely spoke any English at the time. In 1957 they eloped, and the new bride put her acting ambitions on hold for a few years thereafter. 1962 saw the virtually unknown Swiss beauty back on the set, playing opposite 'Sean Connery' (qv) in the first movie version of 'Ian Fleming (I)' (qv)'s fanciful "James Bond" espionage novels, _Dr. No (1962)_ (qv). Andress' role as bikini-clad Honey Ryder was somewhat brief, and her Swiss/German accent was so thick that her entire performance had to be dubbed by a voiceover artist. Nevertheless, her striking beauty and smoldering screen presence made a strong impression on moviegoers, immediately establishing her as one of the most desired women in the world and as an ornament to put alongside some of the most bankable talent of the era, such as 'Elvis Presley' (qv) in _Fun in Acapulco (1963)_ (qv) and 'Dean Martin (I)' (qv) in _4 for Texas (1963)_ (qv). In 1965, she was one of several European starlets to costar in _What's New Pussycat (1965)_ (qv) -- a film that perhaps sums up mid-'60s pop culture better than any other -- written by 'Woody Allen' (qv), starring Allen and 'Peter Sellers (I)' (qv), with music by 'Burt Bacharach' (qv), a title song performed by 'Tom Jones (I)' (qv) and much onscreen sexual romping. Andress appeared in many more racy-for-their time movies in both the United States and Europe, including _La decima vittima (1965)_ (qv), in which she wore a famously ballistic bra, and _The Blue Max (1966)_ (qv), where she was aptly cast as the sultry, sexually insatiable wife of an aristocratic World War I German general. She was also featured in _Casino Royale (1967)_ (qv), a satirical foray into the world of James Bond, and gave a sparkling performance in the T&A-filled crime caper _Perfect Friday (1970)_ (qv). Roles as a prostitute kidnapped by outlaws in _Soleil rouge (1971)_ (qv), a stewardess living on the edge in _Colpo in canna (1975)_ (qv), and a bombshell nurse hired to titillate a doddering millionaire to death in _L'infermiera (1975)_ (qv) all provided plenty of excuses to throw her clothes to the wind. In _La montagna del dio cannibale (1978)_ (qv), she was notoriously stripped and slathered in orange paint by a pair of nubiles. Then she took on the sophisticated role of Louise de la Valliere, slinky, conspiratorial mistress of King Louis XIV ('Beau Bridges (I)' (qv)) in _The Fifth Musketeer (1979)_ (qv). Unwed since 1966, Andress had separated from Derek in 1964, just as her career was taking off, and officially divorced him two years later, after falling in love with French superstar 'Jean-Paul Belmondo' (qv) on the Malaysian set of _Les tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine (1965)_ (qv). ('John Richardson (I)' (qv) and 'Ron Ely (I)' (qv) kept her company during the interim.) The relationship with Belmondo hit a wall in 1972, and she was next attached to her leading man from _L'ultima chance (1973)_ (qv), Italian heartthrob 'Fabio Testi' (qv). When that didn't work out, Andress jumped into the dating pool, sporadically involved with a host of Lotharios across the globe, including (but by no means limited to) 'Dennis Hopper' (qv), 'Franco Nero' (qv), 'John DeLorean' (qv), 'Marcello Mastroianni' (qv) and 'Ryan O'Neal (I)' (qv). In 1979, she began what would be a long-term romance with 'Harry Hamlin' (qv), her handsome young co-star from _Clash of the Titans (1981)_ (qv) (in which she was cast, predictably, as "Aphrodite"). While subsequently traveling in India, Andress' belly began to swell out of her clothing, and she felt very nauseous. What at first seemed a severe case of "Delhi Belly" turned out to be pregnancy, her first and only, at age 43. Hamlin encouraged her to have the baby, who was born in 1980 and named 'Dimitri Hamlin' (qv). After the birth of her son, Andress scaled back her career, which now focused on slight European productions, as she was raising Dimitri in Rome. This meant turning down a big-budget 'Mel Brooks' (qv) film in lieu of _Krasnye kolokola, film pervyy - Meksika v ogne (1982)_ (qv) (starring old flame Nero). Occasional television stints on the soap opera _"Falcon Crest" (1981)_ (qv) and critically lauded miniseries _"Peter the Great" (1986)_ (qv) helped maintain her visibility as an actress. Dumped by Hamlin in 1983, she started seeing Fausto Fagone, a Sicilian student, in 1986. Since the breakup of that relationship in the early '90s, her love life has gone undocumented. She last worked on a film in 2005. Ostensibly retired from acting, Ursula makes the rounds of charity events and pops up on talk shows every once in a while. She divides her time between family in Switzerland, friends in Virginia and Spain, and her properties in Italy and Los Angeles.