Tania Mallet, the model and actress who memorably played Bond girl Tilly Masterson in Goldfinger, has died. She was 77 years old.
Her death was confirmed by the official Bond franchise Twitter account.
“We are very sorry to hear that Tania Mallet who played Tilly Masterson in GOLDFINGER has passed away,” the statement, which was posted on Sunday, reads. “Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this sad time.”
The statement was accompanied by a photo of Mallet on the set of the film, in character as Tilly. A cause of death has not yet been reported.
Mallet, born and raised in Blackpool, England, began her career as a model, posing for magazines like Vogue. In a 2003 interview with Bond fan site MI6, Mallet said she believes it was a Vogue photo shoot that led producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli to see her photos, and ultimately cast her in Goldfinger alongside Sean Connery. The 1964 film was, at the time, only the third installment in the rising spy movie series. Mallet played Tilly, a vengeful woman seeking justice after the death of her sister, Jill (Shirley Eaton). She was later killed by one of Goldfingers henchmen, Oddjob.
The role would be Mallets first and last in the film world, though she also had a brief turn, in 1976, in the series The New Avengers. She quickly returned to modeling, later explaining that acting was simply not her calling. “Filming had been an interesting experience, but I was always more comfortable in a small studio with just the photographer and his assistant,” she said in the 2003 interview. “Besides which, the restrictions placed on me for the duration of the filming grated, were dreadful, and I could not anticipate living my life like that.”
Mallet was also first cousins with Helen Mirren. In Mirrens 2008 memoir In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures, she praised Mallet as a “loyal and generous person” who helped support her family with her modeling income, according to the BBC.
More Great Stories from Vanity Fair
—The incredible story behind the making of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
— The long, strange history between Fox News host Jeanine Pirro and Donald Trump
— Why L.A. parents are terrified about the college-admissions scam
— Your first look at the modern revival of Tales of the City
— Cover story: Riding around with Beto ORourke as he comes to grips with a presidential run
Looking for more? Sign up for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story.
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:Debbie Reynoldss Fabulous Hollywood Life in PicturesDebbie Reynolds during her high-school years, in the late 1940s.Photo: From Everett Collection.
Reynolds in her most famous role, opposite Gene Kelly in Singin in the Rain.Photo: From Everett Collection.
Reynolds singing for a rapt audience of 30,000 G.I.s.Photo: From Bettmann/Getty Images.
Reynolds married her first husband, Eddie Fisher, in 1955.Photo: By Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.
Carrie Fisher (left), Reynolds, and Fishers daughter, Billie Lourd, pose together in 2011.Photo: By Brian To/FilmMagic/Getty Images.
Reynolds and her son, Todd, among the actresss vast collection of Hollywood memorabilia.Photo: By Evans Vestal Ward/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images.
Carrie Fisher (left), Reynolds, and Billie Lourd were all present when the Screen Actors Guild honored Reynolds with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.Photo: By John Salangsang/BFA/Rex/Shutterstock.PreviousNext
Vanity Fair
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
