Tania Mallet, the model who starred in Goldfinger, has died aged 77.
The news was revealed by the official Twitter account linked to James Bond with a message that read: ”We are very sorry to hear that Tania Mallet who played Tilly Masterson in Goldfinger has passed away. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this sad time.”
Mallet played Tilly Masterson in the 1964 Bond film opposite Sean Connery.
The cousin of Helen Mirren, Mallet was born on 19 May 1941 in Blackpool. She began a career in modelling at the age of 16 and was later cast in Goldfinger by producer Cubby Broccoli after reportedly missing out on the opportunity to play Tatiana Romanova in From Russia with Love in 1957.
Mallet revealed in a 2003 interview with the James Bond fan site MI6 that she was considered for the role after “someone sent a photo” to Broccoli. “I believe it was a picture taken by Henry Clark for Vogue and shows me lying on some rocks in a bikini.” she said.
Goldfinger was Mallet’s only acting role, save for an uncredited appearance in TV series The New Avengers in 1976.
Speaking about her time working on the Guy Hamilton-directed film, Mallet said: “Filming had been an interesting experience but I was always more comfortable in a small studio with just the photographer and his assistant. 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's cause of death is currently unknown.
