Biography
Born in Switzerland to German parents, Ursula Andress first sought out film work while on a holiday to Rome (she later insisted that the producers came to her first). After a string of cheap films, Andress was brought to the U.S. as the New Dietrich, although the only things she actually had in common with
Marlene Dietrich were German heritage and a magnificent legs. In 1957, Andress married American actor
John Derek, who supervised every aspect of her career in much the same way that he'd later mold
Bo Derek. The marriage ended unhappily, although the couple remained friends. She became an international sensation through her bikini-clad appearance as Honey Rider in the first
James Bond movie Dr. No (1962), a role for which she was paid 10,000 dollars. Within a year, Andress was sharing billings with
Frank Sinatra and
Dean Martin in
Four for Texas, and
Elvis Presley in
Fun in Acapulco (both 1963); she also posed for a now much-sought-after nude layout in Playboy magazine. After this her burst of super-celebrity, Andress settled into a series of increasingly humdrum films. During the making of 1981's
Clash of the Titans, she linked up with the film's much younger leading man
Harry Hamlin, who became the father of her child. Although Andress continued to make movies in the 1980s and '90s, she remained what she was in 1962: a stunning beauty of modest talents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide