Linda Christian, a 1940s Hollywood star with the distinction of being the very first Bond Girl, has died in Palm Desert, Calif., at the age of 87. A brunette beauty born Blanca Rosa Welter in Mexico, Christian was discovered in Acapulco, Mexico by Warner Bros. movie star Errol Flynn. Life magazine, in writing of her curves, dubbed her the “anatomic bomb.” She married 20th Century Fox’s biggest star, Tyrone Power, in 1949. The marriage ended in a 1956 divorce, though it produced two daughters. In the ’60s, she was also briefly married to the actor Edmund Purdom. Christian starred as Vesper Lynd, James Bond’s romantic interest, in the 1954 TV adaptation of Casino Royale , with Barry Nelson as 007. The episode was part of a CBS dramatic series called Climax . Author Ian Fleming’s character was so new that Bond was called “Jimmy.” Christian’s best-known film was 1963’s The V.I.P.s , which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton immediately after they did Cleopatra . Christian played the gold-digging girlfriend of Rod Taylor’s character. Besides her daughters, she is also survived by eight grandchildren.
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Linda Christian, Early Hollywood Icon and First Bond Girl, Passes Away
