Ursula Andress, who is famous for being the first Bond girl, endured quite an ordeal when someone she trusted alledgedly stole a shocking amount of money from her. Now, that same fortune has reportedly been traced to villas and vineyards in Tuscany.
Andress’ Money Was Used for a ‘Money-Laundering Scheme’
Getty“Italian authorities said on Thursday that they had seized about $23 million in assets that had been paid for with money reported stolen from the Swiss actress Ursula Andress, who is best known for her role as the first ‘Bond girl’ opposite Sean Connery in ‘Dr. No,'” according to The New York Times.
NYT explained that “[t]he assets were part of an international money-laundering scheme orchestrated by a former wealth manager for Ms. Andress and were used to buy a villa outside Florence in Tuscany, including vineyards, olive groves and a collection of artwork, the authorities said.”
Although authorities didn’t reveal if anyone had been arrested, NYT notes that “Italian finance authorities said they had identified 20 million euros ($23 million) in assets connected to Ms. Andress,” while adding that “[t]he wealth manager, whom Ms. Andress previously identified as Eric Freymond, died last year in an apparent suicide.”
Ursula Appeared as Honey Ryder in ‘Dr. No’ with Sean Connery
GettyFans of the James Bond franchise will surely be able to tell you (with enthusiasm) that “[t]he voluptuous Swiss actress Ursula Andress is invariably cited as the ‘first Bond Girl,’ and her initial appearance in Dr. No (1962) walking out of the sea in a white bikini is rightly touted as one of the most eye-popping entrances in movie history,” according to Life.
The New York Times explains that Andress, “who is retired, became an international sex symbol after her role as Honey Ryder in the … first installment in the decades-long James Bond franchise on the big screen,” which also featured Connery’s debut as 007.
“About an hour into ‘Dr. No,’ Ms. Andress made her mesmerizing entrance onscreen, emerging from the waters of the Caribbean in a white bikini with two conch shells in her hands and a knife tucked into her belt while singing ‘Underneath the Mango Tree,’ albeit dubbed,” NYT notes.
NYT also points out that Andress’ “first encounter with Mr. Connery [in the film] set a standard by which future Bond girls would be judged and was replicated by the actress Halle Berry in the 2002 Bond movie ‘Die Another Day.'”
