'Goldfinger' Actress Margaret Nolan Dead At 76
Margaret Nolan, whom most audiences remember as the striking model painted all in gold during the title sequence for the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, has died.
Variety reports that her son, Oscar Deeks confirmed the 76-year-old actress’s death. Film director Edgar Wright had earlier tweeted about her death, describing her as “everything cool in the ’60s.”
While Nolan did not portray the gold-painted Bond girl in the movie -- that was portrayed by Shirley Eaton -- she was the one who appeared in the film’s title sequence as well as in other merchandise like books, records, and posters.
Nolan did have an acting role in Goldfinger, playing James Bond’s masseuse Dink. She also appeared in A Hard Day’s Night, the 1964 musical comedy film that starred the Beatles. She was offered the chance to travel internationally as the Goldfinger model but chose to focus on acting instead.
Aside from Goldfinger and A Hard Day’s Night, Deadline also listed a number of her other film work. From 1965 to 1974, she participated in several films in the Carry On franchise. Some of the Carry On films that she was a part of include Carry On Cowboy, Carry On Henry VIII, Carry On at Your Convenience, Carry On Matron, Carry On Girls, and Carry On Dick.
She was also in Three Rooms in Manhattan by Marcel Carné, Ferry Cross the Mersey, and The Power of Three by Yvonne Deutschman back in 2011.
Her final work appears to be with Edgar Wright, who cast her in a small role in his latest film, Last Night In Soho. Aside from calling her “everything cool in the ’60s,” Wright called her sharp, funny, and full of amazing stories.
In her later years, Nolan worked as an artist who frequently used her vintage photos, remarking that she always knew what was going on and that she was not a passive woman when these photos were being made.
Nolan’s sentiments are echoed by Honor Blackman, the actress who portrayed the Goldfinger Bond girl named Pussy Galore. Blackman also died this year at the age of 94.
According to Blackman, she enjoyed the double entendre of her character’s name and that she made fun of the people who took the tongue-in-cheek name seriously. When she passed, Bond film producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. William called her an “extraordinary talent” and a “film icon.”
Blackman’s family also made sure to say that she had died of natural causes and not COVID-19. British comedian Eddie Large had earlier passed of COVID-19.