Many Bond Girls have become iconic, and they are an indelible part of the franchise – more important even than the Aston Martin and the martini, shaken not stirred. One of the best things about James Bond movies is that the ‘girls’ all have fantastic names – from Pussy Galore, to Xenia Onatopp, to Plenty O’Toole, to Strawberry Fields and beyond. And one of the undoubted best was Dr. Christmas Jones, as played by Denise Richards.
Richards is now best known as a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, but during the 90s, she made a big splash with one of the best science fiction movies, Starship Troopers (1997), the erotic thriller movie Wild Things (1998), and the hilarious teen movie Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999).
Looking back on playing a Bond Girl while recently speaking with Variety, Richards says; “It broke my heart that people were making fun of me,” she says, recalling some of the insults thrown her way; “‘Oh, really? You’re wearing shorts and you’re a nuclear scientist?’ I’m playing a Bond girl. If I wore a lab coat and pants and a suit, then [fans] would have been upset, like, ‘Okay, why isn’t she looking like a sexy Bond girl?'”
Since Daniel Craig stepped away from the role of Bond, speculation has gone even further through the roof regarding who the next Bond will be. Many people are calling for a non-white Bond, and many are also hoping for a Bond who is a woman. Lashana Lynch has thus far got closest, by being 007 for a wee while in No Time to Die.
Richards believes that Bond should stick to being a James, not a Jane; “Definitely a male Bond, I’m sorry,” she says definitively. “And I might get a lot of flack for this. But the fact of the matter is the Bond franchise was based off of a book franchise and Bond was male in the books and I believe [they should] continue with that. I do, and people may shit on me for it, but I believe it. They could do a spin-off where a Bond girl becomes the female Bond. But I think James Bond is James Bond.”
Check out our guide to the best spy movies.