Our Pick: Top 20 Bond Girls

Honey Ryder, Dr. No (1962- Sean Connery): Donning the now-famous white bikini, Ursula Andress' character Honey Ryder set the standard high for the many legendary Bond Girls that followed her. In this case, classic was really the best. Almost half a century later, Ursula Andress emerging from the sea remains among the most-paused movie moments ever.

Jill Masterson, Goldfinger (1964-Sean Connery): As Jill Masterson, Shirley Eaton captured the fascination of men left, right and centre. She appeared on the cover of Life Magazine painted head to toe in skin suffocating gold, leading to an urban myth that Eaton had died during filming.
She appeared in a 2003 episode of the series MythBusters to dispel the rumour.

Pussy Galore, Goldfinger (1964-Sean Connery): As Pussy Galore, Honor Blackman, the lead in the 1964 film, entered the Bond house of fame for being the older ever Bond Girl- at 39 she was older than Sean Connery when the movie came out.

Dominique 'Domino' Derval, Thunderball (1965-Sean Connery): Dominique 'Domino' Derval, played by Claudine Auger, is the feisty mistress of Emilio Largo who breaks free from her caged life and avenges her brother's death by killing Largo and saving the super-agent's life.

Kissy Suzuki, You Only Live Twice (1967-Sean Connery)- Mie Hama plays Kissy Suzuki, a ninja agent working for Tanaka who helps Bond find Blofeld's secret base. When Hama became ill during shooting, Sean Connery's wife Diane Cilento doubled for her in the swimming sequence.

Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969-George Lazenby): Diana Rigg (Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo) is the woman our daredevil superagent meets, falls in love with and eventually marries. She dies tragically in the end, but not before making a mark for herself in the series.

Tiffany Case, Diamonds Are Forever (1971-Sean Connery): As diamond smuggler Tiffany Case, Jill St. John was aptly named and complemented the 007 agent's suave exterior perfectly.

Solitaire, Live and Let Die (1973-Roger Moore): Solitaire, played by Jane Seymour, has the supernatural gift of reading Tarot cards - but her powers will vanish when she sleeps with a man. No prizes on guessing who finally gets her coveted virginity!

Mary Goodnight, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974-Roger Moore): Britt Ekland as the secretary to the 00 Section has a bubbly and adventurous personality and shiny blonde hair that shine silver in the moonlight.

Anya Amasova/Agent XXX, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977-Roger Moore): Barbara Bach plays a Russian spy with a notorious codename who eventually succumbs to Bond's many charms.

Dr Holly Goodhead, Moonraker (1979-Roger Moore): Lois Chiles as Dr Holly Goodhead made for a fetching scientist as she got it going with Bond in a space-ship.

Octopussy, Octopussy (1983-Roger Moore): Maud Adams plays Octopussy who lives a life of luxury in ‘exotic' India- just right for Bond.

Pam Bouvier, Licence to Kill (1989-Timothy Dalton): CIA informer Pam Bouvier, played by Carey Lowell, makes for a lovely Bond girl. Falling in and out of love with each other, Bond and Pam go through the motions Bond series is so famous for- Bond snatches her back from the jaws of death quite a few times, but his ‘bond' with her doesn't mean he forgets the other lovely ladies.

Natalya Simonova, GoldenEye (1995-Pierce Brosnan): Izabella Scorupco plays sexy programmer Natalya Simonova who becomes Bond's lover after, you guessed it, he rescues her from near death.

Xenia Onatopp, GoldenEye (1995-Pierce Brosnan): Perhaps the only Bond girl one would avoid bedding, Famke Janssen played Xenia Onatopp whose many skills included suffocating men with her thighs.

Wai Lin, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997-Pierce Brosnan): Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin matches Bond with her Karate skills and gadgets as the two team up to stop media mogul Elliot Carver's devious scheme to sell newspapers. No holds barred here!

Elektra King, The World is Not Enough (1999-Pierce Brosnan): As Elektra King, Sophie Marceau enthralls and dazzles as she places Bond in a torture device designed to break his neck by forcing a metal rod against his spine. The super-agent manages to escape, but it's exciting nevertheless.

Jinx, Die Another Day (2002-Pierce Brosnan): Gorgeous NSA agent Jinx was sexy and intriguing and forever left an image in the minds of Bond fanatics- with a lot of help from an itsy-bitsy orange bikini. Halle Berry was one of the few high points in the 2002 movie.

Vesper Lynd, Casino Royale (2006-Daniel Craig): Fidgety and ethereal at the same time, Eva Green as Vesper Lynd was treacherous and lovable. The Vesper martini, “shaken, not stirred”, became 007's signature swig and the world's favourite, since.

Camille, Quantum of Solace (2008-Daniel Craig): Olga Kurylenko stars as Camille in the 22nd James Bond adventure. Plenty of thrilling rescues and suspense-filled scenes provide popcorn entertainment in this one- especially the parting kiss. Sigh!