Molly Peters

Mollie Peters
Peters in Thunderball (1965)
Born
Vivien Mollie Rudderham

(1939-03-15)15 March 1939
Walsham-le-Willows, Suffolk, England
Died29 May 2017(2017-05-29) (aged 78)
Taunton, Somerset, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Actress, model
Years active1964–1972
Known forAs Patricia Fearing in Thunderball (1965)
Children2

Mollie Peters (15 March 1939 – 30 May 2017),[1] born Vivien Mollie Rudderham, was an English actress and model best known for her role as Bond girl Patricia Fearing in the James Bond film Thunderball.

Career

Molly Peters started out as a model and was discovered by film director Terence Young.

She appeared in several films during the 1960s. Her best-known appearance was the role of Bond girl, Patricia Fearing or Pat, a nurse who takes care of James Bond (Sean Connery) while he is on holiday at her health clinic in Thunderball (1965).[2][3] Peters was the first Bond girl to be seen taking her clothes off on screen in the Bond series.[4]

Peters appeared in Playboy, in the November 1965 issue. Her appearance was as part of a pictorial essay titled "James Bond's Girls", by Richard Maibaum.[5]

According to the special edition DVD of Thunderball, Peters' short film career was the result of a disagreement between her and her agent.[6] The specifics of the disagreement were not revealed, other than according to Peters, her agent at the time of Thunderball held her to her contract agreement of representation because of the mega-successful box-office hit of the fourth James Bond film in 1965. It was only many years later, when the fame, the glamour and the chaos from the release of Thunderball had faded, that her contractual agreement ended; and so had any modelling and/or film prospects.

Personal life

When she was young, she gave birth to a daughter, whom she gave up for adoption. Peters later married and lived with her husband in Ipswich, Suffolk. She and her husband had a son, who died in 2013. In 2011, Peters suffered a mild stroke.[7]

Death

Peters died on 29 May 2017, at the age of 78 at Taunton Hospital, Somerset.[8][7]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
1964 Peter Studies Form
1965 The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders Girl
Thunderball Patricia Fearing
1966 Target for Killing Vera
1967 The Naked World of Harrison Marks Molly Peters
1968 Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River Heath's Secretary
1971 Zeppelin Barmaid
1972 Nobody Ordered Love Secretary

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1966 Das Experiment Junges Mädchen
1967 Armchair Theatre Waitress Episode: "Easier in the Dark"
1967 Baker's Half-Dozen The Girl 5 episodes

References

  1. ^ "VIVIEN MOLLIE HUMPHREY (nee Rudderham)". EATD. 23 June 2017.
  2. ^ ""Bond Girls" through the years". cbsnews.com. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Patricia Fearing (Molly Peters)". jamesbondmm.co.uk. James Bond MM. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Molly Peters, the first ever Bond girl to strip on screen, has died at the age of 75". Metro. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  5. ^ "MAG – PLAYBOY". 007collector.com. 007collector.com. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  6. ^ "After Roger Moore, Bond girl Molly Peters dies aged 75". Deccan Chronicle. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  7. ^ a b O'Connor, Rory (30 May 2017). "Molly Peters dead: Sean Connery's Bond girl dies aged 75". Daily Express. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  8. ^ "VIVIEN MOLLIE HUMPHREY (nee Rudderham)". EATD. 23 June 2017.