Eunice Gayson, First ‘Bond’ Girl, Dies at 90

By Erin Nyren

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Eunice Gayson, the first ever Bond girl, died Friday. She was 90.

Gayson’s Twitter account posted the news, writing that she was “an amazing lady who left a lasting impression on everyone she met. She will be very much missed.”

Gayson played Sylvia Trench in the 1962 “James Bond” franchise starter “Dr. No,” starring Sean Connery as Bond. She first asked Bond for his name at a card table, resulting in the iconic, “Bond. James Bond.” She reprised her role as Trench in “From Russia With Love.”

James Bond movie producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli also remembered Grayson on Saturday in a tweet posted to the James Bond official Twitter account.

“We are so sad to learn that Eunice Gayson, our very first ‘Bond girl’ who played Sylvia Trench in ‘’ and ‘From Russia With Love’ has passed away. Our sincere thoughts are with her family.”

Originally, Gayson was intended to play M’s secretary, Miss Moneypenny, but Lois Maxwell landed that role instead.

After her role in the James Bond films, Gayson went on to appear in TV series “The Saint” and “The Avengers.” Her career began on stage as Frau Schrader in a production of “The Sound of Music” at the Palace Theatre, and she portrayed Margaret in the Hammer horror film “The Revenge of Frankenstein” in 1958.