Honor Blackman death: Pussy Galore actor dies aged 94

Actor was best known for her roles as Bond girl Pussy Galore and as Cathy Gale in The Avengers

Honor Blackman, best known for her roles as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger and Cathy Gale in The Avengers, has died at the age of 94.

The actor died of natural causes, her family has said in a statement to The Guardian.

“It’s with great sadness that we have to announce the death of Honor Blackman aged 94,” the statement read. “She died peacefully of natural causes at her home in Lewes, Sussex, surrounded by her family.”

It continued: “As well as being a much-adored mother and grandmother, Honor was an actor of hugely prolific creative talent; with an extraordinary combination of beauty, brains and physical prowess, along with her unique voice and a dedicated work ethic, she achieved an unparalleled iconic status in the world of film and entertainment and with absolute commitment to her craft and total professionalism in all her endeavours she contributed to some of the great films and theatre productions of our times.”

Born in Essex in 1925, Blackman would graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1942. She would immediately find work on stage and on screen, appearing alongside Dirk Bogarde in So Long at the Fair (1950) and Kenneth More in A Night to Remember (1958).

Blackman became a household name in 1962 when she was cast alongside Patrick Macnee in the espionage series The Avengers. Her role as the leather-clad, crime-fighting Cathy Gale saw her attract the attention of Eon Films, who cast her as the iconic Bond girl Pussy Galore in 1964’s Goldfinger.

Blackman’s introduction in the film remains one of the most famous scenes in the 007 franchise. It sees her tell Sean Connery’s James Bond her name, only for him to suppress a giggle and reply: “I must be dreaming.”

Other memorable roles included Hera in Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Penny Husbands-Bosworth in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), and as Laura West in the ITV sitcom The Upper Hand, which ran from 1990 until 1996.

Blackman is photographed in 2008 (Rosie Greenway/Getty Images)

She also appeared in the films Shalako (1968) and The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970), and guest starred on TV series including Doctor Who, The Saint, Columbo and New Tricks. In recent years, she toured in the one-woman show Honor Blackman as Herself, in which she recalled stories from her long career.

A life-long republican, Blackman turned down a CBE in 2002, and criticised Connery for accepting a knighthood from the Queen while moving to the Bahamas allegedly for tax reasons.

“I disapprove of him strongly now,” Blackman said in 2012. “Because I don’t think you should accept a title from a country and then pay absolutely no tax towards it. He wants it both ways. I don’t think his principles are very high.”

Blackman was married and divorced twice, to Bill Sankey and Maurice Kaufmann. She adopted two children with Kaufmann, named Lottie and Barnaby.