Birthday of two-time Swedish James Bond girl Maud Adams

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2019-02-12

Swedish super-model and actress Maud Adams, two-time Bond Girl after roles in The Man with the Golden (1974) directed by Guy Hamilton and Octopussy (1983) directed by John Glen, was born on 12th February. Maud, born just below the Arctic Circle, has always been a loyal supporter of FSWL for which we love her dearly.

With this page, FSWL would like to celebrate Maud, a fabulous and wonderful person in real life with both feet steady on the ground who has always supported FSWL over the years.

“I hope From Sweden with Love continues the excellent support of all things in the world of Bond for many years to come.” – Maud Adams

Octopussy director John Glen on working with Maud:

“Unknown to most people, Maud actually appeared in three Bond movies. While we were filming on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco she visited the set and walked through the background of a scene. Maud had the most amazing bone structure and was a photographer’s delight. She was a very popular choice with Roger Moore.”

About actress and model Maud Adams

Maud Adams (born 1945) started her career as a model but turned to acting in 1970 with The Boys In The Band in which – appropriately – she played a model.

A few years later, she was cast as Andrea Anders in The Man with the Golden Gun, the first of her two Bond films in a credited role. Her character was both vulnerable and a victim at the hands of her lover, Francisco Scaramanga, the titular villain played by legendary actor Christopher Lee.

Maud Adams & Chrstopher Lee in The Man with the Golden Gun. © 1974 Danjaq S.A. & United Artists Corporation. All rights reserved.

Further features followed, such as Rollerball (the 1975 original) co-starring James Caan, The Hostage Tower (1980) (along with Britt Ekland), Playing For Time (1980) with Vanessa Redgrave as well as iconic tv series like Kojak (1977) and Emerald Point NAS (1983-1984) before producer Albert R. Broccoli offered her the title role in the 13th James Bond film from EON Productions, Octopussy.

Whilst a couple of other actresses had made a second appearance in a James Bond film (aside from regular Miss Moneypenny) it was quite something for a supporting actress in one film to return as one of the leads in a future 007 adventure.

Both director John Glen and actor Roger Moore were unanimous in their praise for the casting decision in Octopussy.

Maud Adams & Roger Moore in Octopussy

Publicity shots of Maud Adams & Roger Moore for Octopussy. © 1983 Danjaq S.A. & United Artists Corporation. All rights reserved.

Post-Bond, Maud continued acting in both large screen and small screen projects: Jane and the Lost City (1987), The Women’s Club (1987), Hell Hunters (1986), Ringer (1996), Perry Mason (1993) as well as appearing in many episodes of the Swedish television series Radioskugga (1995-1997) and Vita Lögner (1998). In 1994 she hosted Café Luleå – a Swedish talk show series.

In 2006, Maud appeared on Swedish TV in SVT's portrait series, Stjärnorna på slottet. (Britt Ekland appeared in the same series a year later.)

Maud is a brilliant linguist speaking Swedish, French, German, Italian and English.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband but often returns to her home in Sweden. She is ambassador for Norrbotten, the Northern Province where Luleå is situated.

Maud remains a firm favourite with Bond fans and enjoys travelling to conventions and autograph shows. One question often asked of her is whether she appeared in A View to a Kill (1985), a story mentioned in John Glen's autobiography. Whilst it is true that Maud visited the set of the film in San Francisco you cannot see her in the film. Many people insist she is on one of the trams in the film, but even studying frame-by-frame on DVDs it is impossible to confirm her being there.

In 2013, Maud appeared in the Swedish version of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’.

Note:
Maud wrote the foreword for Titan Books' comic book edition of Octopussy in 2004 and the afterword to Mark O'Connell's excellent book Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan in 2012. She has also agreed to write the foreword to Anders Frejdh's upcoming book on Bond, From Sweden with Love.

For more photos from Maud's James Bond days, click here.

Films with Maud Adams

2006: The Seekers (Ella Swanson) Director: Frank Megna
1996: Ringer (Leslie Polokoff) Director: Carlo Gustaff
1990: Initiation: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (Fima) Director: Brian Yuzna
1989: The Favorite (Sineperver) Director: Jack Smight
1989: Pasión de hombre (Susana) Director: José Antonio de la Loma
1989: The Kill Reflex (Crystal Tarver) Director: Fred Williamson
1988: Deadly Intent (Elise Marlowe) Director: Nigel Dick
1988: The Mysterious Death of Nina Chereau (Ariel Dubois) Director: Dennis Berry
1988: Angel III: The Final Chapter (Nadine) Director: Tom DeSimone
1987: Jane and the Lost City (Lola Pagola) Director: Terry Marcel
1987: The Women's Club (Angie) Director: Sandra Weintraub
1986: Hell Hunters (Amanda) Director: Ernst R. von Theumer (George Lazenby also appears in this film)
1984: Nairobi Affair (Anne Malone) Director: Marvin J. Chomsky (John Rhys-Davies and Shane Rimmer also appears in this film)
1983: Octopussy (1983) - Director: John Glen
1982: Jugando con la muerte (Carmen) Director: José Antonio de la Loma (Max von Sydow also appears in this film)
1981: Tattoo (Maddy) Director: Bob Brooks
1980: The Hostage Tower (Sabrina Carver) Director: Claudio Guzmán (Britt Ekland also appeared in this film)
1980: Playing for Time (Mala) Director: Daniel Mann
1979: Laura (Sarah) Director: David Hamilton
1977: Merciless Man (Marta Mayer) Director: Mario Lanfranchi (Adolfo Celi also appears in this film)
1976: Killer Force (Clare) Director: Val Guest (Christopher Lee and Telly Savalas also appears in this film)
1975: Rollerball (Ella) Director: Norman Jewison (Burt Kwouk, Richard LeParmentier and Shane Rimmer also appears in this film)
1974: The Man with the Golden Gun (Andrea Anders) Director: Guy Hamilton
1973: U-Turn (Paula/Tracy) Director: George Kaczender
1972: Mahoney's Estate (Miriam) Director: Harvey Hart & Alexis Kanner
1971: The Christian Licorice Store (Cynthia) Director: James Frawley
1970: The Boys in the Band (Photo Model) Director: William Friedkin

Television series with Maud Adams

2000: That '70s Show (Holly) Director: David Trainer (Bond girls Barbara Carrera, Kristina Wayborn and Tanya Roberts also appeared in this episode.)
1998: Vita lögner (Ellinor Malm)
1997: Radioskugga (Sister Katarina) Director: Roger Sellberg
1996: Walker, Texas Ranger (Simone Deschamps) Director: Tony Mordente
1995: Radioskugga (Sister Katarina) Director: Jonas Grimås & Björn Gunnarsson
1993: A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives (Shelly Talbot Morrison) Director: Christian I. Nyby II
1989: Mission: Impossible (Catherine Balzac) Director: Colin Budds
1986: Hotel (Kay Radcliff) Director: Nancy Malone
1986: Blacke's Magic (Andrea Starr)
1983: Emerald Point N.A.S. (Maggie Farrell) Directors: Bill Duke/Ernest Pintoff/Harry Falk/Larry Elikann/Robert Becker (Jill St. John medverkar också i serien.)
1982: Chicago Story (Dr. Judith Bergstrom) Director: Corey Allen/Harvey S. Laidman/Jerry Thorpe
1978: Starsky och Hutch (Kate Larrabee) Director: Rick Edelstein
1978: Big Bob Johnson and His Fantastic Speed Circus (Vikki Lee Sanchez) Director: Jack Starrett
1977: Hawaii Five-O (Maria Noble) Director: Steven Hilliard Stern (Jack Lord spelade huvurollen i serien.)
1977: Kojak (Elenor Martinson) Director: Charles S. Dubin (Telly Savalas spelade huvurollen i serien.)
1971: Love, American Style

Photo above:
A portrait of Maud Adams by FSWL reader Jeff Marshall. Used with permission.

For more about Maud Adams, check out her IMDB profile.

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