Nikki van der Zyl is a German voice actress
famous known for lending countless
Bond Girls of the 60's and 70's their seductive purr, darling. Her work for the franchise began with Guy Flemming's
Dr. No. (1962) as the voice of
Ursula Andress'
Honey Ryder. (Nikki performed all of the female dialogue in the film apart from that of
Lois Maxwell's
Moneypenny.)
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| ↑ Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in Dr. No. (1962) |
Nikki on voicing Honey Ryder:
"The problem with Ursula Andress was
that not only did she have a strong Swiss-German accent, but she tended
to put the emphasis of a word on the wrong syllable. They felt her
accent might be too difficult for the American audience to understand
and, in any case, it wasn’t sexy enough."
Nikki has not been acknowledged in the credits of any of the Bond films
she's done and, over the years, the lack of recognition for her work
has lent her a bitterness. Who wouldn't be miffed?
"Many of the Bond girls built their careers on their performances in the films, which in part was due to my voice"
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| ↑ Nikki on the set of Dr. No |
During her work across a decade of spy junk, Nikki loaned a little extra velvet to the dialogue of many a Bond Girl:
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Casino Royale (1967)
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Live and Let Die (1973)
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You Only Live Twice (1967)
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Thunderball (1965)
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From Russia With Love (1963)
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Goldfinger (1964)
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Goldfinger (1964)
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Since her days as the self-proclaimed "
First Lady Of Bond", Nikki has
practiced law, gone
skydiving, appeared on
antiques roadshow, and found a deep fondness for
opals. Her autobiography, "
For Your Ears Only" is due out next month.
These days, you can catch up with
Lady Bond on her vast labyrinth of a
website. Nikki continues to seek recognition for her role in the history of the Bond franchise. With the world "celebrating 50 years of Bond" this year, maybe she'll finally get a little nod? (Now if only that
pesky Shirley Eaton would kick the bucket.)
