Once in Rome, she found work as a bit player in Italian films, mostly comedies which cast her for her abundant physical attributes rather than for any particular acting talent. Andress had a restless nature as a child, leaving Switzerland at 17 with a much older Italian actor. She appeared less and less on screen over time, but occasionally popped up in projects like the miniseries 'Peter the Great' (1986) and the art house film 'Cremaster 5' (1997), offering fans one more glimpse of the iconic sex symbol.īorn in Berne, Switzerland on March 19, 1936, she was one of six children born to a German diplomat father and a Swiss-German mother. Films like the Hammer Studios adventure 'She' (1965), the Italian science fiction thriller 'The Tenth Victim' (1966) and the WWI aerial melodrama 'The Blue Max' (1966), all cashed in on Andress' reputation as one of the world's most beautiful women. No' (1962), the first film in the James Bond franchise, the young starlet was quickly placed in lightweight romps like '4 for Texas' (1962) and 'Fun in Acapulco' (1962), opposite Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, respectively. With her first major film role, actress Ursula Andress assured her place in pop culture history after audiences had their first glimpse of the athletic blonde beauty rising from the Caribbean surf.
