Honor Blackman: The Bond Icon Who Fought Back and Refused to Play Nice

After the third series of The Avengers, she left Cathy Gale behind to play Pussy Galore in the third James Bond film, Goldfinger. The move carried her from British television success into a major international production.

Diana Rigg later became Patrick Macnee’s best-known new partner as Emma Peel. Blackman, meanwhile, was about to transform her martial-arts experience into a defining Bond role.