Shirley Eaton

Shirley Jean Eaton (born 12 January 1937) is an English former actress and singer. Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and gained her highest profile for her appearance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the James Bond film Goldfinger, which gained her bombshell status. Eaton also had roles in the early Carry On films.

Preferring to devote herself to bringing up a family, she retired from acting in 1969. Eaton came out of retirement in 1999 to release her autobiography titled Golden Girl, which was a bestseller, and has released three more books throughout the 2000s.

Early life Eaton was born on 12 January 1937 in Edgware General Hospital, Middlesex, and brought up in the suburb of Kingsbury. She attended Roe Green Primary School on Princes Avenue, and although living close to both Kingsbury County Grammar School and Tylers Croft Secondary Modern School, won a place at the Aida Foster Theatre School, a specialist drama school, and remained there until she was sixteen. Her stage debut was in Benjamin Britten's Let's Make an Opera! and her West End debut was in 1954 in Going to Town.

Eaton left comedy roles by appearing opposite Mickey Spillane in The Girl Hunters (1963) in which Spillane played his own literary creation Mike Hammer. During the 1962 London shoot she appeared on stage in Come Blow Your Horn. She made three episodes of The Saint, starring Roger Moore, including the pilot. She was in a 1962 episode of the British television series Man of the World that was the pilot for the TV series The Sentimental Agent. Her episode was included in a 1963 feature film of the series entitled Our Man in the Caribbean.

Eaton achieved the most recognition for her performance as Jill Masterson in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). She appeared on the cover of Life magazine in her gold-painted persona. Her character's death, being painted head to toe in gold paint and suffering "skin suffocation", led to an urban myth that Eaton had died during filming. She appeared in a 2003 episode of the series MythBusters to dispel the rumor.

After Goldfinger, Eaton made only a few more films, including a pair of films for Ivan Tors, Rhino! (1964) and Around the World Under the Sea (1966), a Harry Alan Towers version of the Agatha Christie mystery Ten Little Indians (1965) co-starring Hugh O'Brian and a Bob Hope comedy, Eight on the Lam (1967), plus the title role of Sax Rohmer's Sumuru in Towers' The Million Eyes of Sumuru (1967) and The Girl from Rio (1969).

Personal life Eaton was married to Colin Lenton Rowe from 1957 until his death in 1994. The couple had two sons, Grant and Jason. Eaton retired from acting to bring up her family and later commented in a 1999 interview with Steve Swires of Starlog magazine, "A career is a career, but you're a mother until you die". She repeated this statement in an interview with the journalist James Davies on 18 June 2008, adding, "The most important thing for me was being a woman and having a family more than being a very famous glamorous actress".

Eaton published an autobiography in 1999 titled Golden Girl. Her later book (Golden Girl Shirley Eaton: Her Reflections) is a picture book of all her film photos from throughout her career and the second book (Shirley Eaton, Bond's Golden Girl; Her Own Art Gallery) is full of her paintings and sculptures made over a lifetime and, more recently, her art and photography. She also has an official website.

In popular culture

The main character in Jonathan Coe's novel What a Carve Up! is obsessed with Eaton in her role in the film of the same name.

Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes1953 Personal Affair Schoolgirl UncreditedA Day to Remember Young Woman on Ferry Uncredited1954 You Know What Sailors Are Palace Girl UncreditedDoctor in the House Milly Groaker The Belles of St. Trinian's Sixth Former Uncredited 1955 The Love Match Rose Brown 1956 Charley Moon Angel Dream Sailor Beware! Shirley Hornett Three Men in a Boat Sophie Clutterbuck 1957 Doctor at Large Nan Date with Disaster Sue The Naked Truth Melissa Right 1958 Carry On Sergeant Mary Sage Further Up the Creek Jane 1959 Carry On Nurse Staff Nurse Dorothy Denton In the Wake of a Stranger Joyce Edwards 1960 Life Is a Circus Shirley Winter Carry On Constable Sally Barry 1961 Nearly a Nasty Accident Cpl. Jean Briggs Dentist on the Job Jill Venner A Weekend with Lulu Deirdre Proudfoot What a Carve Up! Linda Dickson 1962 Our Man in the Caribbean Lee 1963 The Girl Hunters Laura Knapp 1964 Rhino! Miss Arleigh Goldfinger Jill Masterson 1965 The Naked Brigade Diana Forsythe Ten Little Indians Ann Clyde 1966 Around the World Under the Sea Dr. Margaret Hanford 1967 Eight on the Lam Ellie Barton The Million Eyes of Sumuru Sumuru 1967 The Scorpio Letters Phoebe Stewart 1968 The Blood of Fu Manchu Black Widow 1969 The Girl from Rio Sumuru/Sumitra 2001 Everdream Talent scout short

Television Year Film Role Notes 1950 For the Children Tina Crome Episode: "Let's Make an Opera!" 1951 Parent-Craft Anne Pebble All 6 episodes 1954 And So to Bentley Girl Episode: #1.5 1955 The Dance Dress Fay TV film1957 Mostly Maynard Various Episode: #1.3 BBC Sunday-Night Theatre Peggy Harrison Episode: "His Excellency"1962 The Saint Adrienne Halberd Episode: "The Talented Husband" Man of the World Lee Episode: "The Sentimental Agent" The Saint Gloria Uckrose Episode: "The Effete Angler" 1968 The Saint Reb Denning Episode: "Invitation to Danger"