Interviews with three Bond girls: Ekland, Adams and Wood

The James Bond legend lives on, with Daniel Craig currently holding the reins of that character. Giving aid and comfort to the man with the golden gun are the so-called “Bond Girls.” Britt Ekland, Maud Adams and Lana Wood were part of that exclusive girl club.

The three Bond co-stars were appearing at the Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show in September of 2010. The show is a biannual event that brings celebrities to Chicago to meet, sign autographs and interact with their admirers. Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com was there to photograph the iconic beauty of the Bond Girls.

Britt Ekland

HollywoodChicago.com: What childhood memory from Sweden do you hold most dear in the midst of the circumstances of your life?

Britt Ekland: When I was about nine or ten, I had to go out skiing with my mum, and I hated it because I was quite fat. We would stop at some point, and she would bring out oranges. Oranges weren’t common in Sweden, and so I always remember that.

HollywoodChicago.com: As a person blessed with extraordinary beauty, what was the most difficult thing about receiving all the attention because of it?

Ekland: I’ve never had any problems receiving attention. [laughs]

HollywoodChicago.com: Now that you have a few years of retrospect regarding your complicated relationship with Peter Sellers, what advice would you give him now on how to handle his life back then?

Ekland: Take a couple of lithium and relax. Enjoy your money and your fame. He could never do that.

Maud Adams

HollywoodChicago.com: What made you so adaptable to languages when you were younger, since you speak five?

Maud Adams: I have no idea, but I have a musical ear because I began playing the piano when I was young and I think that’s why. It helps because I know the basis for many languages and it helps me to pick up other words.

HollywoodChicago.com: Looking back at your first film, “The Boys in the Band,” were you aware about the significance of it’s breakthrough status regarding the portrayal of gay men?

Adams: I had no idea at the time, but later I understood. I’ve worked with gay men all my life, having worked as a model and in the business. Now it’s no longer stigmatized as it used to be, and that’s a very good thing.

HollywoodChicago.com: You never intended to get into modeling, but you had a long career in it. What was your greatest experience as an international model, as in getting to do something or going somewhere that you might not had experienced otherwise?

Adams: I love traveling, I love meeting other people. I grew up in a very homogenous place in Northern Sweden, which means I was fairly isolated, but because I was a big reader I became very curious about the world. And my modeling career really took me to a lot of different places and gave me the means to travel. It has been great to me.

HollywoodChicago.com: You most likely have heard every pick-up line in the world. Do you have a memorable one that you can recall?

Adams: I’ll give you a line, it’s not a pick-up line. A man came up to me with his kids and said, ‘I love Maud Adams, didn’t you used to be Maud Adams?’ [laughs]. I said, ‘what do you mean, used to be Maud Adams?’ I still laugh about that.

HollywoodChicago.com: Finally, can you tell us something about Roger Moore that the rest of world doesn’t know.

Adams: I think everyone knows that Roger is a rascal, very smart and a very kind man. What else? Maybe tell his age? No, no, no. [laughs]

Lana Wood

HollywoodChicago.com: You were a child actor, following in the footsteps of your sister Natalie. Do you thinking working as children made you and Natalie’s lives more difficult later?

Lana Wood: I don’t know whether it made it difficult or not, because at the time I didn’t know what the choices were. Did it make life different? Probably very much so, because I know when Natalie had her kids she did not want them to go into show business, because she felt we’d missed out on childhood.

HollywoodChicago.com: What have you since found out about your Russian heritage that connects you with your former homeland?

Wood: I like the music. I play an old album that my Dad used to play called, “The Soviet Army Chorus and Band.” [laughs] I love Russian music. I’ve never been back to Russia, but Natalie did a TV special with Peter Ustinov, where they both went back there, but she wasn’t comfortable there.

HollywoodChicago.com: You’ve been associated with famous men in your life. What do you like about them, and what characteristics make them most difficult to be around?

Wood: Actually for the most part I have more men friends than women. I get along great with guys, but the fear of intimate discussions is what they need to get over. That would make life a little easier.

HollywoodChicago.com: Why did so many people get upset about your memoir about Natalie, and what compelled you to set that record straight?

Wood: Beats the heck out of me, I don’t know why anyone would have been upset. I sent the galley proof to Robert Wagner, which he never read. He was openly critical, which was odd because he never read the book. I thought I was very honest about myself and my feelings, and I didn’t say a lot of things on purpose so I wouldn’t hurt anyone. So I don’t know what anyone’s beef is with it.

HollywoodChicago.com: Finally, tell us something about Sean Connery that the rest of the world doesn’t know?

Wood: [Laughs] He’s not embarrassed to use the bathroom with the door open.

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