Former `Tomorrow Never Dies` glamour girl tells her story from Bond to the Bible

29-Oct-2003 • Actor News

Reverend Dr Shannon Ledbetter, curate of St Marys, in Knowsley Village, Liverpool, has travelled an unlikely path to her current calling, report the BBC.

She is known for wearing a 250,000 GBP dress made from PVC in the 1997 Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies". Although a little bashful about the attention she recognises her new found fame has helped her bring the church to a wider audience.

"All my modelling friends in the 1980s knew I was interested in the church and the joke was that I was part of the `God Squad`."

"I never pushed it but they always knew it was something that meant the most to me, they knew where my heart was even though I was off doing other things."

A model scout spotted her waiting for a bus in London, aged 21, and she began to adorn the covers of magazines from J17 to Good Housekeeping. But it was the chance to share the camera with Pierce Brosnan in 1997 which she remembers most fondly.

"A costume director friend who knew about my background called me and said she had this particular outfit to wear," she said.

"It was certainly a high point, exciting and fun. I got quite lucky, the director put me in position for one of the shots and you actually got to see me for a few seconds."

Her appearence comes when Bond is waiting to meet Paris up on a balcony at Carver`s luxurious party.

She said she enjoyed the experience but was glad to escape what she admits can be a shallow industry.

"What kept me from feeling totally dejected or much more important than other people was my faith and my community of the church, that kept me grounded."

"The other day I got into a taxi and I had my dog collar on. The driver said `I recognise you, congratulations that`s really good`.

So does the former Bond Girl ever see herself returning to the big screen? "If there was the right offer I might consider it, just like the film, never say never," she said.

Thanks to YOLT for the alert.