Miss Moneypenny dies at age 80

wind2000 · Sep 30, 2007

Canada's Lois Maxwell, 'Miss Moneypenny,' dies at 80
Updated Sun. Sep. 30 2007 10:27 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Actress Lois Maxwell, best known to audiences as Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond movies, died Saturday night at the age of 80.

The Canadian-born Maxwell first starred alongside Sean Connery in 1962's "Dr. No", the first in the Bond series, the most successful movie franchise in history.

Maxwell had been suffering from cancer and died near her home of Perth, Australia.

Maxwell was born Lois Hooker in Kitchener, Ontario in 1927.

She began her career in a Canadian children's radio program before leaving for England at the age of 15 with the Canadian Army's Entertainment Corps.

It was there that she got enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1944, where she met fellow Bond star Roger Moore.

"It's rather a shock," said Sir Roger Moore, the third actor to play the leading role of Agent 007.

"She was always fun and she was wonderful to be with,'' he told BBC Radio.

Her movie career began in 1946 with "A Matter of Life and Death", and she won The Most Promising Newcomer Golden Globe Award the following year for her part in Shirley Temple comedy "That Hagen Girl.''

After a stint in Italy, Maxwell moved back to England in the mid-1950s.

In addition to her 14 Bond films, she performed in Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita", and appeared in numerous television shows, including "The Saint", "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)" and "The Persuaders".

Frank Hadzelic wrote Maxwell's bio for IMDb.

"When reading (articles) about her career, family, her experiences living in Rome or even as an actress, one really felt as if she was sharing it over a good cup of tea or coffee," he told CTV.ca. "Despite the newer Miss Moneypenny in the Bond movies it is just not the same without Lois Maxwell playing the roll."

Maxwell was 58 when she made her final appearance as Moneypenny in "A View to a Kill" in 1985, which was also Roger Moore's last outing as 007. She was replaced by 26-year-old Caroline Bliss in 1987's "The Living Daylights", Timothy Dalton's first Bond film.

Her last film was the 2001 thriller "The Fourth Angel,'' with Jeremy Irons.
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Miss Moneypenny dies at age 80

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