The Celebrity Collector - Ursula Andress
The actress who walked out of the sea in Dr. No spent her free time in flea markets and antique shops from Shanghai to Fredericksburg, Virginia, and guarded what she found.
Ursula Andress, the original Bond girl
When Die Another Day opened with Pierce Brosnan as James Bond and Halle Berry as the newest Bond girl, it continued a line that began with Ursula Andress and her famous walk out of the sea as Honey Ryder in Dr. No.
A few facts about that role have become Bond trivia. Andress was paid $10,000 for it. Her voice was dubbed, by the woman who later played the Istanbul hotel clerk in From Russia with Love. She almost did not get the part at all, since Julie Christie was considered first. Around 2002, readers of Hotdog magazine voted her the sexiest Bond girl and her entrance from the sea the best Bond girl scene.
Andress was born in Switzerland on March 19, 1936, one of six children, with four sisters and a brother. In 1964 she shared the Golden Globe for Most Promising Female Newcomer with Elke Sommer and Tippi Hedren. Away from the screen she was, by her own account, a devoted collector. She talked about it by phone after flying in from Rome for her son’s college graduation, on her way to the antique shops of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
What Ursula Andress collected: “Everything that’s beautiful”
Asked what she collected, Andress answered: “Everything that’s beautiful. A lot of things. Collecting is my joy; it gives me great satisfaction.” Her list was long: furniture, rugs, paintings and frames, pottery, china, English furniture, rosewood and Empire furniture. One favorite piece was a chest of drawers with a desk built into it.
Empire furniture takes its name from the French style of the Napoleonic period, with strong architectural lines and heavy, often dark wood. Rosewood, prized for its deep color and figure, was widely used in fine furniture of the 19th century. Both suited a collector who bought for looks first.
She liked the hunt as much as the object. “When I go to a country, I go to flea markets, antique stores. I am always looking for something,” she said. “It’s easy to walk in an antique store, and even if you have $20,000 to buy an item, you still try to get a good price.” Looking, she added, was part of the pleasure: “It’s my hobby to go around to shops and markets.”
She traced the habit to an early ambition. “I have always collected. I wanted to be a decorator. I wanted to interior design homes and do everything myself.”
A collector whose home was the world
“My home is the world,” Andress said. At the time she lived partly in Spain, the United States, Italy and Switzerland, and she bought wherever she went: Shanghai, the Andes, Kuala Lumpur, Hungary and Romania among other places. Her method was the same everywhere. “I go to antique and flea markets in the old quarters of the cities.”
Buying on that scale meant storage problems. “If I don’t have room for an item, I put it in warehouses,” she said. “I’m waiting to have a big castle or country home to put all of my collection in. I have an attic full of stuff in my friend’s house in Virginia.”
Collectors who like large European furnishings gathered on a grand scale may also enjoy the story of William Randolph Hearst’s collection, or the rooms of the Biltmore Estate.
The stolen 16th-century Venetian lions
Asked about a favorite piece, Andress would not choose. “Everything is a piece of me, a moment of my life,” she said. But one episode showed how seriously she took her collection.
A large pair of Venetian lions was once stolen from her. They were life-size, carved in wood and finished in polychrome and gold leaf, and dated from 16th-century Spain. Polychrome means the carving was painted in several colors, with gold leaf laid over parts of the surface, a technique that makes old carved figures fragile and hard to restore once damaged.
She went after them herself. “I got them back. I worked on it for 6 months. I tracked them (the thieves) down and found them,” she said. Her warning to anyone tempted: “Don’t take anything from me because I’ll track it down. Collecting is my passion.”
The Dr. No bikini at auction and other Bond memorabilia
Andress also created at least one famous collectible. The bikini she wore in Dr. No, which she designed herself, sold at auction for £35,000. She had expected more. “I thought it would sell for $150,000, but the auction was after September 11, and the stock market had gone down,” she said.
Bond fans collect almost anything connected to the films, but Andress had kept very little. “I mostly gave away what I had,” she said. For a collector of fine antiques, the screen memorabilia that others prize held no special pull.
She did not watch her own films much either. “I have no favorite. I don’t go to my movies. I didn’t see Dr. No for a year, but I liked it when I saw it. It was a fun movie.” The newer Bond films did not appeal to her. “I hate special effects; everything is done in special effects. I like the real movies, on islands, an adventure story with some action, but not action every second.”
Elvis and the leading men Ursula Andress worked with
Andress would not name a favorite leading man either. “I have been lucky to work with lovely men,” she said, listing Elvis, Woody Allen twice, Orson Welles, Peter O’Toole, James Mason and Marcello Mastroianni. She also starred with Sean Connery and Dean Martin.
Elvis left the strongest impression. “I adored Elvis; he was the kindest man there was. At the beginning, I was not fond of him. You know, you judge people by what you read about them. But Elvis was adorable, so sweet, nice, and kind.” They stayed friends and saw each other once or twice a year. Another actress who made films with him, Yvonne Craig, built a collection of her own from her travels.
At the time of the interview she had no films planned. “It’s hard to make movies today. They have all changed to action and violence. That’s not my style.” The glamour of her era is part of what drives the market for golden age Hollywood photographs.
Questions and answers
What does Ursula Andress collect?
Ursula Andress said she collected “everything that’s beautiful,” including furniture, rugs, paintings, frames, pottery, china, English furniture, rosewood and Empire furniture. She bought at flea markets and antique shops around the world, from Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur to Hungary, Romania and Virginia, and stored what did not fit at home in warehouses.
How much did the Ursula Andress Dr. No bikini sell for?
The bikini Andress wore in Dr. No, which she designed herself, sold at auction for £35,000. She said she had expected about $150,000, but the sale took place after September 11, 2001, when the stock market had fallen.
How much was Ursula Andress paid for Dr. No?
Ursula Andress was paid $10,000 for playing Honey Ryder in Dr. No. Her voice was dubbed in the film, and Julie Christie had been considered for the part before her. She later shared the 1964 Golden Globe for Most Promising Female Newcomer.
What happened to Ursula Andress’s stolen Venetian lions?
A life-size pair of Venetian lions, carved wood with polychrome and gold leaf from 16th-century Spain, was stolen from Andress. She spent six months tracking down the thieves and got the lions back, warning that anyone who took something from her would be found.
What did Ursula Andress say about Elvis?
Andress said she adored Elvis and called him the kindest man there was. She admitted she was not fond of him at first because she judged him by what she had read, but found him sweet and kind. They stayed friends and saw each other once or twice a year.