Ursula Andress is a Swiss actress, former model, and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British, and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as the Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, Dr. No.
She was born on 19 March 1936 in Ostermundigen, Switzerland, to parents Anna and Rolf Andress as the third of six children. She is currently 85 years old. She has a brother, Heinz, and four sisters, Erika, Charlotte, Gisela, and Katey. Throughout her career, she has had multiple appearances in several films and movies from different countries.
Ursula Andress Relationship With Henry Hamlin Revealed
A scoop for the publications had been found when Henry Hamlin opened up about a past romance with actress Ursula Andress.
The actor remembered his time while working on 1981’s Clash of the Titans, where he first met his long-time partner Ursula. The star recalled becoming familiar with Andress when he was just a child when he saw the first James Bond flick, Dr. No.
The two shared no scenes in Clash of the Titans, but that didn’t stop them from striking up a romance after meeting at a cast dinner in London.
“Everyone came, and they sat me next to Ursula,” Hamlin remembered. “I didn’t know what to say to her exactly, but somehow the subject of flea markets came up, and I said that I’d been to a flea market the week before I flew over to London. When we got to Rome to start filming there, she called me at the hotel one day, and said, ‘I’m only five houses down from the hotel, and there’s a flea market tomorrow on the Porta Portese. Do you want to go?’”
He added: “So that’s how that happened!” But the love connection didn’t just bloom without any obstacles. The actor remembered that the Clash director Desmond Davis kept a watchful eye on Hamlin because he suspected the actor was involved in a second on-set romance with someone from the makeup department. And Davis was quite fixated on him.
Regardless, it all worked out post-production for Hamlin and Andress, and they had a long-term relationship from 1979-1983 and have a son, Dmitri, who is now 41. “I was always very possessive,” Andress told PEOPLE at the time they parted ways, "and for Harry, his career is the main thing.”
“Love affairs and husbands can end, but a child is forever. Dmitri is my love now,” she said.
Ursula Andress Has A Long List Of Relationships
Apart from Henry Hamlin, Ursula Andress has had been involved in many well-documented romantic relationships, often with her co-stars, but she only made it to the altar once.
The actress’s first publicized relationship was with Hollywood director John Derek. Derek left his wife, with whom he shared his two daughters with to commence his relationship with Andress. The pair then wed in Las Vegas in 1957 and resumed their marital life together for about seven years before they separated in 1964.
Their separation resulted from the fact that the actress had an affair with one of her co-stars named Ron Ely. Eventually, Derek and Andress divorced in 1966. Following her separation from Derek, Ursula dated two actors, John Richardson and Marcello Mastroianni, in quick succession. She shared a relationship of few months with both the actors, and in the year 1965, the actress commenced a relationship with the French actor, Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Belmondo and Andress first crossed paths on the set of the 1965 French comedy-adventure film, Up To His Ears, which they both co-starred in. They hit off well together, and Belmondo left his wife, Elodie, and three children to be with the actress. They eventually moved in together, and their relationship lasted for about seven years before they called it quit in 1972.
From 1973 to 1978, Andress dated several actors, including Fabio Testi, John Delorean, Helmut Berger, Ricci Martin, and Ryan O’Neal. However, her romance with O’Neal stood out above all the others. She and O’Neal first dated in 1972, and they again rekindled their relationship after their breakup in 1977. It, however, ended the next year with unconfirmed allegations that O’Neal had gotten physically abusive.
In 1979, Andress commenced a relationship with the actor Henry Hamlin, who is almost 16 years younger than herself. After hitting off well together, they moved into a one-bedroom cottage in Hollywood’s Lauren Canyon and welcomed a son, Dimitri Hamlin, born on 19 May 1980. The couple got engaged but never tied the knot as Hamlin called off the engagement in 1983.
Ursula Andress with former boyfriend, Harry Hamlin, and their son, Dimitri (©:Page Six)
Since her split with Hamlin, Andress has dated a diverse array of men, including a real estate guru, soccer player, and martial arts expert, but none of them worked out. However, one constant thing in her life remains her son Dimitri.
Dimitri has had a fair amount of appearances in several projects for the entertainment industry. He has tried acting, modeling, DJing, and making cameos in music videos. He played Enzo Parisi Jr. in the Italian television series, My Daughters in 2005. Dimitri has turned 41 this year and is usually keeping his profile low these recent years.
Ursula Andress Net Worth And Career
With her stunning looks, talents, and skills, Ursula Andress has gained lots of fame and wealth for her name. According to CelebrityNetWorth, she has an estimated net worth of $25 million.
Andress first got her head start on the screen with a role in 1955’s Italian film, The Sins of Casanova. She followed it with An American in Rome and La catena dell’odio in 1954 and 1955, respectively. After that, she was seen by a Hollywood executive who persuaded her to try her luck in Hollywood.
Andress arrived in Hollywood in 1955 and signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures starting at $287 a week. However, she didn’t get to play any roles due to her inability to learn English at the time and got herself out of the contract. In March 1956, it was announced she signed to Colombia Pictures. She made no films for them either but was Miss World Trade of 1956.
Andress finally returned to screens in 1962 in an episode of Thriller, La Strega, with Alejandro Rey. She soon had her international banger as Honey Ryder in the 1962 film Dr. No, the first Bond film. In the film, she had her iconic moment while wearing a white bikini. The bikini she wore in the film sold at auction in 2001 for 41,125 pounds. In 2003, in a UK Survey by Channel 4, her entrance in Dr. No. was voted #1 in “the 10 Greatest Sexy Moments”. Andress won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in 1964 for her appearance in the film.
Andress followed it, playing the female lead in an Elvis Presley musical, Fun in Acapulco (1963). She was billed after Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Anita Ekberg in 4 for Texas (1963). She also went on to star alongside Derek in 1965’s Nightmare in the Sun. She featured several times in Playboy magazine.
Besides that, she has had several big and small roles in numbers of films, including She, The Vengeance of She, What’s New Pussycat?, Up to His Ears, Once Before I Die, Double Murder, Slave of the Cannibal God, Tigers in Lipstick, Clash of the Titans, and Casino Royale, to name a few. In Italy, she appeared in movies like The 10th Victim, The Blue Max, Anyone Can Play, and such.
She appeared nude or semi-nude in nearly all of her film roles between 1969 and 1979, earning her the nickname Ursula Undress. She also went on to appear in the English film Perfect Friday and the Spanish film Red Sun. Other than that, she did some action films, Stateline Motel, Loaded Guns, and Africa Express.
In 1955, Andress was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the “100 Sexiest Stars in film history.” Her last role to date was playing Madonna in the low budget 2005 Swiss feature Die Vogelpredigt oder Das Schreien der Monche. She appeared in the documentary Masterpiece or Forgery? The Story of Elmyr De Hory (2008).
Throughout her career, she has accumulated three awards and has been honored with four other nominations. She won a Golden Globe award for her role in Dr. No in 1964, a CinEuphoria award in 2019, and an Alemria Tierra de Cine award in 2003.
Ursula Andress: Then And Now
Ursula rose to stardom with her featuring as the first Bond girl in the first Bond film, Dr. No. Simultaneously, she emerged as quite the notorious actress since the bikini, nude or semi-nude scenes were not quite common.
However, by the end of the decade, the sorts of scenes Andress specialized in became something usual for the films. Now, the actress has taken a step back from appearing in any movies and spends most of her time in Europe. She is now a former actress who left a deep mark in the entertainment industry with her striking looks and figures.