Ursula Andress was born on March 19, 1936 in
Bern, Switzerland to Rolf Andress, a diplomat, and Anna Andress. Andress was discovered by an
Italian film producer while she was vacationing in
Rome. Before doing American films, she appeared in mostly European (
Italian) films like
Le Avventure di Giacomo Casanova (1954) and
Un Americano a Roma (1954).
She became famous in America as the original Bond girl, in the role of Honey Rider, in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962), with Sean Connery. A few of her American Films include: Fun in Acapulco with Elvis Presley (1963), She Who Must Be Obeyed (1965), The Southern Star (1969), Africa Express (1975), Peter the Great (1986) , and Cremaster 5 (1997). Andress won a Golden Globe Award in 1963 as Most Promising Female Newcomer against Tippi Hedren and Elke Sommer. She posed for Playboy in 1963 and since then, has done so twice more.
Andress married John Derek, a director and actor, in 1957 and divorced him in 1966. She lived with Harry Hamlin from 1978 until 1982 and had a son with him in 1980, named Dimitri Alexandre Hamlin. She has lived with Lorenzo Rispoli since 1983. These days, Andress divides her time between her homes in Rome and the United States.