Honor Blackman (Actor)

Honor Blackman stands by a bronze bust of herself at the Royal Academy. (Photo: Jim Gray / Getty Images)

Attractive and athletic blonde British stage actress Honor Blackman broke into films in the late 1940s, finally achieving a measure of fame in the 60s as the predecessor to Diana Rigg on the popular British TV series "The Avengers". Playing leather-clad judo expert Catherine Gale from 1962 to 1964, prior to the show's arrival on American screens, led to her best known role as villainous martial arts expert Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger" (1964), a memorable entry to the James Bond series. Blackman's post-Bond movie credits included "Life at the Top" (1965), "The Last Grenade" and "The Virgin and the Gypsy" (both 1970), among others, but she has confined herself to TV in the 80 and 90s, acting in miniseries like NBC's "The First Olympics: Athens 1896" and ABC's "Lace" (both 1984), among her American appearances. Beginning in 1990, she portrayed the lusty Laura on British-TV's "The Upper Hand" (1990-1995), based on the ABC sitcom "Who's the Boss" (1984-92). She also provided the voice of Mrs. Medlock for ABC's animated musical version of "The Secret Garden" (1995).