Barbara Bach, Lady Starkey (born Barbara Goldbach in 1947) is an American actress and model. She played the

Bond girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, o ...

Anya Amasova in ''The Spy Who Loved Me''. She is married to former Beatles drummer

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

Early life

Bach is a native of Jackson Heights, Queens and was raised

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. She graduated from Dominican Commercial High School, an all-girls school, in 1964. The following year, she shortened her surname to Bach and began modeling professionally, appearing in catalogs and fashion magazines.

Career

Bach was one of the most sought-after faces of the 1960s, working with the Eileen Ford Agency in New York, appearing on catalogs and the front covers of several international fashion magazines such as '' Seventeen'' (1965 and 1966), ''Vogue'' USA (July 1966) photographed by

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for '' Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and da ...

, ''ELLE'' France (1966), ''Gioia'' Italy (1967–1970), and ''Figurino'' Brazil (1970). Her acting career started in Italy, where she played

Nausicaa Nausicaa (; grc, Ναυσικάα, Nausikáa, or , ) also spelled Nausicaä or Nausikaa, is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of Phaeacia. Her name means "burner of ships" ( 'ship'; 'to ...

in ''

L'Odissea L'Odissea may refer to: * The Odyssey (1968 miniseries), or L'Odissea, a European TV miniseries * L'Odissea (1911 film) ''L'Odissea'' is a 1911 Italian silent film, the third known adaptation from Homer's ''Odyssey''. The film was made in the cont ...

'' in 1968, an eight-hour long TV adaptation of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...

's epic poem ''

The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

'', directed by Franco Rossi and produced by

Dino de Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. H ...

. In 1971, Bach co-starred with two other

s, Claudine Auger and

Barbara Bouchet Barbara Bouchet (born Bärbel Gutscher; 15 August 1943)
glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com; ...

, in the mystery '' Black Belly of the Tarantula'' (a

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, a ...

film) and appeared in other Italian films. In 1977, Bach portrayed the Russian spy Anya Amasova in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

film '' The Spy Who Loved Me''. Bach remarked after the film that Bond is "a chauvinist pig who uses girls to shield him against bullets." The following year she appeared in the movie '' Force 10 from Navarone''. She lost a role to actress

Shelley Hack Shelley Marie Hack (born July 6, 1947) is an American actress, model and producer. She is best known as the face of Revlon's Charlie perfume from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s, and for her role as Tiffany Welles in the fourth season of '' ...

when she auditioned for season four of the television series ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by ...

''. During an interview with

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...

on May 9, 1979, she said that she lost the audition for ''Charlie's Angels'' because they felt she was too sophisticated in attitude and look, and thought that she was not American, even though she was born in Rosedale and grew up in Jackson Heights, both in Queens, New York City. They asked her manager if she could play an American. Bach has 28 films to her credit. She was featured in a pictorial in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' in January 1981. She also had a cameo in a September 1987 special issue on the Bond girls.

Charity work

In 1991, Bach co-founded the Self Help Addiction Recovery Program (SHARP) with

Pattie Boyd Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harris ...

, the former wife of George Harrison and Eric Clapton, both of whom assisted in the venture. Bach and Ringo Starr created The Lotus Foundation, a charity with many sub-charities.

Personal life

Bach's first marriage was to Italian businessman Augusto, Count Gregorini di Savignano di Romagna. The couple had two children together, daughter Francesca and son Gianni, before divorcing in 1975. Bach married British musician

, formerly of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

, at

Marylebone Town Hall Marylebone Town Hall, also known as the Westminster Council House, is a municipal building on Marylebone Road in Marylebone, London. The complex includes the council chamber, the Westminster Register Office and an educational facility known as t ...

on April 27, 1981. The two met in 1980, on the set of the film ''

Caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin ...

'' (1981). Bach struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

and heavy drug use and, along with her husband, checked into a rehab in 1988 for four weeks. The couple have remained sober ever since. According to the

International Vegetarian Union The International Vegetarian Union (IVU) is an international non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote vegetarianism. The IVU was founded in 1908 in Dresden, Germany. It is an umbrella organisation, which includes organisations from ...

, Bach and Starr practice

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat ( red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetaria ...

. She is fluent in Italian and has a working knowledge of French and Spanish.

Filmography

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* !colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", James Bond , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Barbara 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American expatriates in Italy American expatriates in England American film actresses American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Irish descent Female models from New York (state) Italian countesses Living people People from Jackson Heights, Queens People from Rosedale, Queens Queens College, City University of New York alumni Ringo Starr family Ringo Starr Wives of the Beatles Wives of knights Year of birth missing (living people)