Julie Ege (; 12 November 1943 – 29 April 2008) was a Norwegian actress and model, who appeared in many British films of the 1960s and 1970s.

Early life

Ege was born in

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies ...

, the daughter of brickyard worker Marton Ege and Hjørdis Halvorsen. At the age of 15, she began to work as a model. In 1962, she came second in

Miss Norway Miss Norway (formerly known as "Frøken Norge") is a national beauty pageant in Norway The pageant was founded in 1950, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History Miss Norway was held for first time in 1950 by Dagbladet Magazine. T ...

at the age of 18, and subsequently participated in

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

. In 1967, she moved to England to work as an ''

au pair An au pair (; plural: au pairs) is a helper from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a monet ...

'' to improve her English, and there also studied at a language school.

Career

She made her film debut in a low-budget Norwegian film ''Stompa til sjøs (Stompa at Sea)''. She was a

Penthouse Pet This is a list of the models who have appeared in the American edition of ''Penthouse'' magazine and were either named Pet of the Month or Pet of the Year from September 1969 to the present. Pet of the Year names are in bold type and are typica ...

of May which landed her a role in 1969's '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' as Helen, the "Scandinavian girl". She later starred in

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve clas ...

' '' Creatures the World Forgot'' and ''

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires ''The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires'' () is a 1974 martial arts horror film. The film opens in 1804, when seven vampires clad in gold masks are resurrected by Count Dracula, played by John Forbes-Robertson. A century later, Peter Cushing as P ...

''. Her other appearances include ''

Every Home Should Have One ''Every Home Should Have One'' is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Jim Clark and starring Marty Feldman. It was released in the United States in theatres and on home video under the title ''Think Dirty''. The overall concept is in direct ...

'' with

Marty Feldman Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer. He was known for his exophthalmos, prominent, strabismus, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on ...

, ''

Not Now, Darling ''Not Now, Darling'' is a 1967 farce written by English playwrights John Chapman and Ray Cooney, first staged at the Richmond Theatre, in Richmond, England prior to a long West End run. The production starred Donald Sinden and Bernard Cribbin ...

'' with

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

and the Gluttony segment of ''

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins ''The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins'' is a 1971 British sketch comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of ''The Magnificent Seven'' and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each r ...

''. Ege is probably best remembered for her role in the 1971 comedy hit film ''

Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and S ...

'' alongside

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

. She played Voluptua, a Roman ruler. Her voice, however, was overdubbed by

Sheila Steafel Sheila Frances Steafel (26 May 1935 – 23 August 2019) was a British actress, who was born in Johannesburg, but lived all her adult life in the United Kingdom. Life and career Steafel, who was born in Johannesburg, trained at the Webber Dougla ...

(uncredited) for the film. On being introduced to

Lance Percival John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to impro ...

's character, who says "Madame, it's a pleasure", her famous response is "Yes, I know. I've tried it". On 22 August 1971, she presented

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six Speedway World Championship, World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Champi ...

with the European Speedway title trophy at Wembley before a crowd of around 75,000. In a UK TV documentary a few years before her death, she stated that she never minded being labelled a glamour actress and that it had been a good life that basically helped pay the bills. She returned to Norway and did a few films before qualifying as a registered nurse in 1998. She lived in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, where she worked as a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

Personal life

Ege was twice married and divorced in the 1960s and had two daughters. In the '70s she lived with

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' tour roadie Tony Bramwell, and later with the Norwegian author

Anders Bye Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...

. After her movie and modelling career she finished her secondary education and studied nursing. She later graduated from the University of Oslo where she studied History and English, after which she finished her nursing exams and continued working in the public health sector in Oslo. Her career, as well as her illness is described in detail in her autobiography, ''Naken'' (''Naked''), published in 2002.

Death

She died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

at the age of 64 on 29 April 2008. She had previously been treated for breast cancer and

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

Filmography

* ''

Robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

'' (1967) – Hostess (uncredited) * '' Stompa til Sjøs!'' (1967) * '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969) – The Scandinavian girl * ''

'' (1970) – Inga Giltenburg * ''

'' (1971) – Voluptua * '' Creatures the World Forgot'' (1971) – Nala – The Girl * ''

'' (1971) – Ingrid (segment "Gluttony") * ''

Go for a Take ''Go for a Take'' is a 1972 British comedy film, directed by Harry Booth and featuring Dennis Price, Bob Todd, Reg Varney, Norman Rossington, Sue Lloyd and Anouska Hempel. Debbie Russ reprises her role as the character "Tiger" from the televis ...

'' (1972) – April * ''

Rentadick ''Rentadick'' is a 1972 British comedy film, directed by Jim Clark (film editor), Jim Clark and starring James Booth, Richard Briers, Julie Ege, Ronald Fraser (actor), Ronald Fraser and Donald Sinden. It is a spoof spy/detective picture, the pl ...

'' (1972) – Utta Armitage * ''

The Alf Garnett Saga ''The Alf Garnett Saga'' is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Warren Mitchell, Dandy Nichols, Paul Angelis and Adrienne Posta. The film was the second spin-off from the BBC TV series ''Till Death Us Do Part''. It st ...

'' (1972) – Herself * ''

'' (1973) – Janie McMichael * '' Kanarifuglen'' (1973) – Kari, flyvertinne * ''

The Final Programme ''The Final Programme'' is a novel by British science fiction and fantasy writer Michael Moorcock. Written in 1965 as the underground culture was beginning to emerge, it was not published for several years. Moorcock has stated that publishers a ...

'' (1973) – Miss Dazzle * '' Craze'' (1974) – Helena * ''

'' (1974) – Vanessa Buren * ''

Percy's Progress ''Percy's Progress'' is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas. It was written by Sid Colin, Harry H. Corbett and Ian La Frenais. It was released in the United States under the title ''It's Not the Size That Counts''. The US ve ...

'' (1974) – Miss Hanson * ''Den siste Fleksnes'' (1974) – Herself * ''

The Mutations ''The Mutations'' is a low-budget 1974 British-American science fiction/ horror film directed by Jack Cardiff. The film was also released under the title ''The Freakmaker''. Plot The film depicts a deranged genetic scientist, Professor Nolter (D ...

'' (1974) – Hedi * ''

Bortreist på ubestemt tid ''Bortreist på ubestemt tid'' is a crime novel published in 1972 by the Norwegian writer Sigrun Krokvik. For this novel Krokvik was awarded the very first Riverton Prize in 1972, a prize which has since been awarded annually for the best literary ...

'' (1974) – Christina * ''

The Amorous Milkman ''The Amorous Milkman'' is a 1975 British comedy film directed by Derren Nesbitt and starring Julie Ege, Diana Dors and Brendan Price. The plot is about a young milkman who enjoys a number of adventures with bored women on his round. One versi ...

'' (1975) – Diana * '' De Dwaze Lotgevallen von Sherlock Jones'' (1975) – Sondag's secretaresse * ''Fengslende dager for Christina Berg'' (1988) – Krags hustru

Autobiography

* ''Naken'' (''Naked'') H. Aschehoug & Co (W. Nygaard). Oslo 2002.

References

External links

*
Obituary: ''The Guardian''

Biography in Norwegian
from the Norwegian Biographical Lexicon {{DEFAULTSORT:Ege, Julie 1943 births 2008 deaths People from Sandnes Actresses from Oslo Deaths from cancer in Norway Deaths from breast cancer Miss Universe 1962 contestants Norwegian beauty pageant winners Norwegian female models Norwegian film actresses Norwegian nurses 20th-century Norwegian women