'Goldfinger' Bond girl Tania Mallet dies at 77

Pic Courtesy: Twitter/ James Bond

Los Angeles: Model-actor Tania Mallet, best known for her role in the 1964 James Bond film "Goldfinger", has died at the age of 77.

The official James Bond Twitter account shared the news of Mallet's demise.

"We are very sorry to hear that Tania Mallet who played Tilly Masterson in 'Goldfinger' has passed away. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this sad time," the post read.

Mallet was born in Blackpool on May 19, 1941. She is the cousin of Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren. 

She attended Lucy Clayton's School Of Modelling and started a successful career at the age of 16. Mallet made her foray into films with an audition for the Bond girl Tatiana Romanova in "From Russia with Love". She did not get the role of Tatiana, but later appeared as Tilly Masterson opposite Sean Connery in the third James Bond film "Goldfinger." 

The Bond film marked her only big-screen acting role. In 1976, she appeared in TV's "The New Avengers" but did not appear in any acting roles after. She, however, continued her modelling career, saying that it was a more comfortable world for her.

"The restrictions placed on me for the duration of the filming grated, were dreadful, and I could not anticipate living my life like that," she told James Bond fan site MI6 in 2003.