As a CIA agent alongside James Bond Roger Moore, she became internationally known in 1979 with “Moonraker – Top Secret”. Lois Chiles is now celebrating her 75th birthday.
Photo series with 70 pictures
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Actually, Lois Chiles should have played the role of the Russian agent Major Amassova in “James Bond: The Spy Who Loved Me” in 1977, but the part finally went to Barbara Bach. The native Texan got her big appearance as a Bond girl anyway: two years later she was seen in the next 007 strip “Moonraker – Top Secret”.
Chiles owes it to a coincidence that the creators of the agent series took it into account at all. The film’s director, Lewis Gilbert, sat next to her on a flight to the US and suggested that producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli cast her – who agreed.
Zero gravity sex scene with James Bond
This is how Lois Chiles became Dr. Holly Goodhead, a CIA agent disguised as a NASA scientist who works alongside 007 to find a hijacked space plane in order to save the world from destruction. Of course, the two get closer and create the first weightless sex scene in Bond history.
James Bond and Holly Goodhead bond in space. (Source: IMAGO / Cinema Publishers Collection)
The role of the beautiful and intelligent agent finally helped Lois Chiles to her international breakthrough. She had previously appeared in well-known films such as “The Way We Were”, “The Great Gatsby” or the Agatha Christie film “Death on the Nile”. Lois Chiles was also successful as a model, was under contract with the famous agency Wilhelmina Models and graced numerous magazine covers.
In the early eighties, the Texan got a role in the cult series “Dallas” and played the lover of JR Ewing, who was played by Larry Hagman, for around two years. However, she was no longer able to make a big film hit. In 1997, the former Bond girl was still seen in the 007 parody “Austin Powers – The hottest thing Her Majesty has to offer” and “Speed 2: Cruise Control” on the big screen, after which Lois Chiles withdrew from the film business .
Roger Moore and Lois Chiles at an event in 2007. (Credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire)
personal strokes of fate
Also for personal reasons: Around the turn of the millennium, they met several strokes of fate. She had to cope with the death of her father Clay, brother of oil magnate Eddie Chiles. Shortly thereafter, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but overcame it.
In his private life, Lois Chiles dated Eagles singer Don Henley for three years in the 1980s. In 2005, she married Wall Street securities trader and philanthropist Richard Gilder, with whom she dated until his death in 2020. The marriage remained childless.
Lois Chiles in May 2018 in New York, where she lives. (Source: Picture Alliance)
After her active acting career, Chiles taught at the theater department of the University of Houston and most recently devoted herself entirely to painting. She lives in New York, where she has a studio dedicated to her art.
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