Honor Blackman - Wonderful Woman No. 145

Honor Blackman - Born 1925
British Actress and Political Activist

Apologies for the length of time between this and the last blog post, it's been a hectic month for so many reasons and finding the time to sit down and write has been impossible... I hope to have more time to do so in the coming year but real life does sometimes get in the way.

Today, we celebrate Honor Blackman, a fine British actress who has played some iconic roles through her lengthy career. I've always been a fan of the James Bond films, although Bond himself has been a rogue and a cad, where women are

concerned, the films often contain strong, intelligent, female characters (as previously noted in the blog post for Grace Jones - Wonderful Woman No. 50) and it is really her Bond Girl appearance as Pussy Galore in the 1954 film Goldfinger that prompted my inclusion of Honor in the Wonderful Women photograph album.

After training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Honor landed her first film-role in Fame is the Spur (1947), though this was a non-scripted role she went on to have a hugely successful career, making over forty films including Jason and the Argonauts, Bridget Jones' Diary and, of course, Goldfinger.

As well as film, Honor has made her name in both television and theatre. Her stage roles have included appearances in popular shows such as The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady. On television, she is best remembered as Cathy Gale in The Avengers, a role she played from 1962 to 1964. She has appeared in some of British television's most loved shows, including Coronation Street and Dr. Who, she also did a six year stint in the comedy series The Upper Hand during the 1990s. Honor is also a decent singer, she has released a number of records, including the 1964 hit Kinky Boots.

Honor has a keen interest in politics and is an activist for republicanism in the United Kingdom, she strongly believes that her country should have an elected Head of State, indeed she declined the Queen's honour of becoming a CBE in 2002.

Her career has spanned seven decades, she has had successes in multiple fields, in her youth, she portrayed strong, brave, feisty women and in her latter years has been the embodiment of grace and elegance, she continues to work, to champion her political ideals and to hold the affection of the British public. A very Wonderful Woman.

Really, in a way, I took over the male role.
Honor Blackman