Bond Girl Milovy

Background:

“I'm happier being part of the development process and seeing an idea come to life on screen. It's the kind of professional anonymity behind the scenes I wanted, but failed completely to get, after Bond.” Maryam d'Abo

London-born, European-raised actress of television and film Maryam d'Abo has impressed audiences with her beaut and presence for more than two decades. Making her screen debut in the British horror “Xtro” (1983), the blonde-haired performer rose to prominence portraying Kara Milovy, James Bond's cello-playing Russian love interest, in “The Living Daylights” (1987), opposite Timothy Dalton. She continued to receive notice in the TV miniseries “Something is Out There” (1988, as alien visitor Ta'Ra) and the festival darling “Leon the Pig Farmer” (1993, as glass artist Madeleine). Other film credits include “Shootfighter: Fight to the Death” (1992), “Tomcat: Dangerous Desires” (1993), “Double Obsession” (1994), “The Browning Version” (1994), “An American Affair” (1997), “The Point Men” (2001), “Trespassing” (2004) and the well-received French drama “Enfer, L'” (2005). Apart from her memorable performance in “Something is Out There,” d'Abo has also acted in other TV miniseries like “If Tomorrow Comes” (1986), “Doctor Zhivago” (2002) and “Helen of Troy” (2003). She has appeared as guest starred in such series as “Red Shoe Diaries” and “Murder, She Wrote.”

In 2002, d'Abo wrote, produced and hosted “Bond Girls Are Forever,” a tribute to her fellow Bond film co-stars.

d'Abo has been married to Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Hugh Hudson since 2003.

Mrs. Hudson

Childhood and Family:

Maryam d'Abo was born on December 27, 1960, in London, England. Her father was Dutch and her mother was Georgian. She was raised in Paris, France, and Geneva, Switzerland. Therefore, she peaks French well and knows some German. Maryam was trained as an actress at the Drama Centre in London. To pay the school fees, she worked as a model in commercials.

In November 2003, Maryam married movie director Hugh Hudson (born on August 25, 1936, in London, England), who was an Oscar nominee for 1981's “Chariots of Fire.” They had been together for three years.

Maryam is the first cousin to the singer Mike d'Abo and second cousin to actress Olivia d'Abo. She has a declared phobia of explosions.

Something is Out There

Career:

Maryam d'Abo knew that she wanted to be an actress when she was 11 years old. First appearing in commercials, the former student of London’s Drama Centre ventured into the cinematic industry when she was cast as Analise Mercier, a French outlander who becomes an alien breeding chamber, on “Xtro” (1983), a low-budget British science fiction/horror film which is regarded a cult entry in the genre. A string of acting assignments followed. She played Dominique Masson in her miniseries debut, “Master of the Game” (CBS, 1984), was featured as Nathalie in the MGM drama/romance “Until September” (1984), appeared with Malcolm McDowell and Candice Bergen in the made-for-TV film “Arthur the King” (1985), joined Helen Mirren and Isabella Rossellini for the Oscar winner for Best Music, “White Nights” (1985), supported Tom Berenger, David Keith, Liam Neeson and John Laughlin in the miniseries “If Tomorrow Comes” (1986), based on the Sidney Sheldon novel, and others.

d'Abo, however, did not hit the big time until she landed the role of Kara Milovy in the James Bond film “The Living Daylights” (1987), which starred Timothy Dalton as 007. Playing the angelic and assailable Czechoslovakian cellist and sniper who falls in love with Bond, she became famous and her career subsequently took off. Later that same year, in September, she appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine, a gig she later repented.

A year later, d'Abo assumed the role of Ta'Ra, a good-looking alien having grotesque powers and abilities, in the Sci-Fi miniseries “Something is Out There” (1988). A well-accepted performance, she then was hired to reprise the role for the NBC series of the same name. Unfortunately for the blonde actress, the show had a short life. d'Abo went on to appear in such TV films as “Nightlife” (1990) and BBC's “Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less” (1990) and in episodes of the series “TECX” (1990), “Red Shoe Diaries” (1992), “Murder, She Wrote” (1992) and “Tales from the Crypt” (1993). She returned to the big screen after “The Living Daylights” in the horror/thriller “Immortal Sins” (1991), starring as the wife of Cliff De Young. She went on to star in the drama/thriller “Money” (1992, with Eric Stoltz), the action “Shootfighter: Fight to the Death” (1992, opposite Bolo Yeung), the mystery “Tropical Heat” (1993, with Rick Rossovich) and the indie-thriller “Tomcat: Dangerous Desires” (1993, with Richard Grieco and Natalie Radford), which was nominated for a Saturn for Best Genre Video Release.

Still in 1993, d'Abo earned rave reviews for her scene-stealing role as a overblown varnished-glass artist named Madeleine in the offbeat British comedy “Leon the Pig Farmer,” which was jointly helmed by Vadim Jean and Gary Sinyor. The film was a favorite in film festivals in Venice, London, Edinburgh, and Palm Springs, California.

The following years found d'Abo in Douglas Jackson's “Stalked” (1994), the lesbian-themed “Double Obsession” (1994, opposite Margaux Hemingway), the Mike Figgis-helmed remake “The Browning Version” (1994, starred Albert Finney), the romantic comedy “Solitaire for 2” (1995, starred Mark Frankel and Amanda Pays) and the thrillers “Timelock” (1996, starred as Captain Jessie Teegs), “An American Affair” (1997, opposite Corbin Bernsen and Jayne Heitmeyer) and “Savage Hearts” (1997, with Jamie Harris). She starred as Alison in the surprisingly pleasant “The Sea Change” and Sara II in director-writer Kevin W. Smith's comedy, “So This Is Romance?” (both 1998).

After reuniting with her James Bond helmer John Glen for “The Point Men” (2001), an action film starring Christopher Lambert, d'Abo could be seen playing the mother of Keira Knightley in the TV miniseries version of “Doctor Zhivago” (2002) and played Queen Hecuba in the Emmy-nominated miniseries “Helen of Troy” (2003), which starred Sienna Guillory as the wife of Spartan King Menelaus. 2002 also saw the former Bond girl produce, pen and narrate the gripping documentary “Bond Girls Are Forever.”

d'Abo next acted in the based-on-novel “San-Antonio” (2004) opposite Gérard Lanvin and Gérard Depardieu, James Merendino's thriller “Trespassing” (2004), in which she starred opposite Jeff Galpin and the French drama “Enfer, L',” which debuted on the Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2005. She also portrayed Queen Rosalind in the direct-to-video installment “Prince & Me 2, The Royal Wedding” (2006), starring Luke Mably and Kam Heskin.

d'Abo will play Gladys on the upcoming movie “Dorian Gray” (2009), which is based on the work of Oscar Wilde. Directed by Oliver Parker, the film stars Colin Firth, Ben Barnes, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Ben Chaplin, among others.

Awards:
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