Free Republic

December 19, 2009 Woman Who Provided The Inspiration for Miss Moneypenny Dies Aged 88 Dame "Paddy" Ridsdale, left, with Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny, M's secretary, in 14 James Bond films [Pics in URL] The secret service secretary who inspired the character of Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond stories has died aged 88. Dame Victoire “Paddy” Ridsdale once described Ian Fleming as “definitely James Bond in his mind”. Dame Paddy was definitely Miss Moneypenny — or at least a part of her. Fleming and Dame Paddy, then plain Paddy Bennett, were colleagues in the wartime Naval Intelligence Department:...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Actress Lois Maxwell, who was known to millions of fans through her role as Miss Moneypenny in a series of Bond movies, has died in Australia, an official said Sunday. She was 80. "She passed away on 29th September at 11:40 pm," a spokeswoman for Fremantle Hospital in western Australia told AFP. The Canadian-born actress had been living in Australia for several years because her son and his family are based there. She first played the character, with whom the ever-charming 007 constantly flirted, alongside Sean Connery in "Dr No" in 1962. She continued to play the...