Pussy Galore is the queer icon that made me love James Bond – Honor Blackman brought her to life

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Yet one narrative in Fleming’s novels that resonated with me deeply from a young age: the outrageously-named Pussy Galore, played by Honor Blackman in the film version of Goldfinger. While other Bond girls – still, to this day – mostly act like damsels in distress, Galore spends the majority of Goldfinger warding off Bond’s advances. In her establishing scene where she greets Bond as he comes around after being tranquilised aboard Auric Goldfinger’s private jet, Galore warns the spy against making sexual approaches towards her. Honor Blackman will be remembered as the actor who brought Fleming’s uncontainable character to life for people like me, and ensured that, over half a century later, Pussy Galore remains the queer icon of the Bond canon.