Barbara Bach, Lady Starkey (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Goldbach; August 27, 1946) is an American actress and former model. She played the

Bond girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest, female companion or (occasionally) an adversary of James Bond in a novel, film, or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or sexual puns, such as Plenty O' ...

Anya Amasova in ''The Spy Who Loved Me''. She is married to former

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

drummer

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

Early life

Bach was born Barbara Goldbach in New York City to Marjorie (née McKnight) and Howard Goldbach. Her father was

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and of Austrian-Jewish descent, while her mother was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

of Irish descent; Bach and her siblings were raised in their mother's Catholic faith. Her father, who had recently retired from the

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

at the time of her birth, worked as a police officer for the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

. She was raised in Rosedale, Queens, and graduated from Dominican Commercial High School, an all-girls school, in 1964. The following year, she shortened her surname to Bach and began modeling professionally, appearing in catalogs and fashion magazines.

Career

Bach was one of the most sought-after faces of the 1960s, working with the Eileen Ford Agency in New York, appearing on catalogs and the front covers of several international fashion magazines such as '' Seventeen'' (1965 and 1966), ''Vogue'' USA (July 1966) photographed by

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', '' Vogue'' and '' Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and ...

, ''ELLE'' France (1966), ''Gioia'' Italy (1967–1970), and ''Figurino'' Brazil (1970). Her acting career started in Italy, where she played

Nausicaa Nausicaa (; , or , ), also spelled Nausicaä or Nausikaa, is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Arete (mythology), Queen Arete of Scheria, Phaeacia. Her name means "burner of ships" ( 'ship'; 'to burn' ...

in '' L'Odissea'' in 1968, an eight-hour long TV adaptation of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's epic poem ''

The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'', directed by Franco Rossi and produced by

Dino de Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian film producer and businessman who held both Italian and American citizenship. Following a brief acting career in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he moved into f ...

. In 1971, Bach co-starred with two other

s, Claudine Auger and Barbara Bouchet, in the mystery '' Black Belly of the Tarantula'' (a

giallo In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...

film) and appeared in other Italian films. In 1977, Bach portrayed the Russian spy Anya Amasova in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film '' The Spy Who Loved Me''. Bach remarked after the film that Bond is "a chauvinist pig who uses girls to shield him against bullets." The following year she appeared in the movie '' Force 10 from Navarone''. She lost a role to actress

Shelley Hack Shelley Marie Hack (born July 6, 1947) is an American actress, model, producer, and political activist. She is best known as the face of Revlon's Charlie perfume from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s, and for her role as Tiffany Welles in ...

when she auditioned for season four of the television series ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

''. During an interview with

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

on May 9, 1979, she said that she lost the audition for ''Charlie's Angels'' because they felt she was too sophisticated in attitude and look, and thought that she was not American, even though she was born in Rosedale and grew up in Jackson Heights, both in Queens, New York City. They asked her manager if she could play an American. Bach has 28 films to her credit. She was featured in a pictorial in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' in January 1981. She also had a cameo in a September 1987 special issue on the Bond girls.

Charity work

In 1991, Bach co-founded the Self Help Addiction Recovery Program (SHARP) with

Pattie Boyd Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harris ...

, the former wife of

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

, both of whom assisted in the venture. Bach and Ringo Starr created The Lotus Foundation, a charity with many sub-charities.

Personal life

Bach's first marriage was to Italian businessman Augusto, Count Gregorini di Savignano di Romagna. The couple had two children together, daughter Francesca and son Gianni, before divorcing in 1975. Bach married British musician

, formerly of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, at Marylebone Town Hall on April 27, 1981. The two met in 1980, on the set of the film ''

Caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin B ...

'' (1981). Bach struggled with

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and heavy drug use and, along with her husband, Ringo Starr, checked into a rehab in 1988 for four weeks. The couple have remained sober ever since. According to the International Vegetarian Union, Bach and Starr practice

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

. She is fluent in Italian and has a working knowledge of French and Spanish.

Filmography

References

External links

* !colspan="3" style="background:#C1D8FF;", James Bond , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Barbara 1946 births Actresses from Queens, New York American expatriates in Italy American expatriate actresses American expatriates in England American film actresses American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Irish descent Catholics from New York (state) Countesses in Italy Female models from New York (state) Jewish American film people Living people People from Jackson Heights, Queens People from Rosedale, Queens Queens College, City University of New York alumni Family of Ringo Starr Wives of the Beatles Wives of knights 20th-century American actresses