Julie Ege (; 12 November 1943 – 29 April 2008) was a Norwegian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She appeared in many British films of the 1960s and 1970s.

Early life

Ege was born in

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...

, the daughter of brickyard worker Marton Ege and Hjørdis Halvorsen. At the age of 15, she began to work as a model. In 1962, she came second in Miss Norway at the age of 18, and subsequently participated in Miss Universe 1962. In 1967, she moved to England to work as an ''

au pair An au pair (; : au pairs) is a person working for, and living as part of, a homestay, host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family’s responsibility for child care as well as some homemaking, housework, and receive a monetary ...

'' to improve her English, and there also studied at a language school.

Career

She made her film debut in a low-budget Norwegian film ''Stompa til sjøs (Stompa at Sea)''. She was a Penthouse Pet of May which landed her a role in 1969's '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' as Helen, the "Scandinavian girl". She later starred in

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

' ''

Creatures the World Forgot ''Creatures the World Forgot'' is a 1971 British adventure film directed by Don Chaffey, produced and written for Hammer Films by Michael Carreras. The film concentrates on the daily struggle to survive of a tribe of Stone Age people. Notably th ...

'' and '' The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires''. Her other appearances include '' Every Home Should Have One'' with

Marty Feldman Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was known for his exophthalmos, prominent, strabismus, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on th ...

, ''

Not Now, Darling ''Not Now, Darling'' is a 1967 farce written by English playwrights John Chapman and Ray Cooney, first staged at the Richmond Theatre, in Richmond, England prior to a long West End run. The production starred Donald Sinden and Bernard Cribb ...

'' with

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

and the Gluttony segment of ''

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins ''The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins'' is a 1971 British sketch comedy film directed and produced by Graham Stark. Its title is a conflation of ''The Magnificent Seven'' and the seven deadly sins. It comprises a sequence of seven sketches, each ...

''. Ege is probably best remembered for her role in the 1971 comedy hit film ''

Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series set in ancient Pompeii and broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the seco ...

'' alongside

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

. She played Voluptua, a Roman ruler. Her voice, however, was overdubbed by Sheila Steafel (uncredited) for the film. On being introduced to

Lance Percival John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to impr ...

's character, who says "Madame, it's a pleasure", her famous response is "Yes, I know. I've tried it". On 22 August 1971, she presented Ivan Mauger with the European Speedway title trophy at Wembley before a crowd of around 75,000. In a UK TV documentary a few years before her death, she stated that she never minded being labelled a glamour actress and that it had been a good life that basically helped pay the bills. She returned to Norway and did a few films before qualifying as a registered nurse in 1998. She lived in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, where she worked as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

Personal life

Ege was twice married and divorced in the 1960s and had two daughters. In the '70s she lived with

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 ...

' tour roadie Tony Bramwell, and later with the Norwegian author Anders Bye. After her movie and modelling career she finished her secondary education and studied nursing. She later graduated from the University of Oslo where she studied History and English, after which she finished her nursing exams and continued working in the public health sector in Oslo. Her career, as well as her illness is described in detail in her autobiography, ''Naken'' (''Naked''), published in 2002.

Death

She died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

at the age of 64 on 29 April 2008. She had previously been treated for breast cancer and

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

Filmography

* ''

Robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

'' (1967) – Hostess (uncredited) * ''Stompa til Sjøs!'' (1967) * '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969) – The Scandinavian girl * '' Every Home Should Have One'' (1970) – Inga Giltenburg * ''

'' (1971) – Voluptua * ''

'' (1971) – Nala – The Girl * ''

'' (1971) – Ingrid (segment "Gluttony") * '' Go for a Take'' (1972) – April * ''

Rentadick ''Rentadick'' is a 1972 British comedy film, directed by Jim Clark (film editor), Jim Clark and starring James Booth, Richard Briers, Julie Ege, Ronald Fraser (actor), Ronald Fraser and Donald Sinden. It is a spoof spy/detective picture, the p ...

'' (1972) – Utta Armitage * ''

The Alf Garnett Saga ''The Alf Garnett Saga'' is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Warren Mitchell, Dandy Nichols, Paul Angelis and Adrienne Posta. The film was the second spin-off from the BBC TV series '' Till Death Us Do Part'' (1 ...

'' (1972) – Herself * ''

'' (1973) – Janie McMichael * ''Kanarifuglen'' (1973) – Kari, flyvertinne * '' The Final Programme'' (1973) – Miss Dazzle * '' Craze'' (1974) – Helena * '' The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires'' (1974) – Vanessa Buren * '' Percy's Progress'' (1974) – Miss Hanson * ''Den siste Fleksnes'' (1974) – Herself * '' The Mutations'' (1974) – Hedi * '' Bortreist på ubestemt tid'' (1974) – Christina * '' The Amorous Milkman'' (1975) – Diana * ''De Dwaze Lotgevallen von Sherlock Jones'' (1975) – Sondag's secretaresse * ''Fengslende dager for Christina Berg'' (1988) – Krags hustru

Autobiography

* ''Naken'' (''Naked'') H. Aschehoug & Co (W. Nygaard). Oslo 2002.

References

External links

*
Obituary: ''The Guardian''

Biography in Norwegian
from the Norwegian Biographical Lexicon {{DEFAULTSORT:Ege, Julie 1943 births 2008 deaths People from Sandnes Actresses from Oslo Deaths from breast cancer in Norway Miss Universe 1962 contestants Norwegian beauty pageant winners Norwegian female models Norwegian film actresses Norwegian nurses 20th-century Norwegian women 20th-century Norwegian people