It takes a special kind of supernaturally sultry platinum blonde to upstage a character named Pussy Galore, and that magically individual bombshell is Shirley Eaton. Born in Edgware, Middlesex, England, Shirley earned a place at the Aida Foster Theatre School, where she studied drama until she was sixteen. She made her stage debut in Let’s Make An Opera, and in 1954, she made it to West End in Going to Town. Shirley was a singing star throughout the ’50s, and eventually, Hollywood had to have her. Always a stunning presence on the silver screen, Shirley perfected the classic statuesque sexpot, strutting her leggy stuff with class and allure, from her smooth, tapered shins to her untamed tigress eyes. She wore a bikini with the grace most women can only muster in an evening gown. Her onscreen roles were always a variation of the hopelessly unattainable dream boat from whom no man can hope to tear his eyes. In Goldfinger (1964), Eaton’s modeling of pool-appropriate attire left the sensationally named Pussy Galore in a shadow of heavenly hydraulics and a devilish dimpled derriere. It’s a shame she did not show more. She also gets covered head-to-toe in gold paint, and her character dies of “skin suffocation,” leading to rumors that Shirley herself had died during filming. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and she went on to do more onscreen projects. For more peeks at Shirley’s bod, check out The Girl Hunters (1963), which prominently features her peaches and her cheeks in a skimpy bikini.
