Rise to Fame
Two seasons playing Dr. Cathy Gale on The Avengers turned her into something British TV hadn't produced before: a female lead who could flip a man over her shoulder. She trained at the Budokwai dojo in London, earned a brown belt, and brought the judo to screen. Producer Albert Broccoli was watching, and cast her in Goldfinger directly from that role. The leather outfits helped, but the willingness to do the physical work herself is what made Cathy Gale land.
In the Spotlight
At 38, she was older than virtually any Bond girl the franchise had cast, and she played it accordingly. Pussy Galore wasn't there to swoon; she ran a flying circus, worked for the villain, and switched sides on her own terms. American promotional materials banned the character's name entirely, listing her as "Miss Galore." Entertainment Weekly ranked Pussy Galore second in their 2007 poll of favorite Bond girls. That cultural longevity is the franchise's biggest endorsement.
Side Notes
Her father gave her elocution lessons for her 15th birthday instead of the bicycle she wanted, which turned out to be the most consequential gift in the family. Before acting took over, she was a WWII motorcycle dispatch rider. The judo she brought to The Avengers wasn't a prop: she trained at London's Budokwai as the first woman the club admitted. In 1965 she co-wrote a self-defense book that reportedly ended up in Bruce Lee's personal library. After divorcing Maurice Kaufmann in 1975, she spent more than a decade as his caretaker through cancer.
Final Chapter
Her family specified her death was unrelated to Covid-19, a notable detail given the April 2020 timing. Director Edgar Wright called her "the ultimate Bond Girl and original Avenger." James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli issued a statement calling her "an extraordinary talent and a beloved member of the Bond family." She was survived by two adopted children and four grandchildren.