By Emmeline Dewhurst
In 1965, Paluzzi was cast as SPECTRE villainess, Fiona Volpe in Terence Young’s Thunderball. She had auditioned for the part of the lead Bond girl, Dominetta “Domino” Petacchi, but producers instead cast Claudine Auger. Initially crestfallen when informed she did not get the part, Paluzzi rejoiced when told she had the part of Fiona Volpe, which she said was “more fun” to play. As a Bond fan we have all also rejoiced as her character has become an iconic staple in the Bond lore.
The Character, the Woman, the Villainess
Fiona Volpe is a high-ranking SPECTRE agent, working closely with Largo to blackmail the British government. She’s beautiful, strong and domineering. She may look demure but it soon becomes apparent that she not only attends to the job at hand but spends a lot of her time cleaning up other SPECTRE operatives’ messes. In her first scene of the film, it’s down to the wire, as the pilot for the Vulcan bomber they plan to steal is demanding a bigger payday. What does Volpe do? She negotiates. Why not? The man will be disposed of as a loose end anyway, but in the meantime it doesn’t hurt her to play nice. She quickly gives a false promise of higher pay and gets him to play ball. Unfortunately, a far less skilled operative tries to kill James Bond at the health spa, potentially drawing MI6’s attention right when the plan is about to go down. She goes after them on a motorcycle and blows them away! No more witnesses. What more can be said!
In the Bahamas, she kidnaps Bond’s female partner, Paula, and effortlessly seduces Bond to keep him busy while her men can get in position to capture him, even though he is pretty sure she’s an enemy operative. But who can blame him! With one of the best monologues in the franchise she takes Bond down when he tries to salvage his pride.
Bond: “You’re wearing the same ring as Largo.”
Volpe: “It’s a ring I like to wear.”
Bond: “Vanity has its dangers.”
Volpe: “Vanity, Mr Bond, is something you know so much about.”
Bond: “My dear girl, don’t flatter yourself. What I did was for King and country. You don’t think it gave me any pleasure, do you?”
Volpe: “But of course! I forgot your ego, Mr Bond. James Bond, who only has to make love to a woman and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She repents and immediately returns to the side of right and virtue. But not this one. What a blow it must have been, you having a failure.”
Bond: “Well, can’t win them all…”
Good luck on Bond’s side is the only thing that brings Volpe to her demise. First, a drunk interferes with their car when they’re stuck at the Junkanoo and gives Bond an opportunity to escape. She tracks him down, completely ready to take him back into custody, only for one of the henchman she’s working to attempting to shoot Bond in the crowded club… and he uses Volpe as a human shield.
Fiona Volpe is one of SPECTRE’s best people by far, who loses not because Bond does anything particularly bright or dynamic around her or because she suffers from the typical Bond Villain tropes, but because none of the men she’s working with are anywhere near as competent as her. Very impressive indeed.
Paluzzi later claimed being a Bond girl was a double-edged sword. In the documentary Bond Girls Are Forever, Paluzzi expressed amazement at the level of fame, publicity, and recognition she received from Thunderball. But as a result of being in such a film, she felt she was taken less seriously as an actress when returning to the Italian film industry.
In our eyes she could no wrong, going down in Bond history as one of the most legendary of all Bond villains.
Last modified: 13 January 2026
