Claudine Auger

Biography

Claudine Auger (born Claudine Oger; 26 April 1941 – 18 December 2019) was a French actress best known for her role as Bond girl Dominique "Domino" Derval in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965). She earned the title of Miss France Monde (the French representative of Miss World) and was also the first runner-up in the 1958 Miss World contest. Auger was born in Paris, France. She made her film debut when still in school. When she was 18, she married the 43-year-old writer-director Pierre Gaspard-Huit (the couple later divorced). He cast her in several films, including Le Masque de fer (1962) and Kali Yug: Goddess of Vengeance (1963). When she was on holiday in Nassau, writer-producer Kevin McClory saw Auger and recommended that she audition for his film Thunderball (1965). The role of Domino was originally to be an Italian woman, Dominetta Petacchi. Auger impressed the producers so much that they rewrote the part to that of a French woman, to better suit her. Although she took lessons to perfect her English, her voice was eventually dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl. Thunderball launched Auger into a successful European movie career, but did little for her otherwise in the United States. Auger died on 18 December 2019 in Paris.