Actress Nadja Regin was born Nadezda Poderegin in Kraljevo in what was originally Yugoslavia and is now Serbia. She went on to appear in two of the early “James Bond” movies opposite Sean Connery in the lead role as 007, namely “From Russia with Love” and “Goldfinger.” In those days, Nadja was termed a “Bond Girl.” Please note that some media outlets are spelling her name as “Nadja Rejin,” but Regin is the correct surname.

Announcement by James Bond official Twitter account

As noted by Variety, the official James Bond Twitter account announced the news on Monday that Regin had passed away at the age of 87.

They wrote they are sorry to have learned that Nadja Regin had died at the age of 87 and passed on their thoughts to her family and friends at this sad time.

As reported by Deadline, no details of her passing were revealed.

Career of Nadja Regin

Nadja Regin was born Nadezda Poderegin on 2 December 1931 and started acting as a student. She had planned a career in journalism, but went on to graduate with a BA from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade and also studied in the Faculty of Philosophy at Belgrade’s University.

Nadja then starred in several locally made films.

Nadja landed her first major role with the surname Regin in “Das Haus an der Küste” in 1954, which was a German/Yugoslav co-production and was filmed in Dubrovnik.

Via the Rank Organisation, the Film gained international exposure, leading to more film offers in Germany, including comedies and romantic films.

After Nadja married a Polish war veteran, she moved to Britain and as she had a natural talent for languages, soon became fluent in English.

IMDb cites Nadja as saying that her Serbian accent did tend to restrict her roles to slinky enticement characters or as a spy.

It was in the late 1950s/early 1960s that Regin started to appear in various British films, including a horror movie “The Man Without a Body.” She also starred in the 1959 comedy film “Don’t Panic Chaps!,” which was reportedly her favourite role and also “Solo for Sparrow,” “Edgar Wallace Mysteries,” and “The Fur Collar.”

In “From Russia with Love,” Nadja played Kerim Bey’s (Pedro Armendariz) mistress. Bey was playing the role of the station chief for M16 in Istanbul, Turkey. She also starred as Bonita in “Goldfinger” as a belly dancer who sets out to trap James Bond.

Regin also had various television appearances including “The Saint,” “Dixon of Dock Green” and “Danger Man.” The 1970s saw Regin working for Rank Film and Hammer, the horror film producers. Her job was to select film scripts for film production. She went on to co-found Honeyglen Publishing Ltd. in 1980 and recently published her own book, “The Victims and the Fools,” which goes under her full name of Nadja Poderegin. The novel tells the story of a romance between a dancer and a poet during World War II.
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