Nikki van der Zyl: The Voice of the Bond Girls

Bond Girls have to be sexy and seductive, features that are immediately visible to the audience by appearance. But there is another vital element in the mix: the voice. When the first ever Bond Girl Ursula Andress emerged from the sea in ‘DR. NO’ (1962) singing “Underneath the Mango Tree”, audiences were thrilled by her natural beauty and charming voice. However, it was not the voice of Ursula Andress but that of actress Nikki van der Zyl. After the success of the first James Bond film, Hollywood wanted a piece of the sexy leading lady and Swiss actress Ursula Andress was flown to America to do a Western-Comedy called ‘FOUR FOR TEXAS’ together with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Yet, when the two crooners  received her at the airport together with the film producers, they were in for quite a surprise: Andress didn´t have the seductive voice from the Bond film, but a thick Swiss accent! Nobody had told them, that Andress had been revoiced in ‘DR. NO’.

Photo: © 1962 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Danjaq, LLC

One Take Nikki and the Art of revoicing

Why is the voice of an actress or an actor replaced in a film? There have been multiple reasons for directors and producers to exchange voices but first and foremost it´s about understandability. Unwanted thick accents, mumbling or language barriers prevented the use of the original voices and led to revoicing. In the case of Ursula Andress it was an accent problem. Her voice wasn´t sexy enough but needed to be for international audiences. That´s where Nikki van der Zyl came in. All the lines of Ursula Andress were revoiced by her, also the singing part. Suddenly, there was this audible smooth sexyness perfectly complimenting the stunning figure of Andress which made her become the most memorable and recognizable Bond Girl for years to come. If this fun fact already got your attention, then you will be interested to learn, that Nikki actually revoiced ALL female characters in ‘DR. NO’, with the exception of Miss Moneypenny, Miss Taro as well as Sister Rose and Sister Lily. While revoicing is far from being an easy task, Nikki worked very hard and could deliver many of the lines in just one take which earned her the nickname “One Take Nikki”.

A German Girl becomes an English Lady

Nikki van der Zyl was born in Berlin in 1935 and, being Jewish, fled Nazi Germany in 1939 for England. She continued her school education there and learned to master the English language. She wanted to be English and made sure to reach that goal by quickly adjusting to daily life and customs. She began to study at the Preparatory Academy for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1954 and got her first acting job in Londons West End in 1955.

The Bond Years

“I’d stop the traffic for you any day.” – Sean Connery

When an actress needed to be found to do the revoicing for Ursula Andress, Nikki tested for the role and was accepted several days later. In conversation with Terence Young, the director of ‘DR. NO’, she asked if there was any chance for more than just a speaking role to which he replied:

“No, I’m afraid you wouldn’t stop the traffic, Nikki.”

Also present in the room was a young actor who then approached her and said:

“I’d stop the traffic for you any day.”

That actor was Sean Connery, the first James Bond.

Following ‘DR. NO’, Nikki was brought back to the franchise to revoice actress Eunice Gayson in ‘FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE’ as she had a too upper-class accent for the taste of the producers and was therefore made to sound a bit less posh. In ‘GOLDFINGER’ (1964) Nikki then revoiced Shirley Eaton who had a Cockney accent as well as Nadja Regin. Behind the Scenes, she was also an English coach to German actor Gert Froebe who initially didn´t speak a word of English but later became quite good thanks to Nikkis training.

Throughout the years, Nikki worked on six consecutive Bond films, skipping ‘THE SPY WHO LOVED ME’ (1977) and ‘MOONRAKER’ (1979) being her final one. Between 1962-1979 she was a vital part of the Bond family and for many years, her involvement remained totally unnoticed. Not because nobody cared, but because Nikki was never credited. So the next time you watch a Bond film, pay close attention to the voices…it might just be Nikki you´re hearing.

Resentment vs. Adoration

Doing a job like revoicing hasn´t always been favoured by the film stars whose voice was replaced. Over time, Nikki van der Zyl had to deal with a lot of openly displayed resentment. The most popular example by far was British actress Shirley Eaton, who withdrew her commitment from a ‘GOLDFINGER’ 50th anniversary event in London upon hearing that the actress who had replaced her voice on screen had also been invited. As a result, Nikki was disinvited.

It is interesting, that Nikki is much more admired in her homecountry Germany rather than in England where she lives. When I met her for the first time in October 2013, we immediately connected and she invited me to the opening of an exhibition about her and her family in Berlin. There, I was able to find out more about her incredible life story and also met many Bond Fans who I am now close friends with. Since then, Nikki and I have met several times and I interviewed her for my upcoming documentary ‘A Bond For Life‘ for which we recreated the famous beach scene from ‘DR. NO’ after 52 years. The day before, I had presented her with the Honorary Membership in the James Bond Club Germany for her contribution to the Bond films. These are the Bond moments you will never forget in your life!

Me presenting the Honorary Membership of the James Bond Club Germany to Nikki van der Zyl

Nikki celebrated her 80th birthday on April 27 and I have just returned from a lovely dinner with her and fellow Bond friends in Berlin. She is always happy to come back to the city she was born in and very much enjoys being in the company of her admirers, enlightening them with stories from her days Behind the Scenes of the Bond films. What she has achieved in her personal and professional life in all these years is remarkable and makes her one of the most interesting characters that I have been fortunate enough to meet.