Lois Maxwell

Lois Ruth Maxwell (née Hooker; 14 February 1927 – 29 September 2007) was a Canadian actress. She was best known for portraying Miss Moneypenny in the first 14 Eon-produced James Bond films (1962–1985), from Dr. No in 1962 to A View to a Kill in 1985.

Maxwell graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in England and began her film career in the late 1940s, winning the inaugural Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Actress for her performance in That Hagen Girl (1947). Dissatisfied with the quality and prominence of roles, she moved to Rome in the following decade, working in Italian cinema as both an actress and dubber.

After her marriage, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she appeared in several television productions and was eventually cast as Moneypenny. She did not appear in the 1967 adaptation of Casino Royale, and in the 1983 remake of Thunderball, Never Say Never Again, as neither of the productions was Eon's, though she did, as a similar character, appear in the spoofs O.K. Connery and From Hong Kong with Love.

Lois Ruth Hooker was born on 14 February 1927 at St Mary's Hospital in Kitchener, Ontario to William Victor Hooker (1898–1962), a teacher, and Ruth Adelaide Wells (1900–1967), a nurse. At the time of Lois's birth, William was acting principal of Suddaby School, and the Hookers lived at 76 Filbert Street in Kitchener. In the fall of 1927, the family moved to Toronto, where William took a position at Clinton School; he worked there until 1933, when he moved to Davisville School. In Toronto, the family lived initially at 93 Lawrence Avenue W, then moved in 1929 to 2183 Bloor W, in 1930 to 519 Windermere, in 1932 to 673 Annette, and finally in 1933 to 340 Brookdale Avenue, where Lois spent the rest of her youth. Lois attended Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute. She gained her first job working as a waitress at Bigwin Inn, a summer resort on Bigwin Island in Lake of Bays, Ontario.

During World War II she ran away from home, aged 15, to join the Canadian Women's Army Corps, formed to release men for combat duties. CWAC personnel were secretaries, vehicle drivers, and mechanics, who performed every conceivable noncombat duty. Maxwell quickly became part of the Army Show in Canada. Later, as part of the Canadian Auxiliary Services Entertainment Unit, she was posted to the United Kingdom, where she performed music and dance numbers to entertain the troops, often appearing alongside Canadian comedians Wayne and Shuster.

Maxwell's true age was discovered when the group reached London. To avoid her being repatriated to Canada, she was discharged; she subsequently enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she became friends with fellow student Roger Moore. Moore was later her on-screen colleague, in the James Bond film series, from Live and Let Die (1973) to A View to a Kill (1985).

Maxwell made her first film appearances in 1946, appearing (uncredited) in the British films A Matter of Life and Death (directed by Powell and Pressburger) and Spring Song. It was at this time that she changed her surname from Hooker to Maxwell, a name borrowed from a ballet dancer friend. The rest of her family also took this name.

Moving to Hollywood at the age of 20, Maxwell won the actress Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her role in the Shirley Temple-Ronald Reagan drama That Hagen Girl (1947). In 1949, she participated in a later famous Life magazine photo layout, in which she posed with other up-and-coming actresses, Marilyn Monroe, Cathy Downs, Suzanne Dalbert, Enrica Soma, Laurette Luez and Jane Nigh.