Nadja Regin

Perhaps most famous for her appearances in two consecutive James Bond films, Nadja Regin was born Nadežda Poderegin in Serbia. Regin was a child when World War II brought intense conflict to Eastern Europe, and she tragically lost her father in the Kraljevo massacre in 1941. Shortly later, her mother moved their family to Belgrade where Regin would eventually enroll at the Academy for Theatrical Arts, having already made her film debut in "The Factory Story" (1949). Her big break in Eastern European cinema would come in 1954 however, when she starred in the Yugoslav-German co-production "Das Haus an der Küste" (1954). Regin would become a famous face in her native region, starring in popular films like "Franziska" (1957), but nonetheless sought new challenges, moving to London to pursue a career in English-language film. Though Regin did not speak a word of the language when she first arrived, she picked it up quickly, frequently reading W. Somerset Maugham novels, underlining any words she did not recognize and then looking them up later. She made her English screen debut in the comedy "Don't Panic Chaps" (1959), though her most high-caliber role would come in 1963 with her memorable appearance in the Bond film "From Russia with Love" (1963). She then appeared alongside Sean Connery again as a completely different character in "Goldfinger" (1964) the following year. Regin would work mainly in television after this period, making guest appearances on shows like "The Saint" (ITV, 1962-69) before retiring from acting entirely in 1968. Regin would work as a top script reader for Rank Films and Hammer Films before opening the successful publishing house Honeyglen Publishing, Ltd. with her sister Jelena in the 1980s. Regin passed away in 2019. She was 87 years old.