Jill Masterson
Encyclopedia
Jill Masterton is a fictional character
in Ian Fleming
's James Bond
novel Goldfinger. For the film adaptation
both she and her sister Tilly
had their surname changed to Masterson. Jill Masterson was played by Shirley Eaton
.
In the film, Jill is a paid spy, working for Auric Goldfinger
. She appeared in the film for no more than five minutes, but her death in the film — she is painted head-to-toe in gold paint — remains one of the most iconic scenes in movie history.
Shirley Eaton's Jill Masterson had a great effect on Bond audiences and the media, and she can often be found on viewers "top 10 Bond Girl" forums. The news website "Time" rated Jill Masterson as one of the top ten Bond Girls, rating her alongside Ursula Andress
' Honey Ryder (Dr. No
), Eva Green
's Vesper Lynd
(Casino Royale
) and Honor Blackman
's Pussy Galore (Goldfinger).
, enabling Goldfinger to cheat. When questioned by Bond, Jill states that her relationship with Goldfinger is purely professional.
Bond takes over the radio link and commands Goldfinger to start losing his ill-gotten gains. Impressed, Jill accepts Bond's invitation to dinner at his hotel suite, seeing Bond as an escape from a job she hates. Her feelings of liberation prove tragically short lived, however; Goldfinger's manservant Oddjob enters the room and knocks Bond unconscious. When Bond comes to, he finds Jill dead, painted from head to toe in gold leaf. Bond later learns that she died from skin asphyxiation.
The bizarre nature of her death is explained as "skin suffocation," a condition experienced by some cabaret
dancers. The risk of actually dying from such a condition is a myth, as proven in an episode of the Discovery Channel
's MythBusters
and mentioned in the Book Geschüttelt, nicht gerührt by Metin Tolan.
She is the very first Bond girl
to be killed off.
The year the film was released, actress Shirley Eaton appeared on the front cover of Life magazine, which began the worldwide buzz about her, her character and her death sequence. Due to the scene becoming iconic to the film, in the twenty-second Bond film Quantum of Solace, lead Bond Girl Strawberry Fields (played by Gemma Arterton
) is killed in the same manner, oil being substituted for gold, by the film's villain
, an oil profiteer.
, Jill's sister, in Switzerland
. The film's version of events allows Goldfinger to exact revenge more promptly and dramatically, and Bond gets to discover the striking image of a woman covered in paint.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
novel Goldfinger. For the film adaptation
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
both she and her sister Tilly
Tilly Masterton
Tilly Masterton is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel, Goldfinger.The character was adapted for the 1964 film, Goldfinger, however, her name was changed to Tilly Masterson. Likewise her sister, Jill, was renamed Masterson as well...
had their surname changed to Masterson. Jill Masterson was played by Shirley Eaton
Shirley Eaton
Shirley Eaton is an English actress.Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and achieved notability for her performance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger...
.
In the film, Jill is a paid spy, working for Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
. She appeared in the film for no more than five minutes, but her death in the film — she is painted head-to-toe in gold paint — remains one of the most iconic scenes in movie history.
Shirley Eaton's Jill Masterson had a great effect on Bond audiences and the media, and she can often be found on viewers "top 10 Bond Girl" forums. The news website "Time" rated Jill Masterson as one of the top ten Bond Girls, rating her alongside Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress is a Swiss actress and a sex symbol of the 1960s. She is known for her roles as Bond girl Honey Ryder in Dr...
' Honey Ryder (Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
), Eva Green
Eva Green
Eva Gaëlle Green is a French actress and model.Green performed in theatre before making her film debut in The Dreamers , which generated controversy over her numerous nude scenes. She achieved greater fame for her parts in Kingdom of Heaven , and in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, for...
's Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. The name is a pun on "West Berlin". It has been claimed that Fleming based Lynd on the real life Special Operations Executive agent Christine Granville. In the 1967 film of Casino Royale, she is played by...
(Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
) and Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
's Pussy Galore (Goldfinger).
Film Biography
When James Bond enters Goldfinger's suite at Miami's Fontainebleau Hotel, he discovers Goldfinger's paid companion Jill Masterson on the balcony with binoculars. She is telling Goldfinger, via radio, which cards are held by Mr. Simmons in a game of gin rummyGin rummy
Gin rummy, or simply gin, is a two-player card game created in 1909 by Elwood T. Baker and his son C. Graham Baker. According to John Scarne, Gin evolved from 18th-century Whiskey Poker and was created with the intention of being faster than standard rummy, but less spontaneous than knock...
, enabling Goldfinger to cheat. When questioned by Bond, Jill states that her relationship with Goldfinger is purely professional.
Bond takes over the radio link and commands Goldfinger to start losing his ill-gotten gains. Impressed, Jill accepts Bond's invitation to dinner at his hotel suite, seeing Bond as an escape from a job she hates. Her feelings of liberation prove tragically short lived, however; Goldfinger's manservant Oddjob enters the room and knocks Bond unconscious. When Bond comes to, he finds Jill dead, painted from head to toe in gold leaf. Bond later learns that she died from skin asphyxiation.
The bizarre nature of her death is explained as "skin suffocation," a condition experienced by some cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
dancers. The risk of actually dying from such a condition is a myth, as proven in an episode of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
and mentioned in the Book Geschüttelt, nicht gerührt by Metin Tolan.
She is the very first Bond girl
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character or actress portraying a love interest, of James Bond in a film, novel, or video game. They occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as "Pussy Galore", "Plenty O'Toole", "Xenia Onatopp", or "Holly Goodhead"...
to be killed off.
The year the film was released, actress Shirley Eaton appeared on the front cover of Life magazine, which began the worldwide buzz about her, her character and her death sequence. Due to the scene becoming iconic to the film, in the twenty-second Bond film Quantum of Solace, lead Bond Girl Strawberry Fields (played by Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton is an English actress. She played the eponymous protagonist in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and starred in the feature films St Trinian's, the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Tamara...
) is killed in the same manner, oil being substituted for gold, by the film's villain
Dominic Greene
Dominic Greene is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. He is portrayed by French actor Mathieu Amalric.-In the film:...
, an oil profiteer.
Role in novel
In the novel, Jill plays a slightly larger part. After Goldfinger's humiliation, Jill and Bond make love as they take an overnight train up the coast. Bond does not learn of her death until he meets Tilly MastertonTilly Masterton
Tilly Masterton is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel, Goldfinger.The character was adapted for the 1964 film, Goldfinger, however, her name was changed to Tilly Masterson. Likewise her sister, Jill, was renamed Masterson as well...
, Jill's sister, in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The film's version of events allows Goldfinger to exact revenge more promptly and dramatically, and Bond gets to discover the striking image of a woman covered in paint.