Who is Shirley Eaton? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

British Celebrities Born In January

Age: 87 Years, 87 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Colin Rowe (m. 1957 – died. 1994)

children: Grant Rowe, Jason Rowe

James Bond Writers

Height: 5'7" (170 cm), 5'7" Females

Notable Alumni: Aida Foster Theatre School

More Facts

education: Aida Foster Theatre School

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

Career

Shirley Eaton made her stage debut at the age of 12 in ‘Set to Partners’ in 1949. Soon after, she appeared in Benjamin Britten's ‘Let's Make an Opera!’ In 1954, she was cast in her first West End play, a production of ‘Going to Town’. Her first screen appearance came about in 1950 in an episode of ‘For the Children’. She subsequently portrayed the character Anne Pebble in all six episodes of BBC’s fortnightly comedy series ‘Parent-Craft’ (1951). In her first cinematic appearance, she played a school girl but was uncredited.

During the early stage of her career, she landed a contract with British filmmaker Alexander Korda and appeared in minor roles in films like ‘Doctor in the House’ (1954) and ‘The Love Match’ (1955). Her performance in those two films garnered her roles in droll features like ‘Panic in the Parlor’ (1956), ‘Three Men in a Boat’ (1956), ‘Your Past Is Showing’ (1957) and ‘Doctor at Large’ (1957).

Korda passed away in 1956 and Eaton subsequently became affiliated with Rank Organization. On a regular basis, she was cast as a fetching vamp in drama films like ‘The Girl Hunters’ (1963), while simultaneously starring in some of the most scathing British farces of the era. The first ‘Carry On’ film she appeared in was ‘Carry On Sergeant’ (1958). She also appeared in ‘Carry On Nurse’ (1959) and ‘Carry On Constable’ (1960). Being a trained ballerina and singer, she was cast in the singing and dancing role of Shirley Winter in the 1960 comedy film ‘Life Is a Circus’. This led to her appearances in several BBC musicals.

Eaton found international fame with her portrayal of Jill Masterson, one of the other-worldly beauties associated with the eponymous antagonist, Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe), in the 1964 James Bond film ‘Goldfinger’. Despite the fact that her character was killed off within the first 16 minutes of the film, it was the manner of the death that still remains unarguably the most memorable thing about the film. Masterson, having died of “skin suffocation”, is discovered by James Bond (Sean Connery) with gold paint covering her from head to toe. Eaton agreed to do the nude scene on the condition that it would be done tastefully. On November 6, 1964, she was featured on the cover of ‘Life’ magazine with identical gold paint.

Hollywood came calling after the success of ‘Goldfinger’ and Eaton starred in films like ‘Ten Little Indians’ (1965), ‘Around the World Under the Sea’ (1966), ‘The Million Eyes of Sumuru’ (1967), and ‘The Blood of Fu Manchu’ (1968). Her last cinematic appearance was in the 1969 West German action-adventure ‘Die sieben Männer der Sumuru’ (The Girl from Rio).

In recent years, Eaton has returned to the public sphere as a writer. She published her autobiography, ‘Golden Girl’, in 1999 through B.T. Batsford publishers. She also appeared in the 2001 short film ‘Everdream’.

Recommended Lists:

Capricorn Writers

British Actresses

Capricorn Actresses

Actresses Who Are In Their 80s

Continue Reading Below

Family & Personal Life

Born on January 12, 1937, in Edgware, Middlesex, England, Shirley Eaton was raised in the suburb of Kingsbury. She was a student at the Roe Green Primary School on Princes Avenue and later attended Aida Foster Theatre School until she was 16 years old. Her time in the prestigious drama school would serve her well in the ensuing years.

In 1969, she decided to end her career as an actress permanently in order to be with her family. She had married building contractor Colin Rowe in 1957. They had two sons together, Grant and Jason. Rowe passed away in 1994. Through her two sons, she has five grandchildren. In a June 2018 interview with journalist James Davies, she remarked, “The most important thing for me was being a woman and having a family more than being a very famous glamorous actress."

Recommended Lists:

Women Film & Theater Personalities

British Film & Theater Personalities

Shirley Eaton Biography