PENÉLOPE Cruz is about to become the oldest-ever 'Bond Girl' in the forthcoming 007 film, which as yet has not been given a name.
Following in the footsteps of her husband Javier Bardem, who has been hailed as 'the best Bond villain ever' for his role in Skyfall, Penélope is about to join the long list of actors and actresses who have played a part in the UK's most famous spy saga and, as she will be 40 when filming starts next year, will be the oldest 'Bond Girl' to date.
This record is still currently held by British actress Honor Blackman, now 87 – and reputed to own a holiday home in Moraira (Alicante province) – who played Pussy Galore in 1964, when she was 39.
Producers of the Bond series, of which the 24th episode is about to start filming in 2014, say they had been trying to get Penélope on board for some years but that each 007 tome had clashed with other filming projects she was involved with at the time.
The Madrid-born former 'Almodóvar Girl', whose acting career started in the cult director's colourful and topical films, is pregnant at the moment with her and Bardem's second child.
Filming will not start until some time after the birth, and producers say they hope she will get her figure back quickly, as was the case after the couple's first son was born.
