Linda Christian, the first Bond girl, dies at 87

This July 1948 file photo shows actors Tyrone Power and Linda Christian in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Christian, the Hollywood starlet of the 1940s who married Power in 1949 and went on to become the first Bond girl died on July 22, 2011, in Palm Desert, Calif. after battling colon cancer. She was 87. AP Photo

PALM DESERT, California – Linda Christian, the Hollywood starlet of the 1940s who married heartthrob Tyrone Power and went on to become the first Bond girl, has died.

Her daughter, Romina Power, said Christian died Friday in Palm Desert after battling colon cancer. She was 87.

Born in Mexico, Christian pursued an acting career in Los Angeles and eventually signed a contract with MGM. She made her film debut alongside Danny Kaye in the 1944 musical comedy “Up In Arms.”

A year after appearing in 1948’s “Tarzan and the Mermaids,” Christian married Power, one of Hollywood’s most popular leading men. They divorced in 1956.

Christian’s famous curves led Life magazine to nickname her the “anatomic bomb.”

In 1954 she starred as James Bond’s love interest in the television adaptation of the novel “Casino Royale.”

She is survived by her daughter, her sister Taryn Power and eight grandchildren.