Maryam d'Abo

**Maryam d'Abo** (born 27 December 1960) is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Bond girl Kara Milovy in the 1987 *James Bond* film *The Living Daylights*.

She played Maya Fleming in *Pandora*.

## Early Life

Born in London to Georgian mother Nino Kvinitadze (born 1920), daughter of General Giorgi Kvinitadze, and Anglo-Dutch father Peter Claude Holland d'Abo (1917–1995), d'Abo was raised in Paris and Geneva.

D’Abo was drawing from the age of eight, but by thirteen, wanted to become an actress; she joined an amateur theatre company whilst at school in Geneva. She decided to do a foundation course at the London College of Printing at eighteen, but abandoned those studies in order to go to drama school at Drama Centre London. She left after one term in order to make her film debut. Whilst studying at Drama Centre, she worked as an advertising model.

## Career

D'Abo made her screen debut in the low-budget science fiction horror film *Xtro* (1982), playing Analise Mercier, a French au pair who becomes a human incubator for an alien. She appeared in the film *Until September* (1984), and had small roles in *Master of the Game* (1984), *White Nights* (1985), and *Arthur the King* (1985).

She worked on the French stage in Lyon playing Varinia in *Spartacus* directed by Jacques Weber in 1981, played Roxane in *Cyrano de Bergerac* at the Grenier de Toulouse in 1982, then worked in a 1987 French TV movie, *Les Idiots*, written by Gérard Brach, with Jean Carmet and Jean-Pierre Marielle.

D'Abo had a starring role in *The Living Daylights* (1987) as Kara Milovy, the sweet and vulnerable Czechoslovakian cellist and would-be sniper who falls for James Bond. As a tie-in with the film, she also appeared in a Bond-themed *Playboy* cover and multi-page pictorial in the September 1987 issue, but later said in an interview with *People* magazine that "I wouldn't do those pictures now... I've learned a lot since then."

On television, D'Abo played Ta'Ra, an alien medical officer in the science fiction miniseries *Something Is Out There* (1988), which was followed by a six-episode NBC mini-series of the same name, and she played Anne Summerton in the TV adaptation of Jeffrey Archer's novel *Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less* (1990) directed by Clive Donner.

D'Abo had a supporting role as a pretentious stained-glass artist in the low-budget British comedy *Leon the Pig Farmer* (1992). She appeared in the 1994 film *The Browning Version* and starred in *Timelock* (1996).

D'Abo has had roles in various low-budget, straight-to-video action, horror and fantasy films such as *Tomcat: Dangerous Desires* (1992), as well as guest roles in television shows *Tales from the Crypt* (1993), *Red Shoe Diaries* (1992), and *Murder, She Wrote* (1992).

She reunited with her James Bond director John Glen for a guest-starring role in the television series *Space Precinct* and for the feature film *The Point Men* (2001). Glen later claimed that the reason he cast her in three different projects was because she was one of his favorite actresses. She played the mother of Lara in the television miniseries version of *Doctor Zhivago* (2002), and she was Queen Hecuba in the Emmy-nominated miniseries *Helen of Troy* (2003). She had a small role in the French film *L'Enfer* (*Hell*, 2005), directed by Danis Tanovic, whose stars included fellow Bond Girl Carole Bouquet.

John Cork and d'Abo wrote the book *Bond Girls Are Forever*, published in 2002, which is a tribute to the women who have played the role of a Bond girl. It was inspired by the documentary *Bond Girls Are Forever*, which she produced with Planetgrande, featuring d'Abo and other Bond girls, including Ursula Andress. The documentary appeared on the American AMC network in 2002, timed to coincide with the theatrical release of *Die Another Day*. It was later included as a gift with the purchase of *Die Another Day* on DVD by some retailers. In 2006, a new version of the documentary, updated to include interviews with cast from *Casino Royale* (2006) was again aired on the AMC network and later released as a bonus feature on the March 2007 Blu-ray disc and DVD release of *Casino Royale*.

In 2004, d'Abo wrote and, with Cabin Creek Films, co-produced the documentary film *Bearing Witness* about five female war reporters featuring Marie Colvin and Janine di Giovanni, which Barbara Kopple and Marijana Wotton directed for A&E. The feature documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In 2007, d'Abo had surgery for a brain hemorrhage; after recovering, she was inspired to meet other people who had similar experiences. She worked on and produced a 2009 documentary on the topic.

In 2009, d'Abo had a supporting role in British period fantasy-thriller *Dorian Gray*. She appeared in the 2014 Indian film *Tigers* directed by Danis Tanovic.

Maryam d'Abo is signed to Models 1. In 2015, she modeled for fashion retailer JD Williams' AW 15 collection that includes clothing for women in their fifties.

## Personal Life

She is the cousin of Mike d'Abo, a singer and member of 1960s group Manfred Mann. This makes her first cousin once removed of actress Olivia d'Abo. Maryam and Olivia once lived together in Los Angeles, buying a house together in 1988 after Olivia turned nineteen.

D'Abo is the granddaughter (on her mother's side) of the Georgian anti-communist General Giorgi Kvinitadze.

In November 2003, d'Abo married Hugh Hudson, the Oscar-nominated British director of *Chariots of Fire* (1981).

In 2007, d'Abo had surgery for a brain hemorrhage, from which she recovered.