BY LEE PFEIFFER
French model-turned actress Claudine Auger has passed away at age 78. Auger was France's entry in the Miss World contest at age 17 in 1958. She later entered the movie profession and caught the eye of James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman when they were casting the female lead for the fourth 007 blockbuster "Thunderball" starring Sean Connery in 1965. Auger wasn't their first choice, as Faye Dunaway, Julie Christie and Raquel Welch had been considered, but for different reasons, did not end up playing the pivotal role. In the film, Auger played Domino, the mistress of Spectre villain Emilio Largo, played by Adolfo Celi. Domino seems content with the life of luxury afforded her by Largo but upon being seduced by James Bond, she courageously risks her life to help him thwart Spectre's nuclear threat to Miami Beach. Although Auger could speak fluent English, like several of the early Bond film actresses, she was dubbed in the final cut of the film. Despite the phenomenal worldwide success of "Thunderball", major stardom did not follow for Auger, although she continued to appear in films and television, mostly in Europe. In 1966, "Thunderball" director Terence Young cast her in a major Hollywood film, the WWII spy thriller "Triple Cross" starring Christopher Plummer and Yul Brynner. She also appeared in the 1971 Italian cult hit "The Black Belly of the Tarantula" with Giancarlo Giannini, who she would later star with in the comedy "Lovers and Liars". Auger continued to act until the late 1990s. Married twice, she is survived by a daughter with her late husband Peter Brent, who passed away in 2008. Auger tended to avoid the spotlight and did not participate in most of the retrospective James Bond events and documentaries made over the years since the release of "Thunderball". For more, click here.