The new Bond Girl was indeed an SI Swimsuit model, but it's not who you might think
FOR NEARLY a year my Google alerts have kept my inbox stuffed with relentless speculation over who will be the next Bond Girl. As far as I'm concerned, the only people up for the role were Kate Uptonand Penelope Cruz. Then the news dropped: the woman who will catch James Bond's glinting eye in the franchise's 24th installment, Spectre, will be Monica Bellucci, the Italian actress who at 50 is the oldest Bond Girl, and the most age-appropriate given Daniel Craig's no-spring-chicken 46 years.
Lesser known, though, is Monica's appearance in the 1991 SI Swimsuit issue, making her the second-ever former SI Swimsuit model to bear the Bond Girl title after Barbara Carrera.
Monica in the Caribbean, SI Swimsuit 1991
Marc Hispard/SI
Monica in the Caribbean, SI Swimsuit 1991
Marc Hispard/SI
GALLERY: Monica Bellucci through the years
Rino Petrosino/Mondadori
Marc Hispard/SI
Marc Hispard/SI
Archive Photos/Moviepix
Pierre Guillaud/AFP
Andrea Blanch/Hulton Archive
Andrea Blanch/Hulton Archive
Benainous/Scorcelletti/Gamma-Rapho
Alain Benainous/Gamma-Rapho
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Etienne George/RDA/Getty Images
Tony Barson Archive/WireImage
SGranitz/WireImage
Pascal Guyot/AFT
Lalo Yasky/WireImage
Goffredo di Crollalanza/FilmMagic
Chris Moore/Catwalking
2430/Gamma-Rapho
Tullio Puglia/Getty Images
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images
George Pimentel/WireImage
Mike Marsland/WireImage
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