Actor played Bond’s secretary Miss Moneypenny
British actor Pamela Salem, who appeared as Bond secretary Miss Moneypenny in the film Never Say Never Again, has died.
Salem’s agent, Maddie Burdett Coutts, said she died Wednesday at her home in Florida at age 80. Additional details, including a cause of death, were not disclosed.
“She was a friend, she wasn’t just a client,” Burdett Coutts said. “We’ve been friends for a long time, so it is all a bit raw. She was the most lovely person.”
British production and publishing company Big Finish announced Salem’s death on Friday. “Everyone at Big Finish was shocked and saddened to learn about the passing of our friend and colleague Pamela Salem,” the company said.
Big Finish contributor David Richardson, who produced Salem’s various audio dramas, remembered her work ethic and warm personality.
“She was a very gentle person — always interested in everyone, from her co-stars to the production team to the guest actors and visitors,” he said. “She talked with joy about her home on Miami Beach, waking up to warmth and waves, and she knew all about our lives and families and life stories.”
Salem, who was born in 1944 in India, had a screen career spanning decades — starting from the late 1960s and ending just before 2020. Among the most notable of her projects, however, is a turn as secretary Miss Moneypenny opposite Sean Connery’s James Bond in the unofficial Bond film Never Say Never Again in 1983.
Salem’s legacy also includes appearances in nine episodes of the original Doctor Who series. Her time on the beloved sci-fi series informed many audio drama projects she pursued with Big Finish. Her more substantive television work also included British series Buccaneer, Into the Labyrinth and EastEnders. Her additional TV credits include French Fields, and appearances on U.S. dramas ER, The West Wing and Big Love.
Salem’s film credits included 1978’s The Great Train Robbery (also alongside Connery), Salomé, Gods and Monsters and April’s Shower.
Salem grew up in England and attended Germany’s Heidelberg University and London’s Royal Central School of Speech.
She was married to Irish actor Michael O’Hagan, who died in 2017 at age 77. Salem is survived by her sister, puppeteer and poet Gille Robic.