Barbara Bach, known for her role as Bond girl Triple X, wasn’t waiting for rescue from the iconic spy who loved her. Instead, she was on the lookout for her own knight in shining armor—her husband, the legendary rocker Sir Richard Starkey, better recognized as Ringo Starr.
Now at 75, Bach, an accomplished actress and model, reached the height of her career with her role in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, where she portrayed the love interest and potential rival of the charming yet womanizing James Bond, played by Roger Moore.
In a 1983 article in People, Bach described Bond as “a chauvinist pig who uses girls to shield him against bullets.” Moore concurred, stating in a 1973 interview after his debut as Bond in Live and Let Die, “Bond, like myself, is a male chauvinist pig. All my life I’ve been trying to get women out of brassieres and pants.”
Before her iconic role in The Spy Who Loved Me, Bach appeared in Italian films, including one alongside fellow Bond Girls Claudine Auger from Thunderball (1965) and Barbara Bouchet from Casino Royale (1967) in the 1971 murder-mystery Black Belly of the Tarantula.
Her standout performance as Major Anya Amasova, a KGB agent, solidified her status as a beloved Bond girl and opened doors for her acting career. Following her Bond debut, she starred in Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy, a 1980 film directed by Robert Downey Sr., and in the 1981 comedy Caveman, where she shared the screen with Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long, and Ringo Starr, who is now 82.
In Caveman, Starr plays a Neanderthal who is infatuated with Lana, portrayed by Bach, but ultimately chooses another mate, a storyline that humorously diverges from their real-life relationship.
The couple crossed paths at the Los Angeles airport while heading to the filming location of Caveman in Mexico.
In a 1981 Playboy feature (as reported by People), Bach shared, “There’s been a lot of nonsense written about us, but none of it is worth reading. The reality is, we didn’t become a couple until the very end of Caveman. While we worked together, we got along well, but we were both involved with other people and had our own friends. Then, suddenly, during the last week of filming, everything changed. Our friendship blossomed into love.”
In a 2021 interview with the Irish Examiner, the legendary Beatles member expressed his deep affection for his wife, whom he wed over forty years ago.
“I adore her. I fell in love with her the moment I first saw her at LAX in 1980. She was there with her boyfriend, and I was checking in for our flight to Mexico for the same film. That’s how it all began,” Star reminisced. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have her in my life, and that’s all I can say.”
Starr, a superstar in the world of music, is the drummer for the legendary band, The Beatles. In 1965, Bach found herself in the audience at Shea Stadium in New York, where she experienced a performance by the Fab Four, sharing the stage with the late John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney.
Bach confesses that while she attended the concert, she wasn’t particularly a huge Beatles enthusiast. She was there with her friend Joe Walsh and her sister Marjorie, who was such a devoted fan that she wore a Beatles wig to the show.
“My sister Marjorie was absolutely obsessed with the Beatles,” Bach shared in a 1981 interview with People. “I was more into [Bob] Dylan, Ray Charles, and the Rolling Stones.”
Marjorie eventually married Walsh, who became the guitarist for the Eagles in 1975. Walsh also collaborated with his brother-in-law in Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, a renowned live rock supergroup.
Just months after Lennon’s tragic death, Bach and Starr tied the knot on April 27, 1981, with guests including McCartney and Harrison.
Since then, the couple has been inseparable.
Before their wedding, they survived a serious car accident when their vehicle swerved to avoid a truck and rolled over twice before coming to a halt.
Starr reflected on the incident, saying, “We decided we wouldn’t spend any time apart. The longest we’ve been apart was five days, and that felt too long. I want to cherish every moment with Barbara.”
They also went to rehab together in 1988 and have maintained their sobriety ever since.
When the charming couple marked their 40th anniversary in 2021, Starr shared a wedding day photo featuring McCartney and Harrison, captioning it, “It was 40 years ago today The love of my life said yes yes yes.”
Their love extends beyond their blended family—Starr has three children with his late wife Maureen Cox, while Bach has two with her ex-husband, Augusto Gregorini. Together, they also manage a charity called The Lotus Foundation, which supports various initiatives related to animals, substance abuse, homelessness, and cancer. Starr, who is also an artist, donates all proceeds from his art sales to the foundation.
It’s clear that if they had the chance, they would be together “Eight Days a Week.”
Bach expressed, “My feelings for him are unwavering, and that’s all there is to it.”
Starr chimed in, “There’s no way out of this… I believe my love for Barbara is just as strong now as it was when we first met – I feel incredibly fortunate that she loves me back and that we’re still a team.”
We absolutely adore stories of love! The bond between former Bond girl Barbara Bach and her rockstar husband Ringo Starr is truly uplifting. We’re excited to see what they will accomplish together in their charitable endeavors and in life!
