Person Biography:
Shirley Jean Eaton was born on January 12, 1937, in Edgware, Middlesex, England, although some references incorrectly list her birth year as 1936. She began her acting career on stage at a young age, making her debut at 12 in "Set to Partners" (1949) and following it up with Benjamin Britten's "Let's Make an Opera" the following year.
Eaton's first on-camera work was on TV in 1951, and she soon began to provide fleeting, decorative interest on film. Under contract to Alexander Korda in her early career, she found an encouraging break with minor parts in comedies such as "Doctor in the House" (1954) and "The Love Match" (1955).
She quickly rose to co-star status in the droll features "Panic in the Parlor" (1956),"Three Men in a Boat" (1956),"Your Past Is Showing" (1957),and "Doctor at Large" (1957),appearing opposite top stars such as Peter Sellers and Dirk Bogarde.
After Korda's death in 1956, Eaton briefly joined the Rank Organization. She relished playing a fetching villainess in dramas, such as "The Girl Hunters" (1963),and also played it straight as the beautiful foil caught up in madcap farces, including the popular "Carry On" movies.
Trained in ballet and voice, Eaton was afforded the chance to sing and dance in the film "Life Is a Circus" (1960) and appeared on the BBC in a few musical formats of the 1950s.
Eaton's career hit international status when she played "Jill Masterson" in the film "Goldfinger" (1964),where she became the iconic image of the movie with her golden death scene. The image was splattered everywhere, and despite the attention received by Honor Blackman's "Pussy Galore" and Shirley Bassey's title song, it was Eaton's gilded visuals that became the iconic image of the movie and the whole "007" phenomenon.
In the wake of "Goldfinger", Hollywood beckoned, and Eaton won a number of female leads in melodrama, crime yarns, war stories, and rugged adventures. She appeared opposite some of Hollywood's best-looking and talented leading men, including Harry Guardino, Robert Culp, Hugh O'Brian, Bob Hope, and Christopher Lee.
Eaton's film career ended with her participation as "Sumuru" in both "The Million Eyes of Sumuru" (1967) and "The Girl from Rio" (1969). Many of her movies remain interesting to the public today, and a number of them, like she, have achieved cult status.
After her self-imposed retirement, Eaton dedicated herself to her family. She is the widow of building contractor Colin Rowe and has two sons, Grant and Jason, and is the proud grandmother of five. She has also developed a special knack for writing, publishing her autobiography "Golden Girl" in 1999 and an "intimate diary" of poems in 2006.
