You may recognize Margaret Nolan from her appearance in the James Bond film, Goldfinger. Although this was the opportunity that earned her the most recognition, Margaret Nolan had a long career both before and after appearing in Goldfinger.
In fact, long before James Bond, Margaret Nolan was first and foremost a glamour model. So, it’s only fitting that we take a look back at some of her most captivating moments as we explore her successful career.
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Born in London in 1943, Margaret Nolan was born to working-class parents. Her mother was an English nurse, and her father was an Irish army clerk. During World War 2, their family relocated to Ireland where Margaret’s father served. After the war ended, they returned to London, where Margaret began training to become a teacher. During this time, she began dating Tom Kempinski, a playwright and actor. It was Kempinski who persuaded Nolan to pursue a career in acting, and so she began a new career path.
Before transitioning to acting, Nolan started as a model. As she gained traction, she adopted the stage name Vicky Kennedy. Given her appearance, it wasn’t long before Nolan started getting bigger opportunities as a model. Because of this popularity, she was able to transition to acting roles and out of her modeling career.
After film roles started being offered, Nolan reverted back to her family name and left the stage name behind. Her first significant film appearance was in “Saturday Night Out”, which increased her popularity with British audiences. Shortly after, she appeared in the iconic Beatles film, A Hard Day’s Night. Though she was uncredited in the role, it was a big enough production to get her seen by the producers of the upcoming James Bond film, Goldfinger. This classic 007 flick catapulted Margaret Nolan to international fame, as both her appearances in the advertisements and the film itself infatuated audiences.
After the success of the James Bond film, Nolan posed for a James Bond’s Girls edition of Playboy magazine. Although few other roles could compare to Goldfinger, she did follow-up the film with many other roles.
Most notably, she appeared in the low-budget “Carry On” series, including Carry On Cowboy, Carry on At Your Convenience, and Carry On Girls. Despite building a name for herself as a model, many of her fellow cast members endorsed her abilities as an actress, particularly in comedic roles. Unfortunately, her recurring participation in the Carry On films did not reward her financially. For her role in Carry On Girls, she is reported to have earned the equivalent of $830. Given that the film was made in 1973, the same paycheck today would be worth just $5,000, which is a far cry from the paychecks that other Hollywood actors were earning at the time. In 2007, Nolan spoke out against the team behind these films. She said that the director, Gerald Thomas, and the producer, Peter Rogers, became multi-millionaires. Meanwhile, her and the rest of the cast of the Carry On films were working really hard for the series and weren’t paid fairly. In comparison to Nolan’s $800 paycheck, she says that the highest paid actor of any of the films was Sid James, who was paid just $5,000 for his work.
Although Nolan was not paid fairly for her work throughout these years, her work didn’t go unnoticed. She had nearly 30 unique appearances throughout the 70s, and earned great acclaim for nearly all of them. Despite her success, after nearly 20 years of dominating film and television, she retired in 1983.
Sadly, Margaret Nolan passed on October 5, 2020. Her son confirmed that she passed from cancer, but no further information was given regarding the type of cancer or how long she had been battling the disease. While many fans mourned her passing, director Edgar Wright took to Twitter to express his condolences after his experience working with her in Last Night in Soho. He said she was funny, sharp and full of amazing stories.
Margaret Nolan is survived by two sons. Her first son, Oscar Deeks, is a cinematographer who has worked on an impressive list of Hollywood films. Her other son, Luke O’Sullivan, also followed in his mother’s footsteps and is currently acting.
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