# Valerie Leon
**Valerie Leon** (born 1943) is an English actress and model known for glamorous roles in British film and television of the 1960s and 1970s, including six Carry On comedies, a dual starring role in the Hammer horror *Blood from the Mummy's Tomb* (1971), and appearances in two [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) films opposite two different Bonds, Roger Moore and [Sean Connery](https://www.edgepedia.org/sean-connery).[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [2](https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark%3A/12148/cb17036979z) She was born in [Islington](https://www.edgepedia.org/islington), London, and her full birth name is Valerie Therese Leon.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502538/bio)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1943, Islington, London, England[2](https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark%3A/12148/cb17036979z) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/valerie-leon/) |
| Stage debut | West End debut in *Funny Girl* with Barbra Streisand at the Prince of Wales Theatre, 1966[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [5](https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2019/12/08/exclusive-interview-with-60s-carry-on-icon-and-two-time-bond-girl-valerie-leon-who-is-hanging-out-with-british-expats-in-spains-andalucia/) |
| Carry On films | Six films per her own biography, including *Carry On Up the Jungle* (1970) as Leda and *Carry On Girls* (1973) as Patricia Potter; IMDb credits seven appearances[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502538/bio) |
| Hammer horror | Dual role as Margaret Fuchs and Queen Tera in *Blood from the Mummy's Tomb* (1971), now a cult film[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/valerie-leon/) |
| Bond films | Hotel receptionist in *The Spy Who Loved Me* (1977, Roger Moore); Lady in the Bahamas in *Never Say Never Again* (1983, Sean Connery)[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) |
| Signature commercial | The Hai Karate aftershave commercial, broadcast every Christmas for about seven years[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502538/bio) |
## Early career
Leon trained as a fashion buyer and worked at Harrods before turning to performance. She was too tall for fashion modeling, but an early stage job, a touring production of *The Belle of New York*, led her to give up the Harrods position; the show closed after six weeks.[6](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-den-of-geek-interview-valerie-leon/) After six auditions she joined the chorus of *Funny Girl* starring [Barbra Streisand](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbra-streisand) at London's Prince of Wales Theatre in 1966, her West End debut and the break that brought her an agent.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502538/bio)
Her first credited television role was as Therese in an episode of *The Saint* in 1967.[7](https://www.horrorsociety.com/2017/06/09/now-valerie-leon/) [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) guest appearances followed through the 1970s, including *The Saint* and *The Persuaders!* both with [Roger Moore](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-moore), *The Baron*, *Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)*, *The Avengers*, *Up Pompeii!*, *The Goodies*, and *The Morecambe and Wise Show*.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/)
## Carry On films
After pantomimes and summer seasons, Leon appeared in the Carry On comedy series, whose producer was Peter Rogers. Her own biography counts six films; IMDb lists seven, adding *Carry On Christmas* to the titles both sources name: *Carry On Up the Khyber*, *Carry On Camping*, *Carry On Again Doctor*, *Carry On Up the Jungle*, *Carry On Matron*, and *Carry On Girls*.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502538/bio) • [7](https://www.horrorsociety.com/2017/06/09/now-valerie-leon/) In her first, *Carry On Up the Khyber* (1968), she had no lines and handed out fruit in a harem; her audition was a lineup of girls in swimsuits at [Pinewood Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/pinewood-studios).[8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/sep/04/we-didnt-worry-about-a-few-dirty-laughs-carry-on-women-playing-nags-bra-burners-crumpet)
Her favorite and largest part was Leda in *Carry On Up the Jungle* (1970), leader of the all-woman Lubby Dubby tribe in a Tarzan spoof.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/sep/04/we-didnt-worry-about-a-few-dirty-laughs-carry-on-women-playing-nags-bra-burners-crumpet) In *Carry On Girls* (1973) she played Patricia Potter, a frumpy secretary who becomes a glamour girl.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) When a gap in her Carry On appearances followed, she wrote to Rogers asking to be considered again; he replied that as long as experience was the only thing she had broadened, there was every chance of further work.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502538/bio) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/sep/04/we-didnt-worry-about-a-few-dirty-laughs-carry-on-women-playing-nags-bra-burners-crumpet)
## Hammer horror and other films
**Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.** Leon played a dual starring role as Margaret Fuchs and the resurrected Egyptian queen Tera in Hammer's *Blood from the Mummy's Tomb* (1971), adapted from [Bram Stoker](https://www.edgepedia.org/bram-stoker)'s 1903 novel *The Jewel of the Seven Stars*.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/valerie-leon/) • [6](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-den-of-geek-interview-valerie-leon/) The production acquired a reputation as jinxed: director Seth Holt, who had a weak heart and could not be insured, died a week before completion of filming, and Michael Carreras finished assembling the film, which was released as a B-feature to *Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde*.[6](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-den-of-geek-interview-valerie-leon/) The film has since become a cult movie.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/)
Her other film credits include *The Italian Job* (1969) with [Michael Caine](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-caine), *No Sex Please, We're British* (1973) with [Ronnie Corbett](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronnie-corbett), *Queen Kong* (1976), *The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer* with [Peter Cook](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-cook), and *The Wild Geese* (1978) with Roger Moore.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) Whipping lessons she took in her garden for the role of Tanya the Lotus Eater in *Revenge of the Pink Panther* (1978), opposite Peter Sellers, helped lead to that part.[5](https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2019/12/08/exclusive-interview-with-60s-carry-on-icon-and-two-time-bond-girl-valerie-leon-who-is-hanging-out-with-british-expats-in-spains-andalucia/)
## The Bond films
Leon appeared in two James Bond films with two different actors in the title role. In *The Spy Who Loved Me* (1977) she played a hotel receptionist opposite Roger Moore; in *Never Say Never Again* (1983) she played the Lady in the Bahamas opposite Sean Connery.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [9](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/stars/valerie-leon) She has called Moore her favorite Bond, and an unscripted kiss he gave her in an episode of *The Persuaders!* was kept in the final cut; Moore later wrote to her asking to be credited as a good screen kisser.[10](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bond-girl-valerie-leon-roger-moore-sean-connery-up-front)
## Commercials and later work
Leon is best remembered among British television viewers for the Hai Karate aftershave commercial, which ran every Christmas for about seven years; she later filmed a commercial for Right Guard in South Africa.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) The Hai Karate campaign made her famous in 1970s Britain.[5](https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2019/12/08/exclusive-interview-with-60s-carry-on-icon-and-two-time-bond-girl-valerie-leon-who-is-hanging-out-with-british-expats-in-spains-andalucia/)
Her later screen work includes a singing role as the Madam, called [Mother Goose](https://www.edgepedia.org/mother-goose), in Stravinsky's opera *The Rake's Progress* at Spitalfields Market Opera, and two short films directed by young female directors: *Gas*, based on an early unpublished Hitchcock story, and *A Neutral Corner*, a 13-minute film about the subconscious of a comatose boxer that won the Best Short Film award in the Kodak Short Film Competition and received 17 official selections.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [11](https://www.valerieleon.com/)
In 2009 she created an illustrated talk about her life and career, premiered in Almeria, Spain, which grew into the one-woman show *Up Front with Valerie Leon*, performed in Spain, in British venues including the Jermyn Street Theatre and Crazy Coqs, and on cruise ships.[1](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/) • [11](https://www.valerieleon.com/) She also appears at film conventions in the UK and internationally and sells signed photographs through her website.[11](https://www.valerieleon.com/)
## Personal life
Leon married the television producer Michael Mills on 16 January 1974; he died on 7 January 1988, and the couple had two children, Merope Laura Mills and Leon Mills.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502538/bio)
## A namesake in retail
A different Valerie Leon, an American luxury-retail executive with senior roles at Valentino and buying positions at [Bergdorf Goodman](https://www.edgepedia.org/bergdorf-goodman) and [Saks Fifth Avenue](https://www.edgepedia.org/saks-fifth-avenue), was named president of Belmont Park Village, the first North American location in The Bicester Collection, in late 2025.[12](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/women%27s-wear-daily_belmont-park-village-taps-valerie-leon-as-activity-7477722696760360962-HsMC)
## References
1. [Biography, valerieleon.com](https://www.valerieleon.com/biography/)
2. [Notice de personne "Leon, Valerie (1943-....)", Bibliothèque nationale de France](https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark%3A/12148/cb17036979z)
3. [Valerie Leon – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502538/bio)
4. [Valerie Leon – Actress, Model, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/valerie-leon/)
5. [Exclusive interview with 60s Carry On icon and two-time Bond girl Valerie Leon, The Olive Press (8 December 2019)](https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2019/12/08/exclusive-interview-with-60s-carry-on-icon-and-two-time-bond-girl-valerie-leon-who-is-hanging-out-with-british-expats-in-spains-andalucia/)
6. [The Den Of Geek Interview: Valerie Leon, Den of Geek (7 July 2008)](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-den-of-geek-interview-valerie-leon/)
7. [Where Are They Now? : Valerie Leon, Horror Society (9 June 2017)](https://www.horrorsociety.com/2017/06/09/now-valerie-leon/)
8. ['We didn't worry about a few dirty laughs!' The Carry On women on playing nags, bra-burners and 'crumpet', The Guardian (4 September 2024)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/sep/04/we-didnt-worry-about-a-few-dirty-laughs-carry-on-women-playing-nags-bra-burners-crumpet)
9. [Valerie Leon (Bond Girl), jamesbond007.se](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/stars/valerie-leon)
10. [Bond girl Valerie Leon recalls friendship with Roger Moore, filming bed scene with Sean Connery, Fox News (13 March 2021)](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bond-girl-valerie-leon-roger-moore-sean-connery-up-front)
11. [Valerie Leon Signed Photos and Autographs, valerieleon.com](https://www.valerieleon.com/)
12. [Belmont Park Village Taps Valerie Leon as President, WWD via LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/women%27s-wear-daily_belmont-park-village-taps-valerie-leon-as-activity-7477722696760360962-HsMC)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames L to M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license