Barbara Bach, immortalized as the unforgettable KGB agent Anya Amasova (codenamed Triple X) in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, portrayed a Bond girl who was sharp, capable, and certainly didn’t require rescuing.

Yet, in her real life, Bach was searching for something far more meaningful and enduring than cinematic glamour—a genuine partner who saw beyond the celebrity facade and truly appreciated her.

She ultimately found that deep connection in her future husband, Sir Richard Starkey, known globally by his stage name, Ringo Starr.

At the age of 78, Bach remains a powerful icon of 1970s elegance. Her role opposite Roger Moore in the Bond film instantly launched her into international stardom, positioning her as one of the rare Bond women who could match 007 blow for blow, operating with equal skill and intelligence.

Despite the international fame the role brought her, Bach was never shy about leveling critique against the character that cemented her career.

In a widely quoted 1983 People magazine interview, she famously dismissed James Bond, calling him “a chauvinist pig who uses girls to shield him against bullets.” The lead actor himself, Roger Moore, once echoed the sentiment, also describing Bond as “a male chauvinist pig.”

Before securing the high-profile role in The Spy Who Loved Me, Bach had already established an impressive professional résumé within the European film industry, particularly Italian cinema. She co-starred in films like Black Belly of the Tarantula alongside two other former

Bond alumni, Claudine Auger and Barbara Bouchet. Her successful Bond performance propelled her career to an even higher gear, leading to subsequent starring roles in films such as Up the Academy and the 1981 prehistoric comedy, Caveman—the very set where her life would change forever.

It was during the preparations for Caveman that her path and Ringo Starr’s fatefully crossed. Both actors were independently traveling to Mexico to begin shooting the movie and happened to encounter one another at LAX airport. At that point, they were simply two actors scheduled to work on the same project. They maintained separate lives, had separate romantic partners, and had absolutely no inkling that their worlds were about to irrevocably shift.

According to a later Playboy interview, Bach recalled that their professional and personal dynamics completely changed “within a week—the last week of shooting. We changed from friendly love to being in love.”

Ringo Starr remembers the exact moment the connection was forged with equal vividness and clarity. In a 2021 interview reflecting on their long marriage, he stated simply, “I loved her from when I first saw her at LAX in 1980… I’m blessed she’s in my life, that’s all I can ever say.”

In an interesting twist of fate, Bach revealed that she had actually attended a Beatles concert at Shea Stadium back in 1965—though she confessed she wasn’t there for the legendary band. She later joked that her sister, Marjorie, was the true fan, who even showed up wearing a Beatles wig, while Bach herself preferred the music of Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and The Rolling Stones. Life, however, holds surprising symmetries: Marjorie later married Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, who eventually became a long-time member of Ringo’s touring group, the All-Starr Band.

Just months after the tragic death of John Lennon, Barbara Bach and Ringo Starr married on April 27, 1981.

Their wedding guest list was an extraordinary assembly of music history, featuring both Paul McCartney and George Harrison. However, the couple had faced their first major life challenge even before the ceremony: they were involved in a near-fatal car accident shortly before the wedding date. After walking away from that wreck virtually unscathed, Starr stated that the shock prompted a firm decision: “

We decided we wouldn’t spend any time apart.” This resolution has defined their relationship; in more than 40 years of marriage, the longest they have ever spent apart was a mere five days.

Their bond only strengthened as they confronted life’s subsequent struggles together. In 1988, both entered rehabilitation together and have maintained sobriety ever since, demonstrating a shared commitment to recovery and mutual support.

When their 40th wedding anniversary arrived in 2021, Starr marked the milestone by posting an endearing photo from their wedding day with the simple, touching caption: “It was 40 years ago today the love of my life said yes yes yes.”

Between them, the couple successfully blended a family of five children—Starr’s three children from his late first wife, Maureen Cox, and Bach’s two children from her former husband, Augusto Gregorini. Beyond their blended family, they co-founded The Lotus Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to supporting a wide range of causes, from homelessness assistance and addiction recovery programs to animal welfare and cancer research support. Ringo Starr notably donates all the proceeds generated from his professional artwork directly to the foundation, underscoring their commitment to philanthropy.

After more than four decades together, the love shared between the former Bond girl and the legendary Beatle remains unmistakably strong, defined by mutual devotion rather than external spectacle. “I love the man, and that’s it,”

Bach has stated simply. Starr mirrors the sentiment wholeheartedly, summarizing their enduring romance: “I think I love Barbara as much today as I did when we met—and I’m beyond blessed that she loves me and we’re still together.”

Their remarkable, enduring story serves as a powerful reminder that sometimes, the most profound and lasting love finds its way not through the dramatic glamour of a Hollywood film role or the chaotic hype of a rock-and-roll career, but through the quiet, committed connection between two human beings who consistently and purposefully choose each other, day after day, year after year.