Ursula Andress with Dr No co-star Sean Connery in 1962.
Ursula Andress with Dr No co-star Sean Connery in 1962.
Former actress and model Ursula Andress claims her financial manager stole 18 million Swiss francs ($38.8m) of her life savings.
The 90-year-old filed a criminal complaint against the late Eric Freymond, a wealth manager for Europe’s elite, accusing him of stealing her money.
“I’m still in shock. I was deliberatelytargeted. For eight years, I was courted and wooed. They lied to me ruthlessly and exploited my goodwill and trust in a perfidious, even criminal, way to take everything from me. And they were counting on my age. I’m so devastated,” Andress told the German outlet Blick.
As an actress, she was introduced to the world as Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, Dr No, in 1962, famously emerging from the water in a white bikini.
Scene from the James Bond movie Dr No starring Sean Connery and Ursula Andress. Photo / Supplied
Andress told Blick she’s always been a down-to-earth woman, who never lost touch with reality despite her fame.
“Like all Swiss people, I’ve worked hard and always saved my money. I hoped to spend my final years happily and peacefully. And now this happens – I’ve been disgustingly cheated. I hope the perpetrators are punished to the full extent of the law. I’m devastated.”
Freymond also worked for 24 years as a wealth manager for the billionaire Nicolas Puech, a descendant and major shareholder of the fashion house Hermes, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ursula Andress attends the Gala of Bern in her honour celebrating 50 years of the James Bond films, 2012. Photo / Getty Images
Puech later alleged Freymond played a role in embezzling US$15 billion ($25.4b) worth of Hermes shares.
Freymond was hit by a train and died July 2025. His death was treated as a suspected suicide. He was 67.
Freymond is accused of transferring Andress’ money to a separate account, then purchasing artwork belonging to his wife throughout 2024, Blick reported.
Andress is now in possession of artwork of dubious origin and worth.
Her management said the fraud was exceptional in scale and complexity, “involving numerous actors and structures, she was deprived of a large portion of her assets, resulting in significant damage”.
Since the 1950s, Andress has split her time between Rome and Gstaad, a resort town in the Swiss Alps, reported Hello! Magazine.
