Born to British parents in Port Antonio, Jamaica, Martine Beswick did some brief modeling and pageant entering before seeking a career in films. She allegedly once won a "Miss Autoville" contest and won a car only to sell it in order to move to and study acting in London. A minor break for her occurred in the James Bond film series. She played a gypsy girl in From Russia with Love (1963) and then later appeared again in Thunderball (1965). After playing in the well-tanned minority ranks for year