Lois Chiles is a renowned actress who initially made a name for herself as a supermodel before transitioning to the film industry. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she delivered a wide range of elegant performances in various movies. Her cinematic debut was a notable one, playing the role of Robert Redford's love interest in the classic Hollywood melodrama, The Way We Were, released in 1973.
Following this early success, Chiles starred alongside Clifton Davis in the independent blaxploitation film, Together for Days, in 1972. The movie focused on the challenges faced by a mixed-race couple amidst societal disapproval and political turmoil. She also appeared as the charismatic socialite Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby, alongside Mia Farrow and Robert Redford, in 1974.
Chiles' impressive acting skills were showcased in a series of pivotal roles, including her portrayal of a woman who falls into a coma after undergoing an abortion in the 1978 film, Coma. She also played the role of a murder victim and impudent heiress in Death on the Nile, released the same year.
Her most iconic role is undoubtedly that of Dr. Holly Goodhead, a sophisticated NASA astronaut and scientist, opposite Roger Moore's James Bond in the 1979 film, Moonraker. Notably, Goodhead was a departure from the typical "Bond girl" archetype, as she was portrayed as dignified and not overly sexualized. Tragically, Chiles' career was put on hold when she lost her youngest brother to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1979, leading to a three-year hiatus from acting.
Although her career never fully recovered, Chiles continued to work in film and television, receiving positive reviews for her performances in Sweet Liberty, Broadcast News, Creepshow 2, Diary of a Hitman, and Curdled. In recent years, she has appeared in a few television sitcoms, shared her experiences as a "Bond girl" in interviews, and even taught an acting class at the University of Houston.
