Kara Milovy: The Elegant Bond Girl Cellist
Kara Milovy, a cellist and would-be assassin, is best known as the girlfriend of rogue Soviet General Georgi Koskov and, subsequently, James Bond’s love interest from the 1987 James Bond movie, The Living Daylights.
Portrayed by British actress and former model Maryam d’Abo, Kara Milovy plays a central part to the movie and adds a touch of complexity and elegance to the plot, leaving fans both shaken and stirred.
Kara Milovy
Kara Milovy, a talented cellist from Czechoslovakia, is in a relationship with Georgi Koskov, a former KGB General. She’s unaware that Georgi is involved in illegal activities, but he’s using his influence to get her to play at the best concert halls around Europe.
We first see Kara on stage at an orchestral performance in a Bratislava concert hall. Bond is there to protect General Koskov, who wants to defect from the Soviet Union, and Bond is to take out any potential assassins.
After the concert Bond notices a sniper and when he looks through his scope, he notices the sniper is Kara. Rather than killing her as instructed, Bond shoots the rifle from her grasp, causing minor injury.
Believing that Kara, who’s actually Koskov’s girlfriend, is more of a pawn than a trained assassin, Bond assists her in eluding the KGB in Bratislava. He gains her confidence by posing as Koskov’s envoy and takes her to Austria. When their escape results in the destruction of Bond’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante, they use Kara’s cello case to sled to the Austrian border.
Eventually, Kara reaches out to Koskov, who convinces her that Bond is a KGB agent who’s out to kill him. Following Koskov’s guidance, she drugs Bond to help his capture, but she soon uncovers Koskov’s deception and rejoins Bond.
Kara and Bond are later captured and find themselves in an Afghanistan prison cell. Bond meets the leader of the Mujahideen group, Kamran Shah and after Bond helps them escape he and Kara join forces with them to fight with the Koskov and his Soviet drug cartel.
Kara persuades Shah to support Bond in assaulting a Soviet airbase. Once aboard a hijacked C-130 plane, Kara aids Bond in flying the aircraft full of opium while he fights Necros in the rear. Bond, Kara and the Mujahideen disrupt the drug exchange and General Koskov is arrested.
The film concludes with Kara on her own world tour, a reward for her courage that includes a special visa allowing her to perform globally. Disappointed by Bond’s absence in the audience, she is pleasantly surprised to find him waiting in her dressing room afterwards.
Maryam d’Abo
British actress Maryam d’Abo is best known for her role as Bond girl Kara Milovy in the 1987 film The Living Daylights. Born in London and raised in Paris and Geneva, d’Abo began acting at 13 and has appeared in numerous films and TV shows.
In 2002, she co-wrote the book Bond Girls Are Forever and produced a documentary with the same title. She has also worked as a model, documentary filmmaker, and author.
In addition to her acting career, d’Abo is related to Manfred Mann lead singer, Mike d’Abo and actress Olivia d’Abo, and she’s married to director Hugh Hudson.
