Inga Bergstrom

Inga Bergstrom: Bond’s “Language Professor”

Inga Bergstrom serves as a professor at the University of Oxford. She shares a romantic past with James Bond, and is seen with him in the 1997 film, Tomorrow Never Dies. Played by Danish actress, Cecilie Thomsen, she is only a minor character, but her time on the screen made her a Bond girl.

Interestingly, Inga’s last name, Bergstrom, is a pun on the name Stromberg, reminiscent of Karl Stromberg, the notorious villain from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). An accident, we think not as the Bond producers like to play with names, Pussy Galore anybody?

Inga Bergstrom

After a taxing encounter at an arms market on the Russian frontier, James Bond heads to Oxford to visit his old flame Inga Bergstrom – a professor at the University of Oxford. During a romantic engagement with the professor, Bond’s phone rings. It’s Miss Moneypenny on the other end.

Kraken

Moneypenny advises 007 to return to London, but Bond cheekily mentions that he’s currently polishing his Danish language skills.

Inga Bergstrom and Bond in bed together

Just as Moneypenny is about to end the call, she playfully labels James a “master of languages”. As she turns, she notices M and suggests he refrain from inquiring. M retorts with a simple “I won’t ask.” As James takes his leave, he muses that he has always found joy in mastering a new language.

Cecilie Thomsen

Cecilie Thomsen is a Danish actress, best known for her role as Professor Inga Bergstrøm in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.

Her career extends beyond the Bond franchise, however, having worked in an anthology film, Visions of Europe, and starred in Bryan Adams’ 1995 music video Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?

Thomsen’s versatile career includes roles in 54 as a VIP Patron, House of Fools as a Lithuanian Sharpshooter, and an uncredited role in Simon & Malou.