Jane Seymour Broke Onto The Scene As A Bond Girl: Her Gorgeous Evolution Since

Jane Seymour became a household name in the 1970s, and she's remained one ever since. Of course, much has happened in all that time, including several marriages (and divorces), babies, and financial woes. However, one thing's for sure: Ms. Seymour's face card has never declined. 

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While Seymour's role opposite Roger Moore in "Live and Let Die" wasn't her first, it was the character that made her a star, so we'd be remiss not to start there. When Seymour was first cast as Solitaire in the James Bond flick, she was just 20 years old, and she's said on a number of occasions that she hadn't aspired for Bond girl status. Far from it, as she shared in one 1985 interview, she'd been working on another project and had been bought out because production was so convinced she'd be the perfect actor to play Bond's love interest. 

As we all know, Seymour took the job, and she's remained connected to the film franchise since. Like we said, though, much in her life has changed. For one, at the time she made "Live and Let Die," she was married to Michael Attenborough (yes, of the Attenborough family). Seymour and Michael parted ways in 1973, the same year "Live and Let Die" was released, but she's spoken highly of him even post-split, pointing out that neither one of them was actually equipped for a marriage when they went into theirs. In fact, in her memoir "Remarkable Changes," she wrote that they remained very close friends even after they ended the marriage. That said, she also pointed out, "As much as I loved him as a human being, we just never should have been married."

After "Live and Let Die" and her divorce, Jane Seymour tried to kickstart her career stateside. But in a tale not exactly unsurprising in Hollywood, particularly in that era, she had a terrifying experience with a producer. At the time of this writing, she's never named the man, but wrote in "Remarkable Changes" that after she turned down his advances, he'd threatened her career. Decades later, in her 2017 interview with Playboy, she spoke again about how she put her ambitions on hold in the aftermath of the sexual harassment. "I went back to England, gave up acting, quit show biz, and became a full-time housewife," she recalled in her book.

Seymour found love again with her close friend, Geoffrey Planer. They were wed in 1977, and as we said, she became a homebody soon after their nuptials. However, she wrote in "Remarkable Changes" that she was surprisingly okay with that. "I have to admit I felt a kind of contentment and a lot less pressure," she said. However, Planer wasn't as convinced, and Seymour recalled him urging her to either act or dance. She'd argued against it, but he'd challenged her to do it anyway. Seymour ultimately got the leading role in "A Doll's House," which even she found ironic, as the play is about a woman who decides to leave her domestic life in search of something else. "It was a wake-up call," she wrote.

A wake-up call indeed, and Seymour once again fell in love with her craft. Sadly, that meant ending her second marriage, though, as with her first, they remained friendly. In fact, she wrote in "Remarkable Changes," "We have each other as close and trusted friends. Our love continues in a profound way."

While Jane Seymour didn't immediately share the details as to why she'd stepped away from acting, many noticed her absence, and she recalled in "Remarkable Changes" that the press hadn't been particularly kind to her about it. Thinking back on that time, she wrote that her lack of blockbusters led "some people in the English media to dub me a failure because I didn't go on to make one movie after another." However, after she made her triumphant return, she became a whole lot more visible, starring not only in "Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger" but also the "Battlestar Galactica" film and TV spinoff. And, in the 1980s, she only went from strength to strength. 

Again, outside of her career, Seymour also found love again. This time, it was with her business manager David Flynn, and the couple became parents soon after becoming husband and wife. The star, inspired by her love for her family, even went on to write "Jane Seymour's Guide to Romantic Living," in which she revealed how she romanticized her life wherever possible. Sadly, though she specifically wrote in the book that she and Flynn held a weekly meeting to discuss money matters, it turned out that they weren't on the same page. While she reveled in her status as the "Queen of the miniseries," it turned out Flynn had been mismanaging her finances. 

Seymour wrote about the realization in "Remarkable Changes," sharing that she'd had a sixth sense that something was amiss, and sure enough, she learned she was millions of dollars in debt. "I thought I was living a fairytale life," she admitted in the book's blurb. She'd been wrong — but she was on the cusp of yet another career high. 

Jane Seymour has been very open about the fact that she signed on for "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" out of sheer desperation amid her financial woes. As she shared in an interview with ET, after losing everything, "I called my agent and said I would do anything." Luckily, she got a gig right away in the form of a TV film, which might or might not be turned into a series, though the network's expectations were low. In fact, Seymour told Smashing Interviews, "I was told they could pretty much guarantee Dr. Quinn would never make it as a series. They guaranteed that to me even though I signed for five years," she recalled. Among CBS's chief concerns at the time were that the show had a female lead and was a medical show, both of which they believed wouldn't work with viewers. That, coupled with the "family values" aspect of the series, meant it was doomed before it even began. 

Of course, we know the opposite is true, and in addition to the show spanning six seasons, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" also got two TV film spinoffs. And, as Seymour has often pointed out, it became not just one of her best-known roles of her career, but also made a lasting impact on audiences. Speaking to Hallmark Channel in 2010, she gushed, "I get beautiful letters from women who are doctors now who said because of Dr. Quinn, they decided they want to become doctors. ... That's pretty awesome."

Fans of Seymour may also know that the actor settled down for a fourth time while shooting "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," with one of the show's directors, James Keach. The couple even welcomed twins during the show's run, and stayed together for over two decades. 

Jane Seymour's marriage to James Keach was her longest, and the couple had been married for 20 years when they announced their divorce in 2013. Speaking to HuffPost Live the following year, the then-63-year-old actor admitted that going through a split at her age had been devastating. "It's very frightening. ... I've cried many, many tears. I just don't do them publicly," she shared. However, she added that she also used it as an opportunity. "I really believe in doing the work on myself. I can't change anybody else, but I can definitely work on making myself a better person," Seymour said. 

Evidently, Keach also put in the work, and Seymour noted that despite the split, they continued to be in one another's lives. "We spend Thanksgiving together. We'll spend Christmas together. We're a family. We realize that the marriage may not be intact, but the family is intact and always will be. We'll always care for one another and care about one another, and that doesn't change," she said. Seymour alluded to their family remaining super close in an interview with The Guardian, too, telling the outlet she was close with her exes and their kids, the latter so much so that she refused to refer to them as "stepkids." "I spend a lot of time with them. All the fathers are very close to their children and the kids are very close to all the parents. The exes and everybody gets along," she explained. 

As always, Seymour had remained a busy working actor during the time of her divorce, starring in "Austenland" and other films, and she also released another book, "The Wave: Inspiration for Navigating Life's Changes & Challenges." One thing's clear: Seymour always keeps it moving. 

Jane Seymour has had career highs and lows, experienced true love, had her heart broken, and faced hardship, but don't expect the star to throw a pity party any time soon. Seymour has spoken at length about living her life to the fullest even into her 70s, and triumphantly told Today in early 2026, "I've never been happier. I've never had more energy. And I'm just living my best life right now." While Seymour has always been gorgeous, Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones added that she also looked spectacular, to which she replied that the true secret to beauty lies in finding joy in every day. "Happy is everything," she said. 

Seymour also spoke about her happiness in a 2023 interview with Prevention. "I just literally grab life by the horns every day, I do not live in the negative, I do not live in the past," she said (via House Beautiful). Another belief she shared with both outlets was that by doing good for others, one's own light shone through. "I think as much as anything it's an attitude towards life. ... If you're not thinking all the time about yourself, if you're thinking about, 'What can I do to help others that are less fortunate? What can I do to today that can make a difference in the world? Or what can I do to enjoy this amazing planet we are on, or the gifts we have and the gift of life?'" she mused. Well, it's certainly working for her!

Back to Seymour's love life, many may know the star has also found love once more, this time with John Zambetti. The couple announced their engagement to People in June 2026, and Seymour told Today, "I'm absolutely committed to this happiness forever." We love it for her!