Barbara Bach, the actress who played the iconic Bond girl Triple X, was never in need of being rescued by the spy who loved her. Instead, she was searching for her real-life knight in shining armor—the legendary musician, Sir Richard Starkey, better known to the world as Ringo Starr.

Now 75, Bach was at the height of her career when she starred in the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. In the movie, she played Major Anya Amasova, a KGB agent who was both a romantic interest and a formidable rival to Roger Moore’s portrayal of the suave, womanizing 007.

Despite the glamour of the Bond franchise, Bach had strong opinions about the character. In a 1983 People magazine interview, she bluntly referred to Bond as “a chauvinist pig who uses girls to shield him against bullets.” Even Moore himself admitted as much. In a 1973 interview—the year he starred in his first Bond film, Live and Let Die—he stated, “Bond, like myself, is a male chauvinist pig. All my life, I’ve been trying to get women out of brassieres and pants.”

Before her breakout role in The Spy Who Loved Me, Bach had already established herself in Italian cinema. She appeared in Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971), an Italian murder mystery that also featured other Bond girls—Claudine Auger from Thunderball (1965) and Barbara Bouchet from Casino Royale (1967). However, it was her role as Anya Amasova that cemented her place in Hollywood, making her an all-time favorite among Bond fans.

Following her Bond girl success, Bach took on leading roles in films such as Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy (1980), directed by Robert Downey Sr., and Caveman (1981), a slapstick comedy where she co-starred with Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long, and Ringo Starr. In Caveman, Starr played a Neanderthal who initially desires Lana, played by Bach, but eventually chooses another mate. However, their on-screen dynamic was far from reality.

A Love Story That Was Meant to Be

Bach and Starr first crossed paths at the Los Angeles airport while both were en route to Mexico to film Caveman. At the time, they were just acquaintances, each involved with different partners. But as Bach later revealed in a 1981 Playboy interview, everything changed in the final week of filming.

“A lot of garbage has been written about us—none of it interesting,” she said. “The truth is, we weren’t together until the very end of Caveman. We got along fine while working, but we each had other people in our lives. Then, all of a sudden, within a week—the last week of shooting—it just happened. We changed from friendly love to being in love.”

Their whirlwind romance turned into a lifelong commitment. Speaking to the Irish Examiner in 2021, Starr reminisced about the moment he first saw Bach at LAX in 1980. “She was at the airport with a boyfriend, and I was checking in. We happened to be flying to Mexico to do the same movie, and that’s how it happened,” he said. “I’m blessed she’s in my life, that’s all I can ever say.”

A Beatle and His Bond Girl

Long before they fell in love, Bach had already experienced The Beatles’ phenomenon firsthand. In 1965, she attended their legendary concert at Shea Stadium in New York. However, unlike her sister Marjorie, who was a die-hard fan and even wore a Beatles wig to the concert, Bach was more drawn to artists like Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and The Rolling Stones.

Marjorie’s admiration for the band eventually led to her marrying Joe Walsh, who joined the Eagles as their guitarist in 1975. Walsh later played alongside Starr in Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, a live rock supergroup.

Bach and Starr tied the knot on April 27, 1981, just months after the tragic death of John Lennon. Their wedding guest list included Paul McCartney and George Harrison, making the event a Beatles family reunion of sorts.

A Love That Endured

Right before their wedding, Bach and Starr survived a terrifying car accident. The couple swerved to avoid a truck, causing their vehicle to roll over twice before coming to a halt. The near-death experience only solidified their devotion to each other. “After the accident, we decided we wouldn’t spend any time apart,” Starr said. “So far, the longest we’ve been apart was five days, and that was too long. I want to live every minute with Barbara.”

Their commitment extended beyond love; they also faced struggles together. In 1988, the couple checked into rehab and have remained sober ever since.

In 2021, they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, and Starr marked the occasion by sharing a throwback wedding photo featuring McCartney and Harrison. He captioned it, “It was 40 years ago today. The love of my life said yes, yes, yes.”

A Shared Purpose

Beyond their enduring love, Bach and Starr have also dedicated themselves to philanthropy. Together, they run The Lotus Foundation, a charity that supports causes related to animal welfare, substance abuse, homelessness, and cancer. Starr, who is also an artist, donates 100% of his artwork sales to the foundation.

The couple’s blended family includes Starr’s three children from his previous marriage to Maureen Cox and Bach’s two children from her former marriage to Italian businessman Augusto Gregorini. But their biggest bond remains their unwavering love for each other.

As Starr once said, “There’s no escape … I think I love Barbara as much today as I did when we met—and I’m beyond blessed that she loves me and we’re still together.”

And Bach keeps it just as simple: “I love the man, and that’s it.”

Their love story is proof that sometimes, life’s greatest romances aren’t scripted—they’re simply meant to be.