Following a suggestion that the new M for ‘GoldenEye’ should be a woman, Barbara Broccoli cast Judi Dench in the role. This arguably risky move has proved very successful, giving the 007-M relationship new depth.

Barbara Dana Broccoli (b. June 18, 1960) is the daughter of James Bond producer Albert R Broccoli. She majored in motion picture and television communications at Loyola Marymount University prior to working in the casting and production departments at EON Productions, the production company responsible for the official James Bond series of films dating back to 1962. Currently she co-produces Bond films with her half brother Michael G Wilson. She is currently married to producer Frederick Zollo and owns an independent production company called Astoria Productions.

Broccoli started in the Bond franchise at the age of 22 as an assistant director on Octopussy in 1983. Soon after she had worked her way up further to become an associate producer on the film The Living Daylights in 1987. However, her most notable role was being a producer of the Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.

Following a suggestion that the new M for GoldenEye should be a woman, Broccoli cast Judi Dench. This arguably risky move has proved very successful, giving the 007-M relationship new depth. In 1995’s GoldenEye, Dench’s character tells Bond, “I think you’re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War.”