007 Women Who Could Make Great Bond Girls

In the minds of any Bond geek worth his mini-rocket cigarette lighter, there is no greater distinction for an actress than to be chosen as a Bond Girl. With Quantum of Solace in theaters this weekend, here's a look at seven actresses who may be worthy of the honor in Bond 23 and beyond.

1 of 7

Sarah Shahi. This 28-year-old actress is American-born, but of Iranian descent, giving her a hint of exoticness present in most Bond Girls. She's also relatively unknown, like many actresses tapped for the role (she's appeared on Showtime's L Word but little else). Also: She's hotter than a flame-throwing spray can.

2 of 7

Ziyi Zhang. A veteran of some well-known flicks (Rush Hour 2, Memoirs of a Geisha), Zhang is still largely unfamiliar to mainstream American audiences. She is not, however, unfamiliar with the art of ass-kicking, which could come in handy on the set of a future Bond installment. And if underwater jet packs were powered by sexy, she'd be all the fuel you'd need.

3 of 7

Minka Kelly. She's not ready now. She's too popular, riding the success of Friday Night Lights and her romance with Yankees man-whore Derek Jeter. But she's smokin' like a heavy-duty smoke screen. And once NBC and DirecTV bail on FNL (sadly, it'll happen) and Jeter moves on to some Gossip Girl, Kelly will fade from our consciousness, grow up a little, maybe learn Italian, and boom! American's favorite cheerleader will be America's favorite spy-schtupper.

4 of 7

Penelope Cruz. Every once in a while, they've gotta toss in a well-known actress to see what happens. (See entry Berry, Halle). And why not Cruz? She's exotic, talented, and experienced handling big-ego actors. More importantly, she's as sneaky hot as a cigarette-lighter hand grenade.

5 of 7

Emmanuelle Béart. She's French. She can act. She's 45 – a little closer to Bond's age than our other entrants. Basically, she's the Aston Martin DBS V12 of women – sleek and stately and regal, and one rev of the engine away from making you wet yourself.

6 of 7

Charlotte Ayanna. A former Miss Teen USA, she's been in a bunch of movies you've never heard of (and played nothing roles in some movies you have). But she's a former foster child. So if she can channel that buried pain, Bond will totally want to save her from her troubled past, even if she is been charged with taking him out. More importantly, she expels hotness like a rocket-launching ghetto-blaster.

7 of 7

Sarah Wynter. With experience on 24, this Australian actress is no stranger to invincible-spy dramas. Yet she's still relatively unknown, and she has the strong, saucy look of a 007 Girl. Furthermore, she's so pretty that if you dated her briefly only to have her leave you for some Australian dude, you'd no doubt use your grappling suspenders to scale the side of the mountain, slit your wrists with a blade-equipped bowler hat, jet-pack into space, and then cut the jets and fall to your death. Or something like that.