Stephanie Sigman in ‘Spectre’: 5 things to know about new Bond girl

The name is Sigman, Stephanie Sigman. Although she may not have the name recognition of a certain secret agent, the 28-year-old Mexican actress certainly saw her profile raised Tuesday, when the filmmakers behind the upcoming James Bond adventure “Spectre” announced her addition to the cast. Here are a few things to know about Sigman.

No stranger to danger

Sigman is best known for starring in “Miss Bala,” Gerardo Naranjo’s 2011 thriller about an aspiring beauty queen in Tijuana who gets caught up with a drug lord after a nightclub shootout. In a review for The Times, film critic Betsy Sharkey said Sigman delivered “a haunting performance … as unnerving as it is mesmerizing.”

Sigman’s other credits include the FX series “The Bridge,” the Norwegian thriller “Pioneer” and the upcoming Netflix series “Narcos.”

Star quality

Details have yet to be revealed about Sigman’s “Spectre” character, other than her name, Estrella (“star” in Spanish).

Indeed, much about the film’s plot and characters are veiled in secrecy. We do know that the movie will find Bond (Daniel Craig) working to uncover a sinister organization (SPECTRE, presumably), and it’s a good bet that Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) will be the one making things difficult for him along the way.

Franchise first

Sigman is the first Mexican actress to portray a Bond girl — or “Bond lady,” as director Sam Mendes prefers to call them. In “Spectre,” Sigman joins Italian actress Monica Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra and French actress Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann.

Sigman isn’t the first actress of Latin American descent to appear in the Bond franchise, though: Nicaraguan American actress Barbara Carrera appeared as Fatima Blush in 1984’s “Never Say Never Again.”

Model citizen

Before studying acting at a Mexico City drama school, Sigman spent a few years working as a fashion model. In 2012, she told W magazine, “I enjoyed modeling so much. But since I’ve become an actress, I’ve lived other experiences. It’s more internal. And it’s a passion.”

Sacrificial lamb?

For all of Agent 007’s charms, he’s not the safest guy to associate with, as many of his allies and love interests end up dead. The tally for the previous three Bond movies starring Craig stands at four Bond ladies, one longtime friend and one MI6 colleague.

As mentioned above, intel on Estrella is in short supply, but that hasn’t stopped some fans from speculating that she could end up as one of the Bond franchise’s next sacrificial lambs. Either way, her fate will be revealed Nov. 6, when “Spectre” hits theaters.

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