One of the best received spy thriller franchisees is the one starring James Bond. Created by Ian Fleming James Bond has a penchant for special cigarettes, women and Martini apart from espionage. Even after 50 years of the first James Bond movie and 23 cinematic adaptations of the novels, the craze for the British spy with a magnetic personality hasn’t died down.

So far, 6 actors have played the titular role of James Bond, the most famous ones being Sean Connery and Pierre Brosnan. Not only have the novels been adapted for movies but also for television series and graphic novels. Fans of the franchisee are familiar with the on field exploits of the one with the license to kill. However, not many are familiar with his formative years.

These facts help to shed light on the less discussed past of 007.

Born to Andrew Bond of Glencoe and Monique Delacroix of Switzerland, James spent his formative years shuttling between an apartment in Chelsea and a house right outside Basel. He is half Swiss and half Scottish.

His tours of Switzerland and England had helped him master French, English and German. He also has basic proficiency in Russian and Japanese.

At the age of 11, he lost his parents in a climbing accident while they were holidaying in France. Thereafter, his guardianship was transferred upon his aunt Charmian, who lived in Kent.

He cleared the Common Entrance Exam to study in Eton College. However, due to an incident with the Boys’ Maids at Eton, he had to be removed from there. Instead, he was admitted to Fettes College, his father’s alma-mater.

At the age of 15, he developed a keen interest in golf and spent a lot of time in Royal St. Marks Golf Course and in Switzerland and Austria playing the sport.

Bond’s interest in golf has been borrowed from his creator Ian Fleming’s interest in the game. He has a handicap of 9, identical to Fleming.

At the age of 17, one of his father’s friends wrote a recommendation letter for him to join the Admiralty. He joined service shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.

During his stint in the Admiralty, he joined the Special Operations Executives which later on came to be known as Special Operations. He undertook several assignments overseas till his relocation to London in 1949. It was at this time he was given the code 007 and the license to kill.

The 00 prefix signifies that Bond is a spy of the highest order and is assigned the most high profile cases.

Bond is a chain smoker. He smokes up to 70 cigarettes in a day. He has a special blend, marked by 3 golden bands, which is manufactured by Morland’s.

As a suave dresser, he wears a black silk tie which is knitted unlike his writer who is fond of bow ties.

His indulgences include women and alcohol.

Despite the number of movies made on him, James Bond the womaniser and daring spy has never failed to attract attention even as of today.