Miss Moneypenny - Character Summary

Character Summary

Miss Moneypenny is the private secretary of M, the head of MI6. She holds the rank of Lieutenant RN, which is a prerequisite rank for this position. She is cleared for Top-Secret, Eyes-Only and Cabinet-Level intelligence reports, the latter of which she is often required to prepare, and in some cases present.

M's personal assistant is utterly dedicated to her work, which means she has little time for a social life. A close confidante of her boss, she also enjoys a flirtatious—though never consummated—relationship with James Bond, whom she understands perfectly.

Moneypenny was never given any backstory until the 2012 film Skyfall, when she was re-introduced to the series following the 2006 reboot of the series' continuity. Moneypenny, now played by Naomie Harris is originally a field agent assigned to work with Bond on an operation in Turkey that ends in disaster when she accidentally shoots Bond while Bond is fighting with a mercenary they are following. She is temporarily suspended over the incident, and reassigned to a desk job, assisting Gareth Mallory, the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee who has been assigned to watch over MI6. She later meets Bond in Macau and aids in locating an agent of Raoul Silva, the film's villain, before returning to London. While there, she takes part in a gunfight at a public inquiry into MI6, and decides to retire from fieldwork, instead becoming Mallory's secretary once he takes over the role of M.