Last year, Nolan was cast in a small role in Edgar Wright's forthcoming Last Night in Soho, and the director lauded her work on Twitter upon learning the news of her death. Wright called her "the middle of Venn diagram of everything cool in the '60s; having appeared with the Beatles, been beyond iconic in Bond and been part of the Carry On cast too."
"She was so funny, sharp and, as you might imagine, full of the most amazing stories," Wright continued. "I'm so glad I got to know her. My heart goes out to her family and all that loved her. She will be much missed."
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea responded to Wright's thread, recalling how the "awesome" actress "tripped me out in Bond when I was a kid."
Nolan was born in Somerset, England, in 1943 and grew up in London. She began her career as a glamour model, going by the name Vicky Kennedy in the early '60s ahead of switching back to her birth name once she began acting.
Following roles in a series of short films, Nolan's first part in a feature film came with 1964 British comedy-drama Saturday Night Out. The year proved to be a fruitful one for the actress, landing roles in the Beatles' A Hard Days Night, The Beauty Jungle and Bond film Goldfinger.
Goldfinger saw Nolan play the role of Dink, Bond's masseuse, in addition to the gold-painted model featured in the film's opening title sequence, on film posters, soundtrack records and books. She would turn down further promo opportunities as the golden model to continue her acting career.
Following her involvement in Goldfinger, Nolan had roles in Gerry and the Pacemakers' musical film Ferry Cross the Mersey and Marcel Carné's Three Rooms in Manhattan in 1965. The 1970s saw her act in five instalments of the Carry On film series, in addition to Spike Milligan's Q series and English television shows including Budgie and Steptoe and Son.
Nolan left the industry in the mid-'80s and moved to Spain to raise a family and pursue visual art, piecing together work using her her early publicity photographs. She would return to the screen in 2011 with a role in Yvonne Deutschman's The Power of Three.
She was the gold painted model in the iconic Goldfinger title sequence and poster (she also played Dink in the movie), she appeared in the classic A Hard Day's Night, Carry On Girls, No Sex Please We're British & many others, frequently sending up her own glamourpuss image. 2/4 pic.twitter.com/RyUs7fS6P7
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) October 11, 2020
She also appeared in five Spike Milligan Q series, Steptoe & Son, The Likely Lads, Morecambe & Wise and The Sweeney. She became deeply involved in political theatre and more recently created visual art; deconstructed her own glamour modelling in a series of photomontages. 3/4 pic.twitter.com/T0Q9qn8LIl
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) October 11, 2020
I worked with her last year as she plays a small role in Last Night In Soho. She was so funny, sharp and, as you might imagine, full of the most amazing stories. I'm so glad I got to know her. My heart goes out to her family and all that loved her. She will be much missed. 4/4 pic.twitter.com/6NpGYcHIgJ
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) October 11, 2020
NB. She's also the lone bright and funny spot in the very strange rock comedy 'Toomorrow'. I told her earlier in the year that I had tracked down a copy and she was very bemused that I had bothered to watch it.
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) October 11, 2020
Ahhhhh she was awesome. ❤️❤️❤️ tripped me out in bond when I was a kid
— Flea (@flea333) October 11, 2020