Trivia

When producers for You Only Live Twice (1967) warned Mie that because she wasn't learning English quickly enough, she was going to be fired from the film, she solemnly told them that, because of her shame, she would then commit ritual suicide. Whether she was bluffing or not, the producers decided not to risk it, and instead that she switch roles with the other actress in the film Akiko Wakabayashi, since this role didn't require much dialogue.

Because of illness during filming, Mie Hama (as "Kissy Suzuki") was doubled in a diving scene (in You Only Live Twice (1967)) by, no less than, Diane Cilento - Sean Connery's wife at the time.

In 2017, she fondly recalled working with Sean Connery on You Only Live Twice (1967). She described him as a kindred spirit from a working-class background, who became a role model. He was a professional who was down to earth off camera, but who could magically turn into the dapper superspy at the shout of "Action!" She still respectfully calls him "Sean Connery-san." She said she now regrets not trying to speak with him more or get to know him. She never met him again after the movie's release.

When she was 40, she was driving through rural Japan. She came across an old farming village that was being torn down to build a dam. She yelled at her driver to pull over and was heartbroken to meet an old woman being forced out of her home. It became a turning point in Hama's life. She said, ""Japan was giving up its real self in its rush for economic development. I realized that Japan had to get back to its real self. And so did I." She became an advocate for preserving old farms and farming techniques.

She didn't realize what she had gotten herself into when she signed on to do the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967) until she had arrived in London, when someone from the studio demanded a look inside her suitcase. She obligingly opened it to reveal some T-shirts and bluejeans. The studio representative told her "You're a Bond girl now. The clothes you wear, the jewelry you put on, we will manage all of that." The next day, expensive dresses began appearing at her hotel room door.

She is the author of 14 books - on child-rearing, manners and self-discovery - that have proven enormously popular among women. In 2017, she released her book "Solitude Can Be a Wonderful Thing," where she encourages other women to live in a way that is true to themselves, even if others oppose it.

Has been called the Japanese Brigitte Bardot.

She promoted You Only Live Twice (1967) by appearing in Playboy, but she turned down Hollywood films because they were similar to what she had already played. She then appeared in only Japanese films. A few years later, she walked out of her contract with the Japanese studio Toho to marry and raise a family, telling dumbfounded executives that she wanted "a normal life.".

Was the first Asian actress to play the main James Bond girl in You Only Live Twice (1967). Thirty years later, Michelle Yeoh became the second Asian actress to play the main Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).

She thought the director, Lewis Gilbert, picked her for the main James Bond girl role in You Only Live Twice (1967) because he had seen King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963), a Japanese monster movie in which she had played Kong's love interest. She had never seen a James Bond film before and had no idea what a huge hit the franchise was.

Had actually appeared in almost 70 movies before she got married to 007 in You Only Live Twice (1967).

She became a television and radio host after she quit acting in films.

Her first name is pronounced "Mee-yay."

She married a television executive with whom she has four children.

Her home, made from century-old lumber that she collected from old farmhouses, is decorated like a museum of Japanese traditional crafts, with large pottery urns, stenciled fabrics and paintings of nearby Mt. Fuji on display. Absent is any poster, photograph or other hint of her prolific film career in Japan, or of her brief moment in the world limelight as the main James Bond girl in You Only Live Twice (1967). In 2017, she said she has stored them somewhere in the basement, because she doesn't like to dwell in the past.

Is the first non-Caucasian actress to play the main James Bond girl in You Only Live Twice (1967). The previous main James Bond girls were Caucasian: Ursula Andress in Dr. No (1962), Daniela Bianchi in From Russia with Love (1963), Honor Blackman in Goldfinger (1964), and Claudine Auger in Thunderball (1965) .

Even though, she played the main James Bond girl role in You Only Live Twice (1967), she actually doesn't show up until 1 hour and 19 minutes into the nearly 2 hour film.

She is a a connoisseur of folk art.

She was reputed to be the most photographed girl in Japan.

When she was 16 she was 5 foot 4 and a half inches which was tall by Japnese standards.

Holds the distinction of being the only actress in history to play roles that had her kiss James Bond, be carried by King Kong, and run from Godzilla. Additionally she's the only actress to appear in a stand-alone Kong film, a Godzilla & King Kong film, and a James Bond Film.

She was often described as Japan's Bridget Bardot,.