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The spy who loved them

 
Published July 25, 2002|Updated Sept. 3, 2005

Crushed velvet suits and thick-rimmed glasses aside, women love Austin Powers. What is it that makes him so irresistible? Is it his unwavering self-confidence? His British accent and '60s slang? His magnificent mojo? Perhaps it's that beneath his hipster bravado, Austin remains "every bit a gentleman."

Whatever his secret, this man who put the "grrrr" in swinger has romanced quite a few leading ladies. Here's the lowdown on some prominent women from Austin's love life, as detailed in the films Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember, which opens today.

Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley)

Occupation: British Ministry of Defense secret agent

The scoop: Daughter of Austin's partner Mrs. Kensington (Mimi Rogers) from the 1960s, Vanessa was assigned in the first Austin Powers flick to indoctrinate the international man of mystery in modern culture after he was cryogenically stored for 30 years. Disgusted at first by his blunt come-ons, Vanessa fell in love and married Austin after foiling Dr. Evil's Project Vulcan plan in the first film. However, Vanessa was exposed as a fembot assassin early in the second film, then self-destructed.

Quote: "Mr. Powers, I would never have sex with you, ever! If you were the last man on Earth and I was the last woman on Earth, and the future of the human race depended on our having sex, simply for procreation, I still would not have sex with you."

(Austin's reply: "What's your point, Vanessa?")

Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham)

Occupation: CIA operative

The scoop: In The Spy Who Shagged Me, Austin partnered with Felicity after traveling backward in time to 1969 in pursuit of Dr. Evil. Felicity aspires to follow in Austin's footsteps and be an international woman of mystery, and in terms of libido, he may have finally met his match. Felicity never shirks her duties, even if it means having to seduce the likes of the grotesquely overweight spy Fat Bastard.

Quote: "Shagwell by name, shag-very-well by reputation."

Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles)

Occupation: Police detective

The scoop: In Goldmember, when Austin travels back in time to 1975 to stop the world-domination plans of Dr. Evil and Goldmember, he enlists the aid of this streetwise detective and old girlfriend, inspired by the blaxploitation movie roles of Pam Grier (Foxy Brown, Coffy).

Quote: "You have the right to remain sexy, sugar."

Ivana Humpalot (Kristen Johnston)

Occupation: Fashion model and assassin

The scoop: The statuesque Russian beauty posed for Austin in a photo layout (alongside Rebecca Romjin-Stamos) then took him home for a murder attempt. She surrendered to his mojo during a sensual chess match spoofing Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway in The Thomas Crown Affair.

Quote: "Make love to me, monkey man."

Alotta Fagina (Fabiana Udenio)

Occupation: Trophy companion of Dr. Evil's No. 2 (Robert Wagner) and sexy information gatherer.

The scoop: Alotta met Austin at a Las Vegas blackjack table in the first film, then lured him back to her hot-tub suite, where she succumbed to his charms.

Quote: "How dare you break wind before me?" (Austin's reply: "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was your turn.")

Mrs. Kensington (Mimi Rogers)

Occupation: Austin's original spy partner, seen briefly in the early minutes of the first film before Austin started time-tripping. The character is a spoof of Diana Rigg's Mrs. Emma Peel role in The Avengers TV series.

The scoop: Austin always had a crush on his colleague but was too gentlemanly to pursue her. Mrs. Kensington retired from secret service after Austin was cryogenically stored away.

Quote: Referring to Austin: "Men want to be like him, and women want to be with him."

Fembot No. 1 (Cindy Margolis)

Occupation: Leader of robotic assassins in pink lingerie.

The scoop: Created by No. 2 and Frau Farbissina during Dr. Evil's cold storage, they were sent into action when the adversaries thawed and Austin got too close.

Quote: Not much to say. The Fembots let their C-cup machine guns do most of their talking.

Robin Spitz Swallows (Gia Carides)

Occupation: Assassination decoy for Dr. Evil.

The scoop: Robin danced Austin into danger and became a human shield in part two, like Fiona (Luciana Paluzzi) did with Agent 007 in Thunderball. However, instead of taking one bullet like Fiona, Robin was knifed, bazooka'd, machine-gunned then used as a body cushion after she and Austin plunged from a high-rise window.

Quote: "Tell me, Mr. Powers: Do you swing?" (Austin's response: "Are you kidding, baby? I put the grrrr in swinger, baby.")