Manuela is a fictional intelligence operative affiliated with the British Secret Service based at Station VH in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A supporting character and Bond girl, she appears in the 1979 James Bond film, Moonraker and is portrayed by Aruban actress Emily Bolton.

Biography

Manuela first appears when she is seen following James Bond in her white convertible car through the busy streets of Brazil. When Bond, traveling in the back of a Rolls-Royce from the airport to his hotel, notices her, she accelerates and drives past.

When Bond arrives at his suite, Manuela is already there preparing him a martini – shaken, not stirred. After a quick dialogue, she confirms that the C & W letters he found in Venice are the initials of a large distribution company in Rio, a subsidiary of Drax Industries. She then sits provocatively on the sofa, with the bottom open dress showing her legs. Bond approaches, sit down, and pulls the sting of her dress, undoing it, and the pair engage in sex.

In the evening, the two go to the store C & W in central Brazil, where there is a large carnival parade. Bond goes into the warehouse while Manuela waits outside to ensure nobody sees him. She and Bond are followed by Jaws, the henchman of villain Hugo Drax. Taking advantage of a moment when Manuela is alone in the alley next to the warehouse while Bond investigates the interior, Jaws appears dressed as a giant clown and tries to kill her by biting her in the neck with his steel teeth. Bond reappears and manages to save her by pushing the giant killer away, who ends up being taken in the middle of a group of revealers passing samba on the street.