Vanessa Kensington in Austin Powers: Who She Is and What Happens to Her

Vanessa Kensington is the woman the British Ministry of Defense assigns to help Austin Powers adjust after he is thawed out in 1997, and Elizabeth Hurley plays her. In the setup of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), directed by Jay Roach, she is the daughter of Austin's former partner, and her job is to guide a 1960s spy through a world that has changed around him.

Hurley is billed second in the first film, behind Mike Myers, who plays Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. The same film credits Mimi Rogers as Mrs. Kensington, billed fourth, so the Kensington name appears twice in the cast list. Vanessa is the straight woman of the story: she is the capable modern professional, and Austin is the man out of time. Picture a patient driver in the passenger seat of a very loud classic car, and you have the dynamic.

She returns in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), where Hurley is billed ninth, a clear sign the role shrinks. Hurley is not among the first 15 billed in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), which pairs Austin with Foxxy Cleopatra instead. For the full list of players, see the Austin Powers cast page, and for the lead role see the Austin Powers character profile.

Vanessa's main relationship is with Austin Powers, who is her partner on the job and then her husband. The first film moves them from colleagues who disagree to a married couple three months after the finale, with a stretch in Las Vegas where they pose as husband and wife during the case. If you are asking about Vanessa Kensington's husband, the answer is Austin, and the answer for Vanessa Kensington's partner is the same man.

The Kensington family is the second connection. She is the daughter of Austin's former partner, and Mimi Rogers appears in the first film as Mrs. Kensington. Vanessa is not Austin's daughter, which is a common mix up in searches.

Her enemies are Dr. Evil and his organization. She meets Number Two and Alotta Fagina in Las Vegas, Random Task captures her at Virtucon, and Dr. Evil's fembots are the foot soldiers of his plans. The twist in the second film ties her to the villain in the most direct way possible, because Austin learns that his new wife is a fembot built by Dr. Evil. See the Dr. Evil profile for the other side of that story, and the Felicity Shagwell profile for the partner who follows her.

My pick for her best stretch is the Las Vegas section of the first film, where Vanessa and Austin pose as a married couple. In my opinion, it is the cleanest example of what Hurley brings to the saga: she plays it straight while everyone around her goes big, and that restraint helps the jokes land.

Second, I would point to the escape from Virtucon. After Random Task captures them, the pair escape and Vanessa calls for reinforcements, and British forces then storm the lair while Austin disables Project Vulcan. If you want more on how the series plays with spy movie habits, the Austin Powers bond parody page covers it, and the films take their cue from the James Bond series.

Third, there is the fembot reveal that opens the sequel. In my opinion, it is the boldest creative choice in the series, because it removes the wife from the story at the very start. To see these scenes in context, start with Austin Powers International Man of Mystery, then watch the sequel, The Spy Who Shagged Me. A good next stop is the full list of Austin Powers characters.