Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and James Bond's archenemy, first appearing in Ian Fleming's novel Thunderball. He is the mastermind behind the global criminal organization SPECTRE, seeking power and wealth through acts of terrorism and extortion. Blofeld's key appearances in the Bond novels are in Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and You Only Live Twice, forming what is often called the "Blofeld trilogy". In the novel Thunderball it is revealed that he was born in Gdingen, Imperial Germany (now Gdynia, Poland) on May 28, 1908, to a Polish father and a Greek mother, and his diverse background includes studies in political history, economics, and engineering, followed by a career in the Polish Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. He later became a master criminal, leading SPECTRE and orchestrating various plots against James Bond, and is shown to be a proficient master of disguise, radically altering his appearance with each subsequent encounter.
The most recurring antagonist in the franchise, Blofeld appears or is heard in three novels: Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service; and You Only Live Twice; as well as eight films from Eon Productions: From Russia with Love (1963), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), possibly For Your Eyes Only (1981; the pre-title sequence of which shows an unnamed character resembling Blofeld fall to his death), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). The latter two films are set in a rebooted continuity, which started with Casino Royale (2006). Blofeld also appears in Never Say Never Again (1983), a remake of Thunderball that was not produced by Eon.
Blofeld has been played on-screen by Donald Pleasence, Telly Savalas, Charles Gray, Max von Sydow and Christoph Waltz, among others. It was initially a convention of the films not to show Blofeld's face, only a close-up of his hands stroking his white, blue-eyed Persian cat. His face is revealed in You Only Live Twice when he introduces himself to Bond for the first time in person.
Many of Blofeld's characteristics have become tropes in popular fiction, representing the stock character of the criminal mastermind, with the stroking of his white cat often retained as a parodic allusion to Blofeld's character. This can be seen parodied in the Austin Powers film series with the character of Dr. Evil and his cat Mr. Bigglesworth, or in the animations Inspector Gadget, with the character of Dr. Claw and his pet M.A.D. Cat, Danger Mouse, with the character of Baron Silas Greenback, and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, where Feathers McGraw strokes a white seal pup.
