Irene retired following a career as the prima donna of the Imperial Opera of Warsaw, and is living in London. Publicly, Irene is known as a former actress.
However, Irene is secretly a courtesan to the rich and powerful. Irene had the royalty and nobility of many nations as clientele. In their world, Irene is known as "the woman". That is her other profession, her other face. Irene protects her own life by braving hold of those men's secrets as insurance. As a thief, it seems that Irene never made a mistake timing-wise.
After faking her death as Irene, she joined MI6 as "James Bond" and continues to live as a man.