When Bo Derek was just 16 years old, she met a mysterious man who would transform her from an aimless surfer girl to a startling Hollywood sensation.
1. She Was The Best And The Worst
Bo Derek made a name for herself in Hollywood as a siren of beauty. Her acting was only so-so, but when paired with her husband’s schlocky writing and directing, there was a perfect storm of bad filmmaking. The people at the Golden Raspberry Awards honored her with seven nominations—one was even for worst actress of the century. Ouch.
While much of her life was marked by her time with a controlling and untalented husband at her side, Derek’s story is actually a roller-coaster ride from start to finish.
2. She Was Missing
Bo Derek was born Mary Cathleen Collins on November 20, 1956, in Long Beach, California. It was a kind of perfect California childhood as dad worked for a boat manufacturer, and mom was a make-up artist for the stars. But when the cat is away, the mouse will play.
When Derek should’ve been in school, she was busy getting into other things. In fact, for a full month, she went AWOL from high school, and no one knew where she was.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
3. She Had No Ambition
Instead of attending school, Bo Derek just spent her days at the beach. She just wanted to surf all day, and the only future she saw for herself was working in a surf shop. Back at home, Derek’s mom and dad had divorced, and mom was now with stuntman extraordinaire Bobby Bass. Also, one of Mom’s clients was Ann-Margret, and the Bye Bye Birdie star saw something in little Mary Collins.
Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock
4. She Took A Trip
Ann-Margret introduced her to a talent agent who in turn lined her up for her first audition. This was with director John Derek, and the film was Once Upon A Love. A 16-year-old Derek landed the role and was soon off to Greece to film it. If you think a 16-year-old girl going off to an exotic island with a 46-year-old filmmaker is a red flag, you're absolutely right.
Movie studio, Wikimedia Commons
5. He Was A Scoundrel
Young Mary had stumbled into a heck of a lucky break and it seemed like she could be staring down a career as a movie star—but she was in way over head. For one, there was the scandalous way John Derek was financing the film. You see, he had a beautiful actress wife—Dynasty’s Linda Evans—and he convinced her to pose without clothes on. John used the money from these photos to make the film.
If this seems a little creepy, just wait and see what happened next.
McFadden, Strauss, Eddy & Irwin, Wikimedia Commons
6. She Took It Off
So, Evans was financing her husband’s trip to Greece with a 16-year-old beauty. What was even more sordid is the subject matter of the film. Once Upon A Love is about a young girl coming of age and falling in love with her own adopted brother. The film is full of shots of Derek in her birthday suit, even though she was just a teenager at the time.
Sadly, this was not the worst thing that happened in Greece.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
7. She Was Easily Impressed
While filming Once Upon A Love, the 46-year-old director found himself falling for his teenage star, even though his wife was there in Greece with them. Derek was young and easily impressed, and she returned John Derek’s affection. The thing was, this wasn’t the first time this had happened to John Derek.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
8. He Had A Bad Habit
The teenaged star-to-be was falling hard for John Derek—but she didn’t know his dark history. Back when John Derek had been with his first wife, he met a 19-year-old Ursula Andress. Even though they had no common language, John fell in love and dumped his entire family to get together with Andress—who would go on to become a Bond girl.
It seemed that John Derek had a pattern, and Bo Derek would have to be careful not to end up like the others. But she was just a teenager, and she had no thoughts of being careful.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
9. They Weren’t Discrete
Bo and John weren’t careful, and soon it became pretty clear to Evans what was happening. Evans wisely left Greece, and on Christmas Day she announced the end of the marriage. Now Bo and John were free to pursue their relationship. Of course, there was still the 30-year age gap to worry about.
But it wasn’t just the 30 years that was the problem. There was something even worse.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
10. It Was Creepy
Not only was the relationship between Bo and John Derek creepy, it was actually against the law. So, instead of returning to the States, they decided to stay in Europe where their relationship was not breaking any laws. But Derek was forgetting something. She still hadn’t finished high school.
Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
11. She Dropped Out
Bo Derek decided that living with her older boyfriend in Europe was all the education she needed. She dropped out of high school and started living like an adult. This would prove to be a big mistake. Years later, a very naughty David Letterman would torment her on his show for not even remembering the name of the school she went to.
But Derek was not looking that far into the future. She was a teenager in love and nothing was going to get in her way—but then, someone did.
Chad J. McNeeley, Wikimedia Commons
12. His Plan Failed
Derek’s agent wanted his client to have a chance at a career and a life, and he thought this couldn’t happen while she was with John. His plan was a simple one. He said that when John Derek returned to the US, he would charge him with sleeping with a minor. Once Bo and John got wind of this plan, they decided they needed to do something drastic.
Frantogian, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
13. They Had Nothing
To prevent Derek’s agent from ruining them, Bo and John Derek decided to stay in Germany even longer. While there, their goal was to edit Once Upon A Love. This worked for a while until the funding for the film ran dry. And then things got worse. The film lab in Germany—angry about the lack of payment—took the movie and locked it up.
It was a heartbreaking twist considering all the work they’d put in—but now they had a chance for a normal life, since Derek had turned 18 in the interim. The couple was still nervous about returning to America, so they devised a plan to get home safely.
14. He Was Afraid
When it was time to finally get back to America, John Derek was afraid. His worst-case scenario was that there would be authorities waiting for him at the airport to charge him for living with a minor back in Germany. To avoid this, John put Bo on an airplane to America, and he got on another one headed for somewhere else.
It was a desperate and risky plan.
15. She Took His Name
John Derek’s plane took him to Mexico and he had no problems entering the US from there. The two lovebirds were together again. Derek was now 18 and ready for marriage and on June 10, 1976, they tied the knot. Derek took her husband’s name and officially became Bo Derek.
Now that she was legally Mrs Derek, she had some things to adjust to.
16. She Was Part Of A Set
Derek quickly discovered that there was something odd about her new husband. John’s past wives, Ursula Andress and Linda Evens were both striking blondes, and he seemed to take an immense amount of pride in this. He was so proud that he often forgot to mention his first wife. This was brunette Pati Behrs.
Another thing about John Derek was that he came with some baggage.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
17. She Had Kids
One thing that John brought to his marriage to Derek was his kids. His children were both from his first marriage, and their names were Russell Derek and Sean Catherine Derek. The surprising part? While Bo Derek was the new stepmother of these children, they were actually both older than her.
Once Derek had figured out her new complicated home life, she had to start thinking about her career.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
18. She Was In A Disaster
Bo Derek’s first acting experience was on her husband’s Once Upon A Love, but her whole career had become stalled when it got locked up in Germany. So, Derek moved on and looked for another part. Her first released film ended up being directed by Michael Anderson. While Anderson was an Academy Award-winning director, his 1977 film Orca was a complete disaster.
Famous Films (II), Orca (1977)
19. She Started Small
Many easily saw Orca for what it was: a mediocre film riding on the coattails of the very popular Jaws. There are some respected actors on board—Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling—but they don’t elevate the material. Derek has a small role that culminates in the whale biting off her leg. Orca did okay at the box office, but the critics panned it.
Next, Derek went from working underwater to working underground.
Famous Films (II), Orca (1977)
20. She Wasn’t Squeamish
Meanwhile, Derek’s husband John was making another movie—but this time, he didn’t want her in it. This was a film called Love You, and it was one of those films you rent from that little room at the back of the video store. Derek wasn’t squeamish though. She was onboard as the producer on this film and was on set daily to help in any way she could.
It looked like Derek would quietly disappear from movies, and then something astonishing happened.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
21. She Was Perfect
In 1979, Breakfast at Tiffany’s director Blake Edwards was shopping around his idea for a film called 10. The entire premise of the film depended on finding a woman so beautiful that a man would do anything to have her. Edwards considered Melanie Griffith, Heather Thomas, and Tanya Roberts for the role, but none of them had what he wanted.
That’s when Bo Derek walked in.
G. K. Austin, Wikimedia Commons
22. She Was Good Enough
The first words that Derek said to Edwards were: “I’m sorry about wasting your time”. But Edwards and his co-producer were so excited about Bo Derek’s amazing looks that they were simply hoping that she could also act—even just a little. The tension was running high at her audition as Derek opened her mouth and read her first lines as Jenny Hanley.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
23. She Had Deja Vu
As it turned out, Bo Derek could act well enough, and Edwards had found his perfect 10. In fact, Derek was uniquely prepared for the role. In the film, her character has a romance with a guy who is 20 years older than her. Well, that was nothing compared to the 30 years between her and her husband.
As it turned out, it wasn’t the script that drew Derek to the film—it was something completely different.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
24. She Stayed True
It seemed that Bo Derek didn’t care much about the script, the director, or even her co-stars Dudley Moore and Julie Andrews. Derek stayed true to her beach bum roots and said she was more excited that they were filming in Mexico than anything else. She thought shooting 10 would be a fun time at the beach and didn’t have high expectations about the result.
To make sure she stood out in 10, Derek made a stop at hair and makeup that would change her life forever.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
25. She Had A Unique Hairstyle
To make Bo Derek look really unique in 10, the hair and makeup department made a bold choice. They put Derek in cornrows. This intricate design apparently took the work of two women and 10 hours to create. Little did Derek know that this hairstyle would become a lifelong defining feature.
Geoffrey Productions, 10 (Film 1979)
26. She Did Her Best
10 was not even in theaters yet when Derek started working on her next film. This was A Change of Seasons and it had big potential, as her co-stars were Shirley MacLaine and Sir Anthony Hopkins. While there was some trouble on the set—they replaced the director and the two leads didn’t get along—Derek just quietly did her job to the best of her ability.
A Change of Seasons wasn’t quite finished when 10 hit theaters. Suddenly everything changed.
20 Century Fox, A Change of Seasons (1980)
27. She Got A Nod
10 went on to wow audiences and it even got Bo Derek some attention for her acting. Back then, the Golden Globes handed over statues for New Star of the Year. Past recipients included Mia Farrow, Diana Ross, and John Derek’s ex-wife Ursula Andress. In 1979, Derek received a nomination for her work in 10. But the competition was stacked. In the end, she lost out to Bette Midler for The Rose.
Losing didn’t matter, as audiences were going crazy for Derek. The people making A Change of Seasons knew they had to do something, and they knew they had to act quickly.
20 Century Fox, A Change of Seasons (1980)
28. They Threw Her In
Suddenly the producers of A Change of Seasons realized that they had a huge star on their hands and, of course, they wanted to exploit that. They had already finished filming the movie—but that doesn’t stop a Hollywood producer in search of box office gold. They got Derek and Hopkins back on set and threw them both in a hot tub for a love scene.
Sadly, this could not save A Change of Seasons.
20 Century Fox, A Change of Seasons (1980)
29. She Missed Out
Critics didn’t like A Change of Seasons one little bit. Just like Orca seemed to be a rip off of Jaws, they saw this film as a pale copy of the more popular Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. And the timing couldn’t have been worse. This was also the year that the people of the Golden Raspberry began handing out awards for the worst in film. A Change of Seasons received three nominations, but Derek herself managed to elude the humiliating nod.
People quickly forgot about A Change of Seasons, but they couldn’t seem to forget about something else about Derek.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
30. She Got A Big Thank You
Moviegoers could not seem to forget about Derek’s cornrows in 10. Years later, Derek would get a lot of criticism for the cornrows—some even calling her a culture vulture. But some Black women applauded her hair choice. One woman stopped her on the street and thanked her. She said that because of Derek, her boss was more lenient about the hairstyle.
On the other hand, this decade-defining hair choice made life difficult for one woman.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
31. She Didn’t Help
American Airlines had forbidden an employee to wear cornrows at work because they were unprofessional. The employee—Renee Rogers—was black and sued the airline for not letting her express her culture. A New York City court ended up involving Derek in the whole mess—and rejected the case since she’d worn the same style in 10. And her involuntary involvement didn’t end there, either.
Famous Films (II), Orca (1977)
32. She Gave The Thumbs Up
Melanie Griffith, who had almost got Derek’s role in 10, decided many years later that she wanted to try out corn-rows for herself. I guess she felt self-conscious, and so she turned to Bo Derek to get permission to wear the hairstyle that Derek had made famous. Derek gave Griffith the okay—but also said that she did not own the hairstyle.
Derek now had a hairstyle and a popular movie under her belt. But there was trouble looming on the horizon.
33. It Came Back To Haunt Her
Derek’s first film, Once Upon a Love, was still locked up in a safe in Germany. But now that Derek had a huge fan following the original producer of the film paid to get it out. There was just one problem. Bo and John didn’t want it to come out. They tried, but could not stop, the producer from releasing the film.
It came out under the racy title Fantasies and it certainly was an embarrassment. The Dereks had to act fast to revive their careers. What they did next was no help at all.
Klemperer-Arnow Films, Fantasies (1981)
34. She Went Ape
John Derek needed to distance his wife from the embarrassment of Fantasies—and, for some reason, he thought the best way to showcase his wife's talents would be to put her in a Tarzan movie. The thing was, John Derek wanted a starring role for Bo, so he changed the story to be more about the daughter of the man who discovers Tarzan.
The result was Tarzan The Ape Man, and it very quickly turned into a heap of trouble.
MGM, Tarzan The Ape Man (1981)
35. She Was The Object Of Their Affection
Some of the problems on Tarzan The Ape Man involved the animals used for the film—and bizarre stories began to come out about the set. They claimed that the animals seemed to be in love with Bo Derek. There were reports that CJ the Orangutan fell in love with her, and so did an African lion named Neal. In the latter instance, Neal got loose from his pen and terrifyingly rushed in to protect Derek from the man playing Tarzan.
Maybe the person Derek needed protection from was her own husband.
MGM, Tarzan The Ape Man (1981)
36. She Went Too Far
Like most of John Derek’s movies, Tarzan The Ape Man was going to be racy. Derek is often without clothes and in one scene a chimpanzee kisses one of Derek’s nipples. When the owners of the original Tarzan story heard about what was going on, they had something to say about it. They wanted the production halted, and they also wanted no one to ever see Tarzan The Ape Man.
MGM, Tarzan The Ape Man (1981)
37. She Threw Her Weight Around
While the estate of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs could not stop the film, they did get three minutes of the racier material removed from the final reel. Tarzan The Ape Man had been an arduous shoot, during which Bo Derek had fired no less than 15 crew members for various reasons. It was now time for audiences and critics to get a look at the film.
Derek’s career depended on it being a hit.
MGM, Tarzan The Ape Man (1981)
38. They Put It On A List
Critics hated Tarzan The Ape Man and some even went as far as to put it on the list of the “worst movies ever made”. One critic said it was “directed without a shred of talent by John Derek”. Bo Derek fans, on the other hand, went to see the film in droves. Its opening weekend brought in over $6 million, and the top spot that weekend.
When it came time for the Golden Raspberry Awards, the Dereks were likely shaking in their boots.
MGM, Tarzan The Ape Man (1981)
39. She Took Home A Trophy
While Derek narrowly avoided a Golden Raspberry Award for A Change of Seasons, she didn’t escape their wrath here. Tarzan The Ape Man received six Golden Raspberry nominations—including worst picture, director, actor, new star, and screenplay—but it was only Derek who won for the worst actress. Surely, Derek would finally realize that she needed a new director for her next film.
Nope, she joined with her husband again, and the results were equally horrific.
Toglenn, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
40. She Revisited A Song
Back when Derek made 10, playing in the background of her love scenes was a song called “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel. The composition, despite its composer’s assertions that the beat is mechanical, was often associated with having racy undertones—matching the rhythms of lovemaking. Bo and John decided to capitalize on this association by putting Derek in a film called Bolero.
But there was something weird about this film.
41. It Was About Her Name
The title Bolero didn’t actually come from the song, although I’m sure Bo and John Derek hoped the audience would make the connection. The title seems to come from the name Bo and the fact that Derek’s character wears a bolero-style hat in the film. Not quite a premise that stands on its own.
But there’s another not-so-funny fact about Bolero. It seemed that Derek’s husband was starting to repeat some horrendous past behavior.
42. He Found Someone Younger
Remember how John Derek put Bo in a racy film back when she was still a teenager? Well, in Bolero, he made an even more twisted move. John Derek hired Olivia D’Abo, who was just 14 at the time. John had met her when she was 13, made sure she was okay with acting with no clothes on, and then hired her on the spot.
I wouldn’t blame Derek for wondering if D’Abo was going to replace her. As it turned out, Derek had more to worry about than her husband replacing her with a younger model.
43. She Was Too Spicy
As far as we know, Derek’s husband did not hook up with D’Abo, but Bolero ended up with its own handful of problems. You see it was very racy stuff, and the Dereks had to deal with the censors. In the end, they released the film unrated, as it was even too racy for an R rating. That’s when rumors started that the bedroom scenes in Bolero were the real thing.
Rumors like this would usually help enormously with the box office, but that didn’t quite happen.
Greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
44. She Received Dubious Honors
Bolero was a critical and office disaster and received nine Golden Raspberry nominations. Derek won the award for the worst actress, but Bolero didn’t quit there. She also took home a trophy for Worst Actress of the Decade for both Bolero and Tarzan the Ape Man. To top it off, the film also tanked at the box office.
It seemed that every film that Derek made with her husband was a disaster. It made fans wonder what her career could’ve been with another, more talented, director.
Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock
45. She Said No To Some Hits
Bo Derek was certainly committed to working with her husband, but without him, her career could have gone a different way. She turned down various roles including The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! and a role in a Bond Film—A View to a Kill. She also said no to the 1976 remake of King Kong, the film that launched Jessica Lange’s career.
Not only did John Derek possibly ruin Bo’s career, he also caused her mental anguish.
46. She Felt Guilty
Remember, John Derek heartlessly dumped his wife, Linda Evans, to be with Derek. But Evans wasn’t the only one who dealt with heartbreak. Bo Derek said that she felt immense guilt for what happened to Evans. She even called Evans “a beautiful human”. A surprise came when Evans agreed to participate in the In My Own Words episode about Derek.
It seems that Evans knew where to cast the blame for what happened to her. But was John Derek all bad? Not according to Bo.
Linda Bisset, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
47. He Protected Her
When Bo Derek looks back at her career, she says she’s lucky she didn’t have to face any lecherous producers like so many actresses did. She said most of the bad guys were afraid of her husband, who had a reputation for being quite physical. She also knew how to protect herself—according to her, her mother had taught her how to kick a guy where it counts.
Derek had spent almost her entire life with one man, so living without him was certainly going to be a challenge.
48. She Was Suddenly Alone
In 1998, Bo Derek had to face her worst nightmare. John Derek—the man she’d been with since she was just 16—passed due to heart failure. Their marriage had lasted an astonishing 22 years, and she had no intention of finding a replacement. She was ready to live out her life as a single woman, and then one phone call changed everything forever.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
49. She Got Set Up
In 2002, Derek got set up on a blind date. This was no ordinary set up, as Sex and the City hunk John Corbett was in desperate need of someone on his arm for the Academy Awards ceremony. A mutual friend set him up with Derek. For Corbett, he was about to meet a woman he’d probably only seen in a few saucy movies.
This date had the potential to be an epic failure.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
50. They Watch Movies
When Derek met Corbett—who was five years her junior—sparks flew. After a lengthy period of dating, the two tied the knot in 2020. They now live together on a ranch with five horses and three German Shepherds. In the evenings, they mostly watch movies together, but not her movies.
She does, however, make an exception for 10. She can bear to watch her career-defining film because, as she puts it, she’s “hardly in the movie”.
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