Bo Derek is a multi-talented American model, actress, and film producer who became famous in the 80s. Bo was considered one of the most famous sex symbols in the 80s; she worked as a swimsuit and playboy model. Interestingly, she is also known as the former wife of John Derek, who was a famous American actor and film director. Her ex-husband was known for his work on Tarzan and Bolero, which helped to catapult Derek into the limelight. Learn more about the stunning actress below.
Bo Derek Biography
The leading actress was born on November 20, 1956, and named Mary Cathleen Collins. She grew up in Long Beach, California with her parents Paul Collins and his wife Norma Collins. Her father Paul Collins worked as an executive at Hobie Cat, while her mother worked as a make-up artist and hairdresser for Ann-Margret. When she was very young, her parents divorced and her mother married the American stuntman Bobby Bass, who became Derek’s stepfather.
As she grew up, Bo enrolled at Narbonne High School, where she spent several years before transferring to George S. Patton High School to complete her high school education. Unfortunately, young Bo and the aspiring model did not complete her high school education but dropped out to continue her acting career at the age of 16. She was inspired by the then Hollywood star John Derek, whom he married two years later.
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Her Acting Career and Rise to Prominence
Bo became an actress and had her first film appearance in 1977 in the movie Orca. There she played the role of Annie, and then in 1979, she played the lead role in the movie with title 10, for which she was put in the spotlight. Bo was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her outstanding performance in 10. Together with Anthony Hopkins, Bo starred in the 1980 film comedy A Change of Seasons.
The amazing actress made her breakthrough in 1981 when she played the role of Jane Parker in the box office hit Tarzan the Monkey Man. Bo won the Golden Raspberry Award for the worst actress in this film. She received the same award for her next two films, including Bolero 1984 and Ghosts Can Do It 1990.
In the 1990s, Bo Derek occasionally appeared in films like Christina Ford, Wind on Water, Hot Chocolate, and Beverly Barish-Burns Callahan, to name a few. Later she starred in a handful of films, including 5 Weddings, Highland Park, Crusaders, Queen of Swords, Family Law, 7th Heaven, The Last Haiando: It’s About Time and many others.
Net Worth: How Much is Bo Derek Worth?
The stunning actress has enjoyed enormous success since the beginning of her acting career. She has accumulated a lot of wealth from her acting career as well as from her career as a model and film producer. Her net worth currently amounts to $50 million. She earns her net worth through her acting career and other business ventures.
Who is Her Husband?
Bo Derek first fell in love with John Derek when she was sixteen years old. At that time John was 30 years older than Bo, and he was married to an actress named Linda Evans. But it didn’t take long until John divorced his wife so that he could be together with Bo. Regardless of the fact that Bo was a minor, the duo moved to Germany, where they got married immediately after their 18th birthday. They married on their 18th birthday. In 1976 they exchanged their marriage vows at a small wedding.
Her husband John was a famous film director, actor, and photographer. He helped Bo gain a foothold in the film industry in the early days of her career. John directed several films, including Nightmare in the Sun, Once Before I Die, Tarzan, The Monkey Man, and many others. As an actor, John has also appeared in as many films as Run for Cover, Prisoner of the Volga, and Rogues of the Sherwood Forest, and others. He also worked as a photographer for Bo and his two other wives in Playboy magazine.
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The marriage of Bo and John Derek flourished for over 22 years until his death in 1998. Although they had no children, they were certainly partners for life. John Derek reportedly died of a heart attack in May 1998 and was 71 years old at the time of his death.
Two years after his death, however, Bo began a new relationship with an actor named John Corbett, and the couple still lives together in California today. Their relationship has lasted for over sixteen years. Although they have not yet entered into marriage, the couple still lives happily together.
Family Facts
- Bo Derek was married to John Derek at the age of 18.
- The couple lived together for so many years until his death in 1998
- Bo’s marriage to John Derek was her first, while for Derek it was the fourth.
- At the time of their marriage, Bo was thirty years younger than her former husband.
- They had no children in their marriage.
- She has been with John Corbett since 2002.
