Long before babes in red swimsuits jiggled their way across TV screens on “Baywatch,” Mary Cathleen Collins caused men’s libidos to skyrocket by running down a beach in the 1979 film “10” to the strain of Ravel’s classic, “Bolero.”
The name change to Bo Derek? Courtesy of lover/mentor John Derek who married her when she was only 19 to his 49. Now Bo’s claim to fame was having her hair braided Jamaican style which sent women across the nation scurrying for rubber bands. Despite attempts to make her a star, John failed miserably: Bo earned a record number of Golden Raspberry Awards for lousy acting.
Some call Bo a one trick pony, but it’s her passion for horses that became her life’s work after John died following 22 years of marriage. She owns a barn-full of steeds, serves as an Animal Welfare Institute advocate and sits on the California Horse Racing Board. Rumor has it she’s tried braiding the manes and tails of her horses. That factoid comes straight from those horse’s mouths.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwC7-kHlDh4
There are quite a lot of Bo Derek nude scenes out there, courtesy of her obvious comfort with on-screen love-making and nudity. Like Susan Sarandon and other actresses of that era, she’s very much a free spirit. Our favorite Bo Derek movie in terms of hotness has to be Bolero and maybe Tarzan, the Ape Man.