70s Sex Symbol Bo Derek: “I Objectified Myself"
Actress and model Bo Derek in the movie “10.″ (Photo: Getty Images).
If one woman took the role of superbabe and ran with it, it was actress Bo Derek. The image of her running on the beach in the 1979 movie “10” is one of the most iconic movie moments ever. Blonde, curvy, and gorgeous, Derek was known across the globe. She admits that she had no problem using her beauty as a commodity at the time. “I’m not complaining,” Derek told CBS news. “What I did as soon as I became famous is, I objectified myself. I thought, ‘Well, if this is what it is, I’m going to do it.’"
In the early 80s, Derek gave fans what they wanted, often by taking off her clothes. She posed nude for Playboy in 1980 and 1981. She followed up the success of 10, with Tarzan the Ape Man. It was the 15th largest grossing film in 1981, most likely related to Derek’s frequent nudity in the film. Her husband John Derek (who left Linda Evans for her despite their 30-year age difference) directed most of her films, happy to exploit his wife’s best assets. Their 1985 film Bolero, featured Derek as a virgin on a round-the-world quest for a lover, it received an X-rating. Derek admits that she didn’t try to prove that she was a serious actress or have the masses avert their eyes. "I created my own posters, I made my own movies. I produced them. Maybe I could’ve gone out to prove, 'Oh, I’m a real actress, I’m not a physical being.’ But I pretty much exploited myself, too, at the same time.”
Now 58, Derek is opening up about what it’s really like to get older as a sex symbol. "Aging is really hard,” she told CBS news. “And it’s tough. Bette Davis was right; it’s not for sissies, it really isn’t.”
In a culture of plastic surgery, Derek says she is damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t. "There is a certain expectation. I get credit on one hand for not having had a facelift, and then on the other hand it’s, 'Oh my God, why doesn’t she do something?’ So you’re just torn. I just have to keep busy, have other interests, and try not to think about it.”
Bo Derek at an event. (Photo: Getty Images).
But don’t feel too sorry for Derek. Whatever she has been doing, is keeping her looking as gorgeous as ever. She lives on a 100-acre ranch in California with her horses and her boyfriend of 13 years, Sex and the City actor John Corbett. This summer she’s one of the stars of the campy TV sensation Sharknado 3. Clearly having to focus elsewhere beyond her looks has been something of a relief. “I realize how artificial it is, beauty,” Derek stated. “I realize that it doesn’t last forever, that’s for damn sure.”
Related:
Molly Ringwald at 47: The Teen Icon Looks Back
Model Carol Alt On Raw Food, Studio 54, and Her 700 Magazine Covers
