CBS Sunday Morning had a nice profile and interview with Bo Derek ahead of her upcoming cameo in Sharknado 3. She plays Tara Reid’s mother, and Bo is aware that it’s not high art and that it “wasn’t really acting“. Bo, 58, is best known for her sexpot image in films in the late 70s and even through the 90s. She shot to fame after marrying director John Derek, 30 years her senior, when she was just 18. Bo and John met when she was just 16 and he was married to actress Linda Evans. The two moved to Germany until Bo became of age so that they could avoid being prosecuted until statutory rape laws in the US. They stayed together for over 20 years until John’s death of heart failure in 1998.
Now Bo keeps busy tending to her four horses on her 110 acre ranch, which she shares with her boyfriend of 13 years, actor John Corbett, 54. She’s an animal welfare activist, she works closely with wounded veterans groups, and she goes on USO tours. I really liked what she had to say about aging and beauty, and how it’s not something you can focus too much on.
“Where you aware at the time that a lot of people viewed [your relationship with John Derek] as inappropriate?”
Yeah [laughs]. My mom went crazy… she went ballistic. When you’re 17 you think you know everything. You think you have it together.“Why do you think that marriage worked?”
Why does any marriage work? For me, our marriage worked because I loved him, he loved me. Although he was 46 he was still growing too. I think we took it day to day, we didn’t expect it to last either.On her sexy image during the height of her career
I’m not complaining because 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.’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.
“Was your beauty a commodity to you or was it really your identity?”
Commodity, and I’ve nothing to do with it. I have my mom’s eyes, my father’s nose. I have nothing to do with any of that!On beauty and aging
I realize how artificial it is, beauty. I realize that it doesn’t last forever, that’s for damn sure.“But when you’re so well-known for how you look, is aging hard?”
Aging is really hard and it’s tough. Bette Davis was right; it’s not for sissies, it really isn’t.And 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.
It must be a bitch to grow old in Hollywood, especially when you live in California, where it seems like everyone get work done. Bo has a great outlook though. She looks incredible and she also looks natural and normal. It’s hard to believe she hasn’t had anything done, but I think that’s the skeptic in me talking. Plastic surgery and injectables are the new normal for so many people.
I’m glad to hear that Bo and John Corbett are still together. They make a really cute couple and it looks like they have fun together. It’s nice to hear from her and to learn that she’s doing well.
photo credit: Getty Images and WENN.com
Aw John Corbett! I didn’t realize he was 54…he looks good.
Awww…Aidan. Who couldn’t possibly love Aidan?? I’ll always love John Corbett. They are a cute couple. She looks beautiful.
When I look at him I just see his Northern Exposure character Chris. I’ll always love that show (especially the first season).
Oh! Northern Exposure – what a terrific show. A wonderful cast of characters.
oh, yeah, I loved that show too. And I really liked him as Aiden in SATC
On the one hand, a man in his 40s pursuing a teenager is wildly creepy and inappropriate. But they made it work, so…good for her? How do we reconcile that?
I was thinking about that too. Part of me was totally “wow, good for them”, but then at the same time, “how disgusting is that man that he ran away with a young girl so as to avoid prosecution …”
John Derek was something of a Svengali. He was married at the time to Linda Evans yet somehow she stepped aside gracefully to allow John to marry Bo.
Derek was originally married to Ursula Andress. He moved on to Linda Evans and then to Bo Derek. The similarities between the women is jarring as both Evans and Bo seemed younger versions of their predecessors. You’re right about the Svengali thing, and yet he remained on excellent terms with both Andress and Evans after he and Bo got married. I’m pretty sure I saw pics of the four of them together back in the day.
I have to wonder why Bo turned out so well? She looks beautiful and seems happy and fulfilled.
I guess not all father figures are demeaning, so John was likely a father figure but built her self-esteem. (Still not my cuppa tea).
If you put Bo’s picture when she was young next to Linda Evan’s picture when she was young, you would be even more creeped out. Bo was definitely the younger version of Linda. You hear the bad joke about the man trading in his wife for a newer model? Uh huh. They made it work, but it’s still gross and creepy.
I agree. I think John Derek was a shallow, heartless jerk who preyed on a young girl and cared about nothing but her beauty and his desire to make her famous. I think it “worked” because she wanted to be famous and he controlled the show. She could never act – she was awful. Her movies were embarrassing. I have never thought much of either of them.
Linda and Bo look exactly alike. Bo looks like Linda circa Dynasty.
if you think it’s “gross and creepy”, just don’t do it. t’s so childish to be “offended” by other people’s choices.
No, it is not childish to dislike people’s choices, especially if they are praying on minors and treating marriage as if it is something to discard like an old laptop. John Derek’s actions were nowhere near admiral and nothing wrong with speaking out against them.
@maria1981
I disagree. She was only 17. He brought he into his home, pretending to her and to his wife that he wanted to be her mentor, all the while grooming her for a sexual relationship. That’s predatory behavior, and it’s illegal. If it doesn’t offend you, I think that makes you callous, not mature.
oh, gosh. thank you, maria1981. finally, a voice of reason … so many people here that are always so incredibly “disgusted” “grossed out” and what do i know by relationships with age gaps… and bo could’ve also been older … as long as there’s an age gap, people on this page will always find something to complain about …
It’s easy to look the other way until it’s your 16 or 17 year old daughter or niece being whisked off to Europe by some old creep, it’s not the age gap, it’s an adult married male preying on a pretty young teenage girl that is offensive, to anyone, which is why there are laws about it.
yeah, it’s gross, just like Tyga and Kylie. i have mixed feelings, though, too, because it lasted so long, it makes me think maybe it was a love match. but then again, maybe she was so young, she just did whatever he wanted so it worked. i dunno. bet her mom wanted to kill him though
She looks fantastic! And John Corbett is my forever dong so I love her for that, too.
If Bo had a facelift, what would she change??? She’s a biological miracle!
Kudo to her and all her good work with animals and veterans. I haven’t heard anything about her in years. Refreshing story. I am finding it hard to believe that she looks this good for 58 without work.
+1. Her cheeks look very tight and filled in the profile pic. I just don’t believe her. I want to though- then there’s hope for me as j age since I can’t afford any of that work 😉
BTW she looks work free. She’s one of those genetic anomalies.
lasers will do that.
I know someone who has seen her up close and commented that she’d had work done, but it looked tasteful.
That whole December/May romance thing squicks me out. If people gonna get mad at Tyga and Kylie, they shouldn’t like this either. I’m happy it worked for her I guess but wth does a 46 year old man have in common with a 16 year old girl? And if he had that much growing up to do…yeesh.
The “it was a different time” doesn’t make it ok either. Europeans married off 13 year old girls in the Middle Ages and that practice is still present in some countries in the Fertile Crescent and India. Still wrong there too. You’re not even old enough to process what “forever” actually *means*—/garbbled noises.
I didn’t even make it through to her comments on aging because ugh ugh ugh.
At the time she became famous, it really did creep most people out. Still she stayed married to him for 30 years until he died, and she is now 58. At a certain point things are just let go, and his death pretty much is a definitive end. Still, in my opinion John was the creep and not her, she was the kid who managed to grow up and seems to have come out on the other end pretty well.
Just as if Kylie is still with Tyga and married 30 years from now there will definitely be a letting go of the creeping out. I bet you that won’t happen. Again, though Kylie isn’t really the problem in that relationship to me it is Tyga and her parents who do not see anything wrong with it. Not sure about Bo’s parents at the time, but they weren’t celebrities that I know of.
But it was not a different time. They fled the U.S. to escape the law and judgement. Maybe it was a different time in Germany, but here in the states, it was illegal and considered completely improper.
yeah, it’s gross, just like Tyga and Kylie.
I can believe she hasn’t had anything done…or much done. She looks her age but she looks gorgeous. It’s refreshing. Plastic surgery doesn’t really make people look younger, just faker.
And it doesn’t necessarily make anyone more beautiful just more symmetrical and tight.
She’s my age and she has so many more wrinkles than most 58 year olds. She is beautiful, but I’d say she looks 68, not 58.
Agree. It’s hard to believe she’s only 4 years older than her Corbett, she looks much older than him.
Too much sun, her skin shows her lifestyle.
I have always loved her. She always seems to be so honest and open about her life.
John Derek groomed her and took advantage of a naive 16 year old girl while he was an older, experienced married man. There was an interview she did a couple of years ago and I could tell by something she said that she could see that now and seeing John in a different light.
I think age and being in a relationship with someone closer in age has made her look back on her life with John Derek with a different viewpoint.
I think she’s more reflective about it now, but she seems still very devoted to the life she lived with him. I saw an interview with her out on her ranch that she shares with Corbett. He was there also for the interview — or maybe it was more about him and Bo. She walked around and showed all of the things that her husband had made, leather things, etc. John Corbett seemed to have no problem with all of his stuff around there.
She was his third blonde beauty wife (he kept going younger), and I side eye him for most likely taking advantage of Bo.
My mother was a 1950s teen, and she remembers John as a good looking actor. And judging from her little collection of movie magazine clippings, he was very striking. I would imagine he had to have some great charm (or something) to land Ursula, Linda and then Bo.
I wasn’t a 50’s teen but he was a gorgeous man.Just watch his early film’s.I do think he was domineering and pretty much ruled Linda and Bo.From what I know about him Ursula cheated on him and left.
I just found out about his first marriage, which isn’t discussed as much, was to a ballerina in the 1950’s. I believe she was a brunette, but had those striking cheekbones he was fond of. By the time he got around to Bo, it was his fourth marriage. Yikes.
Still looking good Bo!
People always think everyone has had something done if they look good. She has plenty of lines, so no botox or filler, but a nice jawline and great bone structure still. My mother at Bo’s age looked amazing and less lines than Bo but also no loose skin and nice jawline, and she had never even had a facial in her lifetime. My aunt, my mom’s sister, was the same way. I have my mother’s bone structure, so here’s hoping I look like her as I age.
As I am aging, the compliment I get most is “you have gorgeous skin”. I give props to my Mother and Aunts on both sides as well. If young girls would look at their history, they have a window on thier aging process. I bet you have all the same qualities as your Mom and Aunties.
My mother is early 70s and has few lines anywhere on her face. She used a mild soap and that’s it — no other skin products or treatments, ever. I think genetics is huge, along with lifestyle choices.
I know! I look at my mother who looks so beautiful, and she spends a lot of time in the sun and smokes. It shows, but she still has lovely skin even with the extra wrinkles. Given that I wear big hats, sunscreen, and don’t smoke, I think I’ve got it made!
I was trying to remember which John Corbett, awww Aidan didn’t know these two are together.
Bo is gorgeous and THAT is how a woman is supposed to age. Her facial structure, smile and glowing skin look just like they did in her acting prime (10 and Dallas). Knockout figure too! If young girls would trust in their own genes, great skin care and healthy living rather than artificially changing in their 20’s & 30’s they may look as lovely as she does. The Kardashians are going to look horrendous by the time they are 45.
Of course she has done something. She did her breast, she did botox on her front and something around her eyes…
She always looked older than her age. When she was 23 she looked 35 +. She’s beautiful, youth doesn’t mean beauty, and I think she looks better now than she did then.
I didn’t realize she was only 58. Not because of anything to do with her looks, but I guess she’s been famous for so long I thought she was older.
She may not have had a “face lift,” but she’s certainly had things done piecemeal. Her eyes are different, her chin is firm, her cheeks are not sagging. Meanwhile, she is a beautiful woman with beautiful bones, and she still looks fabulous! Love her.
Agree with you Sandy. First off that face has the same “shocked” expression in all of the above pictures. I’d bet money she’s had some tweeking & most def Botox.
Yeah, I can’t believe everyone else is saying how normal and unaltered she looks. I think she looks very plumped, pulled, tightened, and botoxed. Perhaps she hasn’t had a full surgical “face lift” but she is not natural AT ALL.
My thoughts exactly! She looks like she’s made out of wax, that’s not normal. And I don’t think she’s that pretty to begin with. Iman is 1 year older and she is strikingly beautiful.
You need new glasses.
I saw the piece Sunday and I didn’t think she’d had anything done. She has lots of lines but she looked better than the rest of us to begin with.
I saw the piece too and agree with cubfan. I don’t think she’s any work done. She has facial lines and wrinkles.
I had no idea John Corbett is so old! When I saw this picture I thought they are like Robin Wright and her BF. Not because John looks like he is 30 but just because I knew Bo was in her 50s…
At best I would have put him at 48. I thought there was a good ten years between them, not a paltry 4.
I remember when he turned 50. He gave an interview and said how it was hard hitting 50. He said he felt great turning 40. But it wasn’t the same for 50. He said he was depressed having a five in front of his number for age. Then they brought up that that was funny because he had a girlfriend older than him, 55, but he talked about how beautiful she was. So I always knew he was only 4 1/2 years younger than her.
I don’t know if she’s had work done (doubt it) but she looks great..kudos for her love of animals and living out of the spotlight..even when she was big box office, she was very private.
She may have minimal work done but she still looks normal. You can definitely see the wrinkles on her face. Linda Evans on the other hand does not look the same. She definitely got her lips and whatever done.
Whoa.No idea they are a couple.That’s cool.And yes she has had some artful tweaking.Nothing wrong with that.Good to see she hasn’t gone overboard like so many others.
I heart these 2! Thanks for the feature.
Heard she regretted hurting Linda Evans when she had an affair with Linda’s husband, John Derek, at that time. Seems to me that Bo has grown up a bit. I do like her attitude on aging.
Who is she trying to kid? She’s got Botox in her forehead.
Her forehead has always looked like that and her skin has always been particularly taut across the cheek bones, I wouldn’t discount a little laser work but I think she looks her age , lucky genes and a healthy life style means she still looks good and not wrinkly and saggy. Bo is still only 58 , if she looks like this when she is 70 I’ll call foul.
Aw I was thinking yesterday of how I did my hair in braids like she did! So happy to see her looking amazing & not harming herself with that fake look stuff.
I’m surprised to hear she’s JUST 58, because to me, she looks quite a bit older. But she has that bone structure in her advance (like Sharon Stone does), and kind of always looked like this. I’m not sure what’s counted as “works” nowadays, because lasers, chemical peels etc. are still interventions…however, she seems to be a nice lady, happy and healthy, so that’s what counts most.
Wait so if she’s 58, then she was only 38 in Tommy Boy?