Bo Derek

Bo Derek was married to director and actor John Derek from 1976 until his death in 1998. He directed her in Fantasies, Tarzan, the Ape Man, Bolero, and Ghosts Can't Do It.

She began a relationship with actor John Corbett in 2002, and they married in December 2020. The couple maintains a private personal life.

Derek began working as a child model and attended Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California. At 16, she auditioned for the lead in Once Upon a Love, a drama directed by John Derek and filmed in Greece. The unfinished production was eventually released in 1981 under the title Fantasies.

Her breakthrough came with Blake Edwards's romantic comedy 10 (1979), in which she played Jenny Hanley opposite Dudley Moore. A dream sequence showing Derek running in slow motion became one of the film's most recognizable images, while her cornrow hairstyle and swimsuit look were widely parodied. Her performance earned a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year, Actress.

Derek followed 10 with A Change of Seasons (1980), Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981), and Bolero (1984). Tarzan, the Ape Man gave her a leading role as Jane Parker and became a box-office success despite negative reviews. She later returned to the screen in Ghosts Can't Do It (1989), her final film directed by John Derek.

Her later credits included Tommy Boy (1995), The Master of Disguise (2002), Malibu's Most Wanted (2003), Fashion House (2006), CSI: Miami (2012), Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015), and 5 Weddings (2018). She played Maria Gianni in 40 episodes of Fashion House and continued to make occasional film, television, and documentary appearances.

A lifelong horse enthusiast, Derek owns Andalusian and Lusitano horses. She published the autobiography Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned from Horses in 2002 and served as a commissioner of the California Horse Racing Board after her appointment in 2008. She was reappointed in 2010 and 2014.

Derek served for much of the 2000s as honorary chairperson of the Veterans Affairs National Rehabilitation Special Events, which support disabled veterans through sports and competition. She received the Department of Veterans Affairs' highest honor in 2003 and was named an honorary Green Beret by the Special Forces Association. Her other public work has included serving as a longtime WildAid ambassador, becoming a special envoy for wildlife trafficking issues in 2006, and joining the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Board of Trustees in 2002.