But what happened after her iconic time in Hollywood?
Bo Derek was born as Mary Cathleen Collins and grew up in California. She got a foothold in Hollywood early on, her mother worked for the Swedish-American actress Ann-Margeret.
Thanks to her mother’s contacts, Bo got herself an agent at age 16 – something that would give her a first film role in the movie Once Upon a Love.
The film was shot on the romantic island of Mykonos, in the Greek archipelago. During the shooting of the movie, Bo met her future husband, John Derek. The couple soon fell in love and began a relationship. Bo was only 17 years old at the time – John Derek was 47.
The age difference alone could have led to scandal – but there was also another detail that made their relationship inappropriate: John Derek was happily married to actress Linda Evans.
