Those blonde braids. That nude swimsuit. Bo Derek’s slow motion jog along the beach in the 1979 movie “Ten” turned her into a global phenomenon. She describes her rise to fame as “chaotic” — one minute, she was an unknown actress in her 20s. The next, she was one of the most sought-after women in the world. More than 30 years later, Derek is as gorgeous as ever and managed to never let the attention go to her head.
“How did you manage to not let your beauty be your calling card?” Oprah asks in the above clip from her interview with Derek on Oprah: Where Are They Now?”
“I never took beauty seriously,” Derek says.
Of course, she understands the power of appearance. “Obviously, I’m not stupid,” she says. “I know the commodity of it. I know it will open doors. I know it will take you pretty far.”
“Could you feel heads turn when you walk into the room?” Oprah asks. “Could you sense it?”
“Some days, yes,” Derek admits. “And some days, still — I have a phrase that I use: ‘I look like myself today.’ And then other days you couldn’t get arrested. But it wasn’t important to me. It never was.”
Today, Derek lives on a California ranch with her longtime love, actor John Corbett.