Bo Derek wasn’t always Bo Derek — she came into this world as Mary Collins, and as a teenager she wasn’t exactly driven. In fact, the future 10 star and poster girl seemed content doing almost nothing when she was 16.
It was California in the early ’70s, and like a stereotypical blonde beach bunny she would rather spend the day at the beach, catching rays with her friends, than attend school. She was slacking — or was she doing research?
After all, consider that breakthrough movie role and the poster that also made Bo Derek a household name:
She was a blonde girl, in a swimsuit, on a beach. So maybe all that truancy was good for something.
First Up: In High School, Bo Derek Cut Class For A Month
Narbonne High School’s loss would prove to be the world’s gain, though even now Derek isn’t exactly proud of her high school attendance record.
She told Interview magazine, «I skipped school for a month straight. It was terrible; I got in big trouble. My mother was working a lot, so she was gone often. I would leave school and hitchhike to the beach.»
Bo Derek Doesn’t Regret Dropping Out Of School…
She went on to say that she doesn’t regret dropping out of high school, because she wouldn’t have the life she has now if she’d stayed in school.
Dropping out of school and going to Europe doesn’t work for everybody, but it definitely did the trick for her. By her early 20s, she was an iconic beauty, famous temptress of the film 10 and the accompanying movie poster.
Her acting was often criticized, and movies like Bolero and Tarzan The Ape-Man were derided as flimsy showcases for her face and figure — but none of that really mattered.
Bo Derek became a leading sex symbol because of her early films and in spite of them. Fans couldn’t get enough of those beguiling blue eyes, prominent cheekbones, and bikini-body curves.
There’s a reason she’s been on the cover of Playboy magazine more times than any other celebrity (who wasn’t a Playmate). The former Mary Collins has always had that «Bo mojo.»
We’ve never stopped being fascinated by her, and she doesn’t disappoint — although her appearances on TV and the silver screen are sporadic, she remains glamorous and entertaining, always a welcome addition at charity photo ops, and always entertaining with her shoot-from-the-hip answers to interview questions.
Keep reading to find out what led the original «10» to that fateful run down the beach, and what she’s been doing since.
Class-Cutter Bo Derek Had Her Mom Fooled. The Truant Officer, Not So Much…
In a conversation with Interview Magazine, Derek explained how she managed to skip school for a month straight without anyone noticing.
«A truant officer showed up at my mom’s house. She had no idea I was skipping school, and she was furious. She was a working single mother, and she’d been getting up early in the mornings to drive me to the bus stop.
And, to find out I didn’t get on the bus – I went around the corner and stuck out my thumb with my girlfriends.» She admitted that she feels bad about all the truancy now, but that she tries not to think about it.
Bo Derek’s Mom Had The Hots For John Derek
Bo Derek recalls that her mother swooned over John Derek before Bo had even met him, calling the actor-turned-director «so handsome.»
When Bo, then Mary Collins, went to an interview with her future husband to see if she was right for a part in a movie he’d be shooting in Greece, she didn’t really know who he was — but she ended up agreeing with her mother’s assessment of his looks. This might have made it awkward when young Mary (Bo) and older John started hooking up while on set.
When John Derek was a young guy he was a total looker — after all, he was married to Bond girl Ursula Andress and Linda Evans. But by the time he met Bo, he was in his mid-40s and bearded. Bo was 17. It looks a little creepy because it is. It is pretty darn creepy.