Bo Derek's Complete Transformation, In Photos

Many actors work for years to be part of a scene or project that launches them into icon territory. For Bo Derek, who was born Mary Cathleen Collins in 1959, that moment came at age 22 when she ran in slow-motion on a beach in the movie "10." The nude-colored swimsuit has become legendary, as has the running scene, to the point that decades later, Derek is still primarily known for that one career-making scene.

But the California native found success beyond the swimsuit. While she's continued acting through the decades, she's also a passionate equestrian, as well as a producer, and has worked with fellow horse-lover Shania Twain. Beyond work accomplishments, Derek's also been admired for her fashion and for aging gracefully (she's one of the famous older women who don't seem to age). Through the years, she has subtly embraced the trends of the time, while always remaining consistently elegant. Be it a body-hugging feminine piece for a gala, a bedazzled blazer at the Oscars, or equestrian touches for a film screening, Derek's fashion has transformed through the years while still remaining true to her.

In 1979, Bo Derek went from relative unknown to an icon when she played the object of Dudley Moore's attention and imagination in the 1979 movie "10." Even for those who never saw the film, the one-piece swimsuit was instantly recognizable. Her off-screen looks were much less revealing, however. Photos from this era show that Derek leaned into loose-fitting dresses and low-key outfits, including the textured dress and hat she wore to promote "Tarzan the Ape Man" in London, England, in 1981.

Bo Derek and her husband John Derek had one of the celebrity relationships with bigger age gaps than you realized. In fact, when the duo first got together, she was 16 and he was 30 years her senior. Pictured with John in London, England, in 1985, Bo, then 28, epitomized '80s fashion with the oversized sweater over light-wash jeans. She also dabbled in '80s maximalism with her bold-print dress cinched with a green belt that she wore with John in Paris, France, in 1987.

For the 1989 Academy Awards, Bo Derek wasn't one of the worst-dressed celebs in Oscars history, but she was definitely casual in trousers, a blouse, and jacket. That being said, award shows were more casual in those days. Nonetheless it felt like her heart wasn't in it. Despite the hoopla that Derek created in "10," she seemed to prefer a low-key existence, looking peaceful at home wearing a chic jumpsuit on her ranch in Santa Ynez, California, in 1990. 

Bo Derek reminded the world, via 1995's hit comedy "Tommy Boy," that there was still a place for her in Hollywood. She also made a few transformative fashion splashes in the Y2K era as she took her red-carpet fashion up a notch. First there was the stunning gown she wore for a fundraising ball in 2000, followed by her svelte black Vanity Fair Oscars Party look the following year. She attended these events solo, as John Derek passed away in 1998.

In 2002, it appears Bo Derek was ready to bring her sexy back. In March of that year, she hit the Vanity Fair Oscars Party again, this time with boyfriend John Corbett on her arm. (Here's why longtime couple Bo Derek and John Corbett didn't tie the knot until 2020.) For the Oscars party, she wore a black satin slip dress with a sheer lace topper. She continued to lean into this new confident fashion era in 2006 at the Fifi Awards, where she wore a beautifully-tailored white suit with nothing underneath. 

In November 2006, Bo Derek turned 50, and her fashion reflected her laid-back nature, but also her ability to look pulled together in the following years. For example, in 2008, she attended a charity event in Beverly Hills in a striped dress that hit the "elegant-casual" brief perfectly. In 2015, at age 58, Derek infused her look for a movie screening in New York with equestrian touches thanks to the blazer, jeans, and belt-buckle ensemble. This was fitting, since she and John Corbett continued to live in in Santa Ynez on the ranch.

As a new decade dawned for Bo Derek (she turned 60 in 2016), we saw another subtle shift in her fashion transformation: To color. While Derek has dabbled in bright hues for the red carpet throughout her career, it came to a crescendo in her early 60s. At the 2017 Monte Carlo TV Festival, she wore a gorgeous mint shade, which she re-wore two years later to a Wild Aid event. And in 2019, she attended Celebrity Fight Night XXV in Phoenix, Arizona, wearing a rich purple shade, showing that jewel tones suit her well.

The dawn of the 2020s didn't necessarily mean Bo Derek was done with color for the red carpet, but she has leaned back into her tried-and-true basics, especially black and white. Her outfits give off a quiet elegance vibe, like her look at a film festival in Italy in 2024, which epitomized je ne sais quoi with its elegant black top and ethereal skirt combination. And in February 2026 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, she wore sophisticated but casual separates, which appears to be her roadmap for her fashion future: not trying too hard and keeping it elegant.