Stunningly beautiful and charismatic blonde actress Barbara Bouchet was born Barbara Goutscher on August 15th, 1943 in Reichenberg, Sudetenland [then Germany]. Her family was forced to leave the country when Barbara was a little girl and settled in San Francisco, Califoria. Bouchet attended Galileo High School. In 1959, Bouchet won the "Miss G...
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Stunningly beautiful and charismatic blonde actress Barbara Bouchet was born Barbara Goutscher on August 15th, 1943 in Reichenberg, Sudetenland [then Germany]. Her family was forced to leave the country when Barbara was a little girl and settled in San Francisco, Califoria. Bouchet attended Galileo High School. In 1959, Bouchet won the "Miss Gidget" beauty contest which was held by the local television station KPIX-TV. She briefly dated famous male actor James Darren. Barbara was featured as a dancer on the teen-targeted rock'n'roll TV show, The KPIX Dance Party, from 1959 to 1962. Bouchet began her official acting career as a model on magazine covers and an actress in TV commercials. She made her film debut with an uncredited bit part in the comedy What a Way to Go! (1964). Bouchet soon became known for openly flaunting her spectacularly curvaceous figure in several pictures: clad in alluring silk harem robes in John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! (1965), cavorting nude on the beaches of Pearl Harbor in the World War II epic In Harm's Way (1965), and wearing a bikini for the bulk of her screen time in Agent for H.A.R.M. (1966). She also portrayed "Ursula" in Bob Fosse's outstanding musical Sweet Charity (1969), made for a nicely sultry "Miss Moneypenny" in the tongue-in-cheek 007 outing Casino Royale (1967), and had guest spots on such TV series as The Virginian (1962), Star Trek (1966), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964). In 1970, Bouchet became fed-up with being typecast as mindless sexpots in Hollywood fare and moved to Italy. She soon became one of Italy's top actresses, carving out a fruitful niche for herself in sex comedies, giallo murder mysteries and gritty police crime thrillers. Among her most memorable roles in these Italian features are the brazen spoiled rich lady "Patrizia" in Lucio Fulci's disturbing Non si sevizia un paperino (1972) ("Don't Torture A Duckling"), prostitute "Francine" in Casa d'appuntamento (1972) ("The French Sex Murders"), modeling agency choreographer "Kitty" in La dama rossa uccide sette volte (1972) ("Red Queen Kills 7 Times"), saucy love interest "Scilla" in the splendidly sleazy Ricco (1973), and enticing stripper "Anny" in Con la rabbia agli occhi (1976) ("Death Rage"). Bouchet had an unforgettably steamy lesbian love scene with Rosalba Neri in Alla ricerca del piacere (1972) ("Amuck") and appeared alongside fellow Bond girls Barbara Bach and Claudine Auger in La tarantola dal ventre nero (1971) ("The Black Belly of the Tarantula"). Barbara married producer Luigi Borghese in 1976. In 1983, at age 40, Bouchet did a nude pictorial for the Italian edition of "Penthouse" magazine. Bouchet started her own production company in 1985 and launched her own line of fitness books and videos. She also opened her own health club in Rome. Barbara most recently popped up in a small role (as fellow giallo star David Hemmings' wife) in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002). Bouchet speaks English, German and Italian with equal fluency. Barbara Bouchet continues to act in both films and TV shows, alike, made in Italy. Show less «
[on acting] It just comes out of me. I never went to acting school. I just go into a scene and imagi...Show more »
[on acting] It just comes out of me. I never went to acting school. I just go into a scene and imagine myself in the situation. In Italy I had a hard time convincing them to put me in things other than sex comedies, though. That's why I got out of the business. When I hit 39 I told myself, "I can't continue doing these [sex farces]. I'll soon be turning 40 and going into another phase of my life. I want to do serious, meaty parts." And I kept telling the press, "Make me ugly, make me old, but give me a part I can sink my teeth into." So, that's a been a rather tough road for me to travel down. Show less «
With an actor, you never know how long your money is going to last until your next film. So you alwa...Show more »
With an actor, you never know how long your money is going to last until your next film. So you always have to keep working. That's more or less what it's like. Show less «
[on the benefits of working and living in Italy] I prefer working and living here. It's a more human...Show more »
[on the benefits of working and living in Italy] I prefer working and living here. It's a more humane environment than Hollywood. I like the work and at the same time keep my family and my sanity. Show less «
Being a Hollywood beauty was a mixed blessing. Men are men, with all that testosterone, and when a p...Show more »
Being a Hollywood beauty was a mixed blessing. Men are men, with all that testosterone, and when a pretty girl comes in front of them what can you expect? Show less «