Barbara Bouchet (born Bärbel Gutscher; 15 August 1943)[2][3] is a German-born actress, dancer, and model, active in the United States and Italy. She is regarded as a sex symbol in genre films of the 1960's and '70s.[4]
Bouchet effectively retired from acting in the early 1980s, transitioning to a career producing fitness videos and books and opening a gym in Rome. She has since made some further appearances acting in film and television, including a small role in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002).
After arriving in the United States, the family lived in Five Points, California on the west side of the Central Valley and eventually settled in San Francisco, where Gutscher was raised. During the early 1960s San Francisco Bay Area television station KPIX-TV ran a show named The KPIX Dance Party and offered Gutscher the opportunity to become a member of the show's dance group.[7]
Career
Bouchet began her career modelling for magazine covers and appearing in television commercials, before eventually becoming an actress. Her first acting role was a minor part in What a Way to Go! (1964), which led to a series of other roles in the 1960s. She appeared in the films John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1964), In Harm's Way (1964), and Agent for H.A.R.M. (1966).
She appeared, semi-nude, in two editions of Playboy magazine: May 1965 (stills from In Harm's Way) and February 1967 ("The Girls of Casino Royale").[8]
She starred with Gregory Peck in The Scarlet and The Black (1983). In 1985, she established a production company and started to produce a series of fitness books and videos. In addition, Bouchet opened a fitness studio in Rome. In 2002, Bouchet appeared in Gangs of New York, playing Mrs. Schermerhorn.
Personal life
In 1974, Bouchet married Luigi Borghese, a producer, with whom she has two sons: Alessandro, a TV chef, and Massimiliano, a bartender. Her husband subsequently produced some of her later films. They separated in 2006, citing different aspirations.[9]