Bo Derek quotes: on beauty, aging, acting, and more.
“It should be mostly a ‘give’ if the person is truly passionate about something, no matter how hideous it is.”
“It’s so easy to conform and to follow. It’s very difficult to be rebellious and live by what you believe is right. And to make decisions and to take the consequences. Very few people do.”
“I didn’t go to a school in a great neighborhood. I was bused. Funny enough, I worked with Habitat for Humanity some years ago, and it was very near where I went to school. I’m building and I’m thinking, ‘God, I could so easily be one of the people waiting to get into one of these homes.’ It was just another affirmation of how fortunate I’ve been in life. I don’t think ahead, I don’t design, I don’t plan. And except for a few times in my life, I haven’t been terribly reckless, but to think where life has taken me… I am very lucky.”
“I didn’t work my way up in the industry, I didn’t have that experience of having to take care of myself. I just walked into it. And I walked into working with this hugely successful filmmaker, who really took care of me. So it spoiled me. Now when I go to work, I had better be prepared. Nobody’s going to give me a second chance. I have to do it like a grown-up.”
“10 was amazing! I had no career before 10 and then all of a sudden I was able to do pretty much whatever I was able to do in the business.”
“I never took beauty seriously. Of course, I understand the power of appearance. Obviously, I’m not stupid. I know the commodity of it. I know it will open doors. I know it will take you pretty far.”
“I had a blast. And anything I wanted to do, someone would finance. I’m not complaining because what I did as soon as I became famous is, I objectified myself. I thought, ‘Well, if this is what it is, I’m going to do it.’ I created my own posters, I made my own movies. I produced them. Maybe I could’ve gone out to prove, ‘Oh, I’m a real actress, I’m not a physical being.’ But I pretty much exploited myself, too, at the same time.”
“Being on a set, I love the business, I love the film business. And it’s always been good to me.”
“I found that whatever interested me in life, I could pretty much pick up the phone, call somebody, and all of a sudden be in the middle of it.”
“I travel a lot. A lot, a lot. I don’t have a single passport that doesn’t have extra pages on it. I’m getting to the place where I can sort of go through airports now and there’s no hysteria. I can go places alone even. But at the same time, if you get in trouble, you can find somebody in your age group who might recognize you.”
“Aging is really hard. And it’s tough. Bette Davis was right; it’s not for sissies, it really isn’t. I realize how artificial it is, beauty. I realize that it doesn’t last forever, that’s for damn sure. And there is a certain expectation. I get credit on one hand for not having had a facelift, and then on the other hand it’s, ‘Oh my God, why doesn’t she do something?’ So you’re just torn. I just have to keep busy, have other interests, and try not to think about it. I tend not to worry about things I can’t do anything about. It’s not in my nature to spend too much time thinking.”
“What age has brought is a better understanding of who I really am. That doesn’t mean I have it all together and that I don’t fall apart sometimes. But that’s got to be the trade-off for your physical deterioration – your mind gets better and you’re happy about yourself.”
“Thank God our brain and our self-confidence gets better as our face and body goes. We have that brain and that happiness, and that’s what’s beautiful.”
“I’m not going to worry about anything until it happens. It’s not my nature. I very much live for the moment and if it’s a good day it’s a good day. And if tomorrow is supposed to be a bad day I’ll wait until tomorrow and deal with it when it comes. Which just seems logical to me because you can’t predict how you are going to react to something.”
“I don’t need a lot. I never needed the adoration or the praise. I loved the work, and still do.”
“Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.”
“There was nothing like fame – it’s an international credit card that even the most important royal family doesn’t have.”
“I grew up on the beaches of Southern California surfing and sailing and I’ve always loved horses so it was part of my dream that I was able to fulfill to have horses.”
“Love and this lifestyle is everything I hold as the ultimate thing to have in life. This is something to envy and I’m so happy to have it. Others would rather have jewelry and cars and furs or whatever is opulent. But this is opulence to me and I’m ashamed to have it sometimes. I work hard for I feel I have to earn it somehow, to do more than just have a straight nose.”
“Life has played some funny tricks on me and taken me on a wild ride. How did I ever get into this wonderful mess that is my life?”
“I’m happy and healthy, and all is good. I feel so fortunate.”
Related: Jamie Lee Curtis quotes.
