Early life

Barbara Gutscher, the eldest of 4 siblings (two boys and two girls), was born in Reichenberg, a part of Czechoslovakia that was ceded to Nazi Germany and is today part of the Czech Republic. After World War II, her family was placed in a resettlement camp in the American occupation zone in Germany. They were granted permission to emigrate to the United States under the humanitarian provisions of the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. After arriving in America, the Gutschers lived in Five Points, California on the west side of the Central Valley and eventually settled in San Francisco, where young Barbara was raised.

As a prize, the station offered young Barbara the chance to become one of the "regulars" in the dance group of the show, who were called The KPIX Dance Party. These were teenage dancers who danced live to the hit songs of the day and became locally famous in their own right by being on television six days per week. Barbara was on the show from 1959 until 1962, when she moved to Hollywood to get into the film industry, changing her Germanic sounding surname to the French sounding Barbara Bouchet.

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-clad, in two editions of Playboy magazine: May 1965 (stills from In Harm's Way) and February 1967 ("The Girls of Casino Royale").

In Casino Royale (1967), she played the role of Miss Moneypenny. In 1968, she guest-starred in the Star Trek episode "By Any Other Name", and in 1969 appeared in the musical film Sweet Charity playing Ursula.

After growing tired of being typecast and being unable to get starring roles in Hollywood, she moved to Italy in 1970 and began acting in Italian films, such as Black Belly of the Tarantula and Sex with a Smile (40 gradi all'ombra del lenzuolo, 1975).

She starred with Gregory Peck in The Scarlet and The Black in 1983, a successful World War II rescue movie made for TV. In 1985, she established a production company and started to produce a successful series of fitness books and videos. In addition, she opened a fitness studio in Rome.

In 2002, she returned to American cinema, appearing in Gangs of New York, playing Mrs. Schermerhorn.

Personal life

In 1974, Barbara Bouchet married Luigi Borghese, a producer, with whom she has two sons: Alessandro (b. 1976), a TV chef and Massimiliano (b. 1989), a bartender. Her husband subsequently produced some of her later films. They separated in 2006, citing different aspirations.

Filmography

Television

• Dick Stewart Television Show, (1959-1962, uncredited)
• The Rogues (1964, 1 episode)
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1965, 1 episode)
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966, 1 episode)
• The Virginian (1967, 1 episode)
• Tarzan (1968, 1 episode)
• Star Trek (1968, episode: "By Any Other Name")
• Cool Million (1972)
• Beauty Center Show (1983)
• The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
• Quelli della speciale (1992, mini-series)
• Stracult 2 (2001, 1 episode)
• Incantesimo 6 (2003)
• Diritto di difesa (2004, 4 episodes)
• Un posto al sole (2004)
• Capri (2006)
• Ho sposato uno sbirro (2007, mini-series)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]