Barbara Bouchet (Italian: [ˈbarbara buʃˈʃe, - buʃˈʃɛ]; born Bärbel Gutscher, 15 August 1943) is a German-Italian actress, dancer, and model, active in the United States and Italy. She is regarded as a sex symbol in genre films of the 1960s and 1970s.
Born in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, Bouchet's family immigrated to the United States after the Second World War. She began her acting career in the 1960s, appearing in small roles in films such as In Harm's Way where she performed a splash cameo as a “scandalous” loose married woman (who dies early and the rest of the potboiler dies along with her) and guest parts on television series such as Star Trek and The Virginian. She had more prominent film roles in Casino Royale (1967), in which she played Miss Moneypenny, and Sweet Charity (1969).
Contents
Early life
Bärbel Gutscher was born in Reichenberg, in the Sudetenland area of Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia (Liberec, Czech Republic). She had four siblings. Her father, Fritz, was a photographer, and her mother, Ingrid, was an actress.
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 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.
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").
In Casino Royale (1967), Bouchet played the role of Miss Moneypenny. She guest-starred in the Star Trek episode "By Any Other Name" (1968) as Kelinda, and appeared in the musical film Sweet Charity (1969) playing Ursula.
Bouchet moved to Italy in the 1970s, becoming an Italian citizen and starring in a large number of genre films, including thrillers (gialli), crime films (poliziotteschi), and sex comedies (commedia sexy all'italiana). Her best known appearances in Italian cinema include the films Don't Torture a Duckling (1972), The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972) and Caliber 9 (1972).
Bouchet effectively retired from acting in 1982, and in the mid-1980s transitioned to a career producing fitness videos and books and opening a fitness studio in Rome. She has since made some further appearances acting in film and television, including starring with Gregory Peck in The Scarlet and The Black (1983), and a small role in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002), playing Mrs. Schermerhorn. Her most recent appearance was as Countess Wiendemar in the 2023 film Diabolik: Who Are You?.
Personal life
In 1974, Bouchet married Luigi Borghese, a producer, with whom she has two sons including celebrity chef Alessandro Borghese. Her husband subsequently produced some of her later films. They separated in 2006, citing different aspirations.
