Barbara Boucher is an Italian actress and model. She began her career in the late 1950s with the filming of the teenage music television show "The KPIX Dance Party". In 1959 she became the winner of the Miss Gidget television beauty contest, after which she began working as a model.
In the creative biography of the actress, there are more than a hundred roles in television and film projects. For a long time, Barbara starred in Hollywood, but in the early 1970s she decided to return to Italy, where she continued her career as an actress and model.
Boucher starred on the covers of magazines, and at the age of 40 posed nude for the Italian edition of Penthouse. During this period, the actress starred mainly in erotic comedies and films of the Giallo genre (a subgenre of Italian horror films with elements of eroticism and thriller). She soon became a real screen star.
Biography facts
Barbara was born in the summer of 1943 in Czechoslovakia. Her real name is Gutscher. The town of Liberec, where the girl was born, was in those years in the zone of German occupation. Her father, Fritz Gutscher, was a war photographer.
When Barbara was very young, she emigrated to the United States with her mother. The father remained on the territory of Czechoslovakia and returned to the family only in 1957, when they were already living in San Francisco.
In America, the girl began attending Galileo High School. She perfectly mastered several languages and could communicate equally in German, English and Italian.
After watching the film "Silent Angel" with the participation of the famous German actress Christina Kaufmann, Barbara decided to connect her life with cinema. And soon she succeeded.
In 1959, her father sent a photograph of his daughter to a television beauty contest run by the local channel KPIX-TV. The girl was selected to participate in the Miss Gidget show and became the winner. As a prize, she got the opportunity to meet the famous actor James Darren - the star of the movie "Gidget" - and audition for a role in one of his films. Unfortunately, Barbara never made her film debut with a star.
After winning the competition, the girl got a small role as a dancer in the music television show "The KPIX Dance Party", where she starred for 4 years.
In the early 1960s, Barbara signed with a modeling agency and began appearing on the covers of popular magazines.
The actress took the surname Boucher at the very beginning of her creative career. In one of her interviews for Shock Cinema magazine, she said that, according to the producer, this surname was better suited to her German name Barbara.
Creative career
Boucher began her professional film career in 1964. She appeared in several television projects, and soon got a small role in the movie "Big deal".
For several years, the actress starred in many famous projects: "Agents of ANKL", "By the method of Harm", "Star Trek", "Tarzan", "Casino Royale", "Sweetheart Charita".
In the early 1970s, Barbara decides to move to Italy. According to the actress herself, she was terribly tired of acting as a brainless sexy blonde.
In Italy, Boucher quickly gained popularity and became a real star of erotic comedies, thrillers and giallo films.
In the 1980s, Barbara became interested in a healthy lifestyle, yoga and aerobics. She recorded several videos of her lessons and opened a fitness studio, and then several gyms for aerobics classes.
In 1985, Boucher founded her manufacturing company, opened several health clubs in Rome, and published a series of fitness books.
In the early 2000s, Boucher decided to return to filming again. She appeared on the screen in many popular American and Italian TV series and films, among which were: "South Seas", "Gangs of New York", "Capri", "Don't worry!"
Personal life
In June 1974, Barbara was married to producer Luigi Borghese. The husband and wife lived together for over 30 years, but divorced in 2005.
In this union, two children were born. The eldest son, Alessandro, currently works as a chef and host of culinary programs on television. The youngest is Massimilliano, a manager in one of the large restaurants.
