How Catherine Bach managed to achieve overnight fame and set a distinctive fashion trend in the late ’70s as Daisy Dukes in The Dukes of Hazzard? This article gives you comprehensive insight into her life and career.
Who is Catherine Bach?
Catherine Bach is a well-known American actress who gained attention for insuring her legs for a million dollars. Her portrayal of Daisy Duke in the American comedy TV show The Dukes of Hazzard propelled her into the limelight. Bach has also appeared in several notable television shows, including African Skies and The Young and the Restless.
Catherine Bach was raised in Cleveland, Ohio by her parents Bernard Bachman, a German father, and Norma Jean Kucera Verdugo, a Mexican mother. When Catherine was 6 years old, her parents separated after working tirelessly as ranchers and acupuncturists, respectively.
How old is Catherine Bach? How did she overcome tragedy?
Retreating from the public eye, African Skies star Catherine Bach turned 67 on March 1, 2021. After graduating from Stevens High School in 1970, Bach studied drama at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Catherine Bach has been through two marriages in her life. Her first spouse was Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury’s stepson, David Shaw, whom she married at the age of 22 in 1971. However, the couple parted ways in 1981.
In August 1990, she married Peter Lopez, an entertainment lawyer. They have two daughters. Sophia Isabella Lopez, her first daughter, was born in January 1996, and Laura Esmeralda Lopez, her second daughter, was born in October 1998.
After almost 20 years of being together, Peter Lopez was found dead in his apartment on 30th April 2010. According to Bach’s mother, Lopez took his own life by hanging himself on a hill overlooking the Valley. Bach also believes that his untreated childhood trauma led to his suicide.
Bach discussed her husband’s tragic death in an interview with Fox News.
“It was the first time I’ve ever felt completely and utterly… totally overwhelmed,” the actress said. “I didn’t see it coming… I just didn’t’ know how I was going to get through it by myself.”
The Young and The Restless star reportedly started to struggle with her weight since the day Lopez unexpectedly took his own life. Recently, she was seen walking with a cane in LA, said to be having difficulty moving around owing to her weight, according to the source. Despite the fact that eating is Bach’s stress-relieving method, the tabloid’s medical experts claim that she is causing much more damage than good.
How did Catherine Bach kickstart her career?
Bach made her professional debut in a performance of The Sound of Music as one of the children. She made her movie debut in the Burt Lancaster crime thriller The Midnight Man, shot in upstate South Carolina in 1973, starring her as Natalie Claiburn, a murdered coed. Her next role was in the 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
Catherine Bach as a Disney Star
Bach’s spouse informed her about the audition for The Dukes of Hazzard. When she arrived at the auditions, she found out that the producers were looking for a Dolly Parton lookalike; although she did not resemble the actress, she was hired on the spot.
From 1979 until 1985, Bach’s Daisy was the only prominent female in the main cast of The Dukes of Hazzard. She gained popularity on and off camera. Daisy Dukes cut-off denim shorts were popularized by her character Daisy Duke in the television show The Dukes of Hazzard. Her free-spirited nature influenced a fashion trend, as showcased by her role in The Dukes of Hazzard. Daisy Dukes, or denim cut-off shorts, became a part of pop culture fashion and vocabulary thanks to her, and they are still worn today.
Daisy Duke became the most legendary denim shorts wearer in The Dukes of Hazzard, effectively utilizing the power of her astoundingly slender legs with her cutoff shorts. She used them to distract truck drivers and avoid fines for reckless driving.
Her appearance on the television show sparked a nationwide frenzy. Young women flocked to the provocative shorts in the US, and even after decades, denim shorts are still associated with the persona of Daisy Duke.
In a 1997 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bach explained that she saw Daisy as empowering:
“Whatever she did, she could shoot better, drive better, do everything better than a guy. Whenever the guys were in trouble, she stepped in. She wasn’t acting tough, she just was.”
Recently, the “General Lee” car, which became a contentious icon of The Dukes of Hazzard, was wrecked during Hurricane Ida. Schneider, who starred as Bo in the CBS television series, posted photos of the smashed 1969 Dodge Charger on his social media.
Catherine Bach’s career does not end there
The show “The Dukes of Hazzard” was a huge hit. It lasted seven seasons, but Bach’s TV career didn’t end there. Bach appeared in a lot of low-budget movies. She appeared in the Canadian family drama series African Skies from 1992 to 1994. She made a tiny appearance in the comedy flick You Again in 2010, and she guest-starred on Monk in 2006. Bach was cast in the recurring character of Anita Lawson on CBS’s daytime drama The Young and the Restless in 2012.
The media frenzy had Bach as a subject when the rumors rose about her insured legs
In 1983, Bach sat for an interview with Nebraska’s KOLN on a promotional junket for The Dukes of Hazzard. She verified the rumors that her legs were covered by insurance and even joked about the amount of harm she could do to her body. The interviewer inquired if the policy was for $20 million, to which Bach responded with an explanation.
“Yeah. You know what it is? I do things that I shouldn’t really do,” she said. “I ski — don’t tell anybody in L.A., or anybody in the studio. I had a plane when I started the series, which they made me get rid of… a lot of things. And I sort of take chances. So they thought that they should insure my legs.,” she clarified. Bach’s legs were insured for $1 million by Lloyd’s of London, not the $20 million claimed by the interviewer.
Catherine Bach Today
The curvy brunette, whose denim short-shorts arguably shaped a classic fashion statement in the 70s, has an estimated net worth of $10 million. She lives with her two beautiful daughters and has also started a clothing line as “Daisy Country “with themed items, the store used to have physically located in Nashville, but now it is only available online.
