Kelly LeBrock shot to instant global superstardom in 1985 with the release of Weird Science, which is back on TV tonight.
She was already well-known for an iconic series of shampoo commercials with a classic catchphrase.
The year before she had also made The Woman In Red, playing Gene Wilder’s fantasy woman, after he sees her red dress billowing up over a street air vent.
The Anglo-American actress was suddenly hugely in demand but walked away from it all the following year.
LeBrock shocked Hollywood when she shelved her own career to marry one of Tinsel Town’s biggest action stars.
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When LeBrock purred, “So, what would you little maniacs like to do first?” she became an instant cult icon.
Her Weird Science character Lisa was literally created by loveless teenage geeks Gary and Wyatt with a computer as their ultimate fantasy figure.
She became a pin-up for a generation of teenage boys (and their fathers) and was regarded as one of the most desirable women in the world.
Despite being an American citizen, that posh British accent was thanks to a childhood in Kensington. Her father was French Canadian and her mother was British.
LeBrock was already a major model at 19, with a huge spread in Vogue Magazine and a contract with Christian Dior.
She became a household face after a series of Pantene hair product commercials caught the public imagination with her catchphrase, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
With headline-grabbing roles in Weird Science and Woman In Red, the actress’ career was about to go stratospheric but she started dating Steve Seagal the following year.
They married in 1987 and she took time away from her career to raise their three children Annaliza, Dominic and Arissa.
Seagal made his film debut in 1988’s Above The Law, and his wife joined him on screen for 1990’s Hard To Kill.
She said at the time: “I’m more for my family. My family’s going to be around when the movies aren’t. If I don’t build my family, I’m going to be a lonely ‘hot’ movie star, and I don’t want that.”
However, the year after Arissa was born in 1993, LeBrock filed for divorce. She restarted her film career but it never regained the traction that had been built in 1985. Low-budget comedies Like Wrongfully Accused and Zerophilia followed.
The end of a short-lived 2007 marriage to investment banker Fred Steck was followed by the 2008 loss of her brother Harold.
LeBrock now lives on a ranch in California and devotes her time to charity work.
