The Exciting Life of 80s Icon Bo Derek

On April 21, 2006, the United States State Department named Bo Special Envoy of the Secretary of State for Wildlife Trafficking Issues. The appointment gave her a formal platform to raise awareness about the illegal international trade in endangered animals and wildlife products.

Bo drew on years of work with animal-welfare and conservation organizations while speaking about the damage caused by poaching and trafficking. The position marked a major shift from the screen image that had first defined her, allowing her to use celebrity attention for a serious international campaign. Decades later, however, one famous part of that image would return under fresh scrutiny.