Kelly LeBrock burst onto the scene in the mid-1980s with movies like The Woman in Red (1984) and Weird Science (1985). While she gained significant fame at this time, she has largely retired from acting.
So, what has she been up to? Read on to learn all about Kelly LeBrock, from her early days and Weird Science to what she’s doing today.
Early Days
Kelly LeBrock sounds somewhat like a stage name, but that is the American actress’ given name. Born at the end of the 1950s in New York City, Kelly grew up in Kensington, London. Her mother, Maria, is British, and her father was French-Canadian.
At just sixteen years old, Kelly began working as a model in New York. Three years later, at nineteen, she would have her biggest breakthrough yet: an extended spread in Vogue.
Her modeling success led to a contract with French luxury fashion house Christian Dior, where she agreed to work thirty days a year for them. She began appearing on a variety of magazine covers and spreads, eventually becoming one of Eileen Ford’s most in-demand models.
Depending on your age, you may remember Kelly’s Pantene commercials, in which her line “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful” became a common catchphrase in pop culture.
No doubt thanks to her stunning looks, by the mid-1980s Kelly was attracting attention from Hollywood. This led to a featured role in the romantic comedy film The Woman in Red, starring Gene Wilder (and also directed by him), in which she played a model,
The Woman in Red was a modest box-office success and led Kelly to her next big film: Weird Science.
Weird Science
Weird Science is an ‘80s cult classic. Like so many of them, it was written and directed by John Hughes. Defined as a “science fantasy buddy comedy film,” Weird Science featured a number of future stars, including Anthony Michael Hall, Bill Paxton, and Robert Downey, Jr. Among these actors was Kelly LeBrock.
As in The Woman in Red, Kelly again took on the role of a kind of “dream woman.” Weird Science follows the exploits of two nerdy students, Gary and Wyatt. After rejection and humiliation at the hands of their peers, Gary and Wyatt decide to take matters into their own hands in a bid for popularity.
Using Wyatt’s computer, they create a virtual woman that they manage to bring to life. Rather than Frankentstein’s monster, however, they have made Lisa (played by Kelly LeBrock), a beautiful and intelligent woman who also possesses magical powers.
There are lots of ups and downs in the film, but ultimately the boys succeed in gaining the affection of the two girls on which they had crushes at the start. Lisa even reappears as their school’s new gym teacher, suggesting that she’ll keep helping Wyatt and Gary out.
LeBrock earned rave reviews for a film that she actually might not have been in at all, as model Kelly Emberg was initially given the role but left soon into production.
After Weird Science
Kelly continued to act after Weird Science but did not appear in anything until 1990. In between, she continued to have a strong modeling career.
In 1990, Kelly played the part of Andy Stewart in Hard to Kill, starring Steven Seagal. She and Steven had met a few years prior and gotten married.
Kelly appeared in a handful of movies throughout the 1990s and early-mid 2000s, though nothing she has been in has had the commercial or critical success of her first two films, The Woman in Red and Weird Science.
In 2005, LeBrock served as captain for one of the teams on Vh2’s Celebrity Fit Club. She was also on Hell’s Kitchen and the Lifetime docuseries Growing Up Supermodel.
What Is Kelly LeBrock Doing Now?
While she has a credit as recent as 2021’s Tomorrow’s Today, Kelly has essentially retired from acting. Given her modeling success, she has likely earned enough money to be retired. Indeed, estimates of her net worth come in at around $2 million.
Most recently, she worked on the Lifetime series Growing Up Supermodel, which shows viewers a look at the lives of up-and-coming models whose parents were celebrities. Her youngest daughter, Arissa, was the up-and-coming model in question.
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Kelly LeBrock has had a bit of a turbulent personal life. Her first marriage was to Victor Drai, a restaurateur and film producer. That marriage lasted from 1984 to 1986. That year, she met Steven Seagal, famed actor and martial artist. They got married and had three children between 1987 and 1993. In 1994, Kelly filed for divorce.
In 2007, Kelly married Fred Steck, a retired investment banker. They got divorced the following year.
For quite some time now, Kelly has lived on a ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara County, California). She also works as a spokeswoman for Club Carson, a charity that supports children with cancer.
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