Kelly Le Brock

Early life

LeBrock was born in New York City but was brought up in the upscale Kensington area of London. She has a French-Canadian father and an Irish mother, Maria. She had a brother, Harold, who died of cancer in 2010. LeBrock was named after her grandmother, Mary Helen Kelly from Keady, County Armagh, Ireland, who married John Traynor.

Modeling

LeBrock began her career as a model at age 16 in her native New York City. Her breakthrough came at 19, when she starred in a 24-page spread in Vogue magazine. Shortly afterwards, she contracted with Christian Dior to work for that fashion label for 30 days a year. She subsequently appeared on numerous magazine covers and in fashion spreads, and became one of Eileen Ford's most sought-after models. She became especially recognizable as the Pantene shampoo commercial spokeswoman whose line,"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" became a pop-culture catchphrase.

Film

LeBrock was cast as the "perfect" or "fantasy" woman in films such as The Woman in Red (1984) and Weird Science (1985). As a result, she was considered one of the sexiest women in Hollywood in the 1980s. In 1990, she starred opposite her then-husband, Steven Seagal, in Hard to Kill. LeBrock also appeared in Betrayal of the Dove (1993), Tracks of a Killer (1995), and Hard Bounty (1995).

She had roles in the films Wrongfully Accused (1998), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2002), Zerophilia (2005), and Gamers: The Movie (2006). LeBrock has appeared in four films since 2000, as well as a thriller entitled Hidden Affairs, released in 2013.

Television

In 2005, LeBrock was the captain of the team "Kelly's Bellies" on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club reality show. LeBrock also appeared on the third UK series of Hell's Kitchen.

Music

In 2016, LeBrock's phrases from Weird Science "So what would you little maniacs like to do first" and "If you want be a party animal, you have to learn to live in the jungle. Now stop worrying and go and get dressed" were used in the Bastille song Good Grief which was released in 2016.

Personal life

Her first marriage was to film producer and restaurateur Victor Drai, in 1984; they divorced in 1986. During this time she met actor and martial artist Steven Seagal. LeBrock gave birth to her and Seagal's daughter Annaliza in spring 1987 and the couple married in September of that year. Their son Dominic was born in June 1990 and their daughter Arissa in 1993. The following year, LeBrock filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences".

In July 2007 LeBrock married for the third time to retired investment banker Fred Steck. “As long as my husband’s looking at me, that’s all I care about!” Vowing “never to diet again,” LeBrock says she now only cuts back on food favorites like lasagna with crème béchamel sauce when she can’t “fit in my fat pants.” (The closets in her Santa Barbara, Calif., home are stocked with clothes from sizes 2 to 12.) And though she admits to the use of Botox and other fillers to keep her face young looking, LeBrock refuses to weigh herself. “I could be like everyone else [in Hollywood] and stop eating,” she says. “But that wouldn’t make me happy.” during her appearance on Celebrity Fit Club’s weight-loss success stories

In the late 1980s, LeBrock was one of the first private U.S. citizens to own a hyperbaric chamber. LeBrock also started her own brand of homeopathic remedies.

As of 2011, LeBrock lives on a ranch in California's Santa Ynez Valley.

Philanthropy

After the death of her brother, Harold, in 2008, LeBrock began devoting time to the terminally ill. In 2011, she was listed as the celebrity spokesperson for "Club Carson", whose members are children suffering from cancer.