On Friday nights in 1979 I was virtually glued to CBS on the TV – especially when The Dukes of Hazzard came on.
American actress Catherine Bach, who played Daisy Duke in the US television series ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’, circa 1985.
Catherine Bach (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
A Dolly Parton-lookalike
Catherine Bach was born in Warren, Ohio in 1954. Her upbringing was a split one. After her parents divorced, she spent most of her childhood with her father at their ranch in South Dakota. In the summers, she visited her mother in California.
Flickr / Gerard Van der Leun
Flickr/ThomasHawk
The Dukes of Hazzard became an instant hit and was a top-rated television series in the late 1970s, ranking second only to Dallas at one point. Even though critics hated it, the average American loved it. The show had all the ingredients – car chases, corny jokes, and a very good-looking leading lady.
As the naturally beautiful Daisy Duke, Catherine became one of the most famous faces on television. Her character was loved by many, and Daisy was the reason a lot of us watched the show.
“The character is a conglomeration of many people I know. She is half the wildest girl I ever knew in high school. She is part of a couple of girls I was real close to in Georgia. Se’s a lot of Dolly Parton and she’s a lot of me when I was a waitress. She is independent. She is physical. And she can do anything the guys can do,” Catherine explained in 1979.
John Schneider, Catherine Bach and Tom Wopat in ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’, circa 1980. They play Bo, Daisy and Luke Duke, respectively. (Getty Images)
In the late 1970s, Catherine symbolized real beauty – she had no implants, no lip injections, no Botox, and no fake teeth.
Within the context of the TV series, she did an excellent job of playing a slightly naive southern bell with upstanding morals and character, plus she was always very easy on the eyes.
She wasn’t tatted up, had no weird piercings, and no green hair – she was just an honest, down-to-earth good looking woman.
Her legs, however, were worth a lot of money. Famously insured for $1,000,000, it just added another ingredient to her stardom.
Flickr / Jim Ellwanger
Husband’s tragic passing
When The Dukes of Hazzard ended in 1985, Catherine had a hard time maintaining the same level of success. She appeared in some low-profile movies, and her career stalled.
But after starring as Margo Dutton in the popular Canadian family drama series African Skies, people once again noticed how talented she was. Some might also recognize Catherine from her recurring role as Anita Lawson in the soap opera The Young and the Restless.
Sadly, things went downhill after her husband passed away in 2010. Catherine had married entertainment lawyer Peter Lopez in August 1990, and they were together until his tragic death.
“He was the love of my life,” the actress told People.
Her husband ultimately took his own life – something that left Catherine with more questions than answers. Her husband wasn’t an addict, he rarely drank and they were financially stable.
So why did he do it?
“A lot of people in the music business have stress, but Peter was always calm and collected,” she told People.
“The further I get away from it, the more I believe he did this to protect us. Something must have happened to him that he couldn’t get past.”
Faced with that significant loss and unbearable grief, Catherine focused on her family. She put her career on pause and tried to be there for her daughters, Laura Esmerelda and Sophia Isabella. They were very young at the time, only 11 and 14.
Catherine didn’t have the luxury of falling apart at the time – she did everything to keep their family intact as her house ”was overrun with reporters and the coroner’s office and all sorts of people.”
”I realize that these girls are my legacy, they are Peter’s legacy. They are a testament to our love and what we thought of family, and there’s no way that I could ever slack off on that and just think about myself, ” she told Huffinton Post.
In the end, the actress found strength in her faith.
Catherine Bach today
In 2023, it has been almost 40 years since The Dukes of Hazzard ended, and Catherine looks, of course, very different from that young woman all those years back. But one thing that hasn’t changed is her magnificent smile! Catherine has aged gracefully, and is still a very pretty woman.
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While starring as Daisy Duke, she kept in shape by “dancing three hours a day, hiking and swimming.” Her athleticism helped her in the role and to fit into those incredibly tiny shorts.
”Keeping them zipped [was the hardest thing about wearing the shorts],” she once shared.
But things are a bit different today. She’s had some weight fluctuations, as many of us do as we get older.
Catherine Bach is seen on March 25, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JOCE/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
“I’ve put on a little weight, but so what?,” she told People.
In 2022, the actress was seen in public for the first time in a while while out for some retail therapy in Los Angeles. The bombshell of the 1970s had swapped out her tiny shorts and sported large sunglasses, black sneakers, and a cross-body phone case.
Many of her fans noted that the years have passed and could barely recognize the former star – but I guess that’s pretty normal.
People might age but their character and personality can become even better than before. Catherine has always been, and still is a sweetheart.
Legends all age with time, but every now and then a shining star like Catherine comes along. She will always be the true ‘Daisy Duke’ and is ageless in our eyes. Much love Catherine and God Bless!
