Eighties movie pin up unrecognisable 41 years after iconic movie role
MOVIE star Sybil Danning was once one of the most erotic women in Hollywood starring in 1983 film Hercules and gracing the pages of Playboy.
The Austrian–American actress, 77, played voluptuous villain Ariadne in the adventure movie opposite Lou Ferrigno as Hercules and Ingrid Anderson as the self-lusting Cassiopeia.
Former siren Sybil now looks worlds away from her flesh-flashing on-screen characters and favours more demure outfits, opting for blazer jackets and shoulder pads on the red carpet.
The trim star now sports a chic short blonde bob and heavy fringe, but still turns heads decades later.
She appeared in a ten-page spread in 1983’s Playboy and went on to star in Chained Heat, Malibu Express, Reform School Girls and Stirba in the 1985 film, The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf.
The B-movie star has been in almost 80 films and TV shows in a career spanning five decades including Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Grindhouse.
She was considered for the lead female role in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy which went to Maud Adams, and has starred alongside Christopher Lee and Raquel Welch.
Sybil told The Washington Times in 2015 that she was “definitely not a scream queen”.
She said: “You know there is that series on now with my wonderful dear friend Jamie Lee Curtis. She was a scream queen. She started the Halloween movies. To me a scream queen is a victim. If you notice in Howling I’m doing the victimising.
“I like to play strong characters, and I love playing villains. I’ve always liked to stay away from playing a victim.”
On her biggest career regret, she said previously: “A lot of people don’t know, but I had a three-year deal at Paramount Studios under Sherry Lansing.
“While there I got a call from Sam Raimi. We had been mutual admirers of each other’s work. He said, ‘Sybil, would you do a TV series?’ I said, ‘Sam I can’t do a TV series. I’ve got this three-year deal. I’ve got to make a movie happen at Paramount.’ He said, ‘Oh, OK.’
“He called me a couple weeks later and says, ‘I’m sending over a script. Maybe it is something Paramount wants to do.’ It was a wonderful female action lead.
“Then I wanted to talk to him about it. I called his office and they said, ‘He’s not here, he’s in New Zealand doing Xena: Warrior Princess, the new TV series.’ I said, ‘What?! Oh no!’.
“I don’t regret a lot in a life but I am an idiot for not having taken that.”
Movie star Sybil was once voted Cannes Sex Symbol of the Year in 1982.
She proudly accepted the award and said at the time: “To be called a sex goddess is a big compliment. I know I have everything else.
“To be called a sex symbol is very honourable for me because I am a woman and I want to be sexy and I love being sexy.
“I love sex and I love men.”
She continued: “Women who say, ‘Don’t take your clothes off’ have a personal problem. They don’t take care of their bodies or don’t want to take care of their bodies because they don’t want to be beautiful.
“They don’t want to be beautiful because they don’t like themselves. I like myself. I used to be chubby. Years ago I would never have done the Playboy layout. I did something about it.”