Barbara Roufs Tragic Death: The Untold Story of a Racing Trophy Girl

Auto racing back in the 1970s was considered one of the most popular ventures and was appreciated by many people. Well, in these auto racing competitions, trophy girls play a very significant role. These girls stand in lanes, in front of all the pace cars with their crew. In the 1950s and 1960s, the trophy girls were known to wear heavy garments with feathers. 

However, in the 1970s, things changed, and now the dress code of the trophy girls is from heavy garments and big feathers to a shirt, bra and a shirt with long hair. Among them, Barbara Roufs was one of the famous trophy girls who gained a lot of prominence and popularity during this time. 

After this, you will be thinking about what is the mystery behind her tragic death. So, in the article, we will discuss her biography and everything.

Barbara Rouf Quick Bio

Who was Barbara Roufs?

The Early Life of Barbara Roufs

Barbara Roufs was born in 1944 in the state of California, USA. Born in an American state, Barbara was known as an American national with a Caucasian ethnicity and a Christian religion.

Barbara Rouf’s mother’s name was Thelma Ruby Riley, and her father’s was Wayne Eldon Riley.  Barbara had three biological siblings, too: Vivian Deaton, James, and Bruce, as well as an adopted brother, Ben Gube. 

Thelma Ruby Riley-Barbara Mother

Barbara Roufs’s parents got married in 1947. Barbara’s mother, Thelma Ruby Riley, owned the beauty salon in Clovis for almost 50 years and was the organist of a church called Nazarene Calvary Bible. However, the mother passed away in 2005, just a few years after the tragic death of Barbara Roufs.

Wayne Eldon Riley-Barbara Father

Barbara Roufs’s father was known for riding motorcycles at the Kearney Bowl. He always loved fishing and owns a houseboat at McClure Lake. The parents of Barbara Roufs were the first couple to be noted for their excellent understanding of love and were inducted into the Clovice Hall of Fame.

Barbara soon after experiencing her childhood with love and affection in California and completing her studies. Barbara Roufs found her great interest in drag racing. Still, instead of becoming a car racer, she decided to become a trophy girl, which is how she started her professional career.

Professional Career of Barbara Roufs

Barbara started her career as a professional trophy girl and model. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she was nominated as a racing Queen of professional dragster championships at Orange County International Raceway.

Now, you will wonder why she became so popular in drag racing. This is because of her great skill and physical appearance during this reign also made her the 1973 PDA Professional Dragster Association Queen.

Even though she was way older than other trophy girls and fans. Still, due to her beauty and stunning features, she became in the spotlight, leading different brands to contact her to sell their products to drag racing crowds. On the other hand, many people credited Barbara for giving drag racing a new transformation.

Was she married? This was a question that many of her fans also wanted to know. So, we are going to discuss it below.

Is Barbara Roufs Married?

Yes, she was married before her tragedy. She was married and had one child. The child’s name is Jet Dougherty. Barbara Roufs became a mother when she was 29; however, she always kept her husband’s secret. She never talks about him. No one knows about her husband or her child’s father.

Well, till now, we have discussed the personal details, professional career, and married life of Barbara Roufs, but now it’s time to discuss the most tragic incident of Barbara Roufs’s life that became the cause of her death.

Cause Of Death/The Mystery of Death

In 2016, a photographer named Tom West uploaded photographs of Barbara when she was a trophy girl. Soon after the post, the daughter of Barbara Jet Dougherty comes on the internet, explaining and paying tribute to her mother, appreciating her for her outstanding contribution and thanking her fans for their love.

Barbara’s daughter also shows her surprising question about the pictures posted on the internet. Still, she marks it as a proud moment for her mother. While, after the post also confirmed that her mother died in January 1991.

While that cause of death was so shocking for many of the fans and the people around. The cause of that of Barbara Roufs was suicide. The Jet doesn’t confirm the reason behind committing suicide, but she marks that at the time of suicide, Barbara was only 47 years old. Before her death, she lived with her family in Fresno, California, United States of America.

Barbara Roufs Net Worth

At her time, Barbara Roufs was a trendy break-racing girl and a model. However, she is never open about how much money she receives as a trophy girl. It is estimated that she made a lot of money through her work. Even some of Barbara Roufs’s 1970s iconic pictures are now sold online for almost 1.5 million hens. We could conclude Barbara Rouf’s net worth through this.

Final Thoughts

Barbara was born in California and chose the drag racing champion trophy girl profession. Due to her appealing features, he became very popular in the 1970s, transforming a new trend in automobile racing. She was also in the spotlight due to her age, as she was relatively older than the other racing girls.

Still, she managed to become the most popular one; however, Barbara Roufs’s suicide story was later confirmed by her daughter to be shocking for everyone.

(FAQs)

Where did Barbara Rouf live?

Before she died in the 1970s, Barbara Rouf lived with her family in California, USA.

What is the height of Barbara Rouf?

Barbara Rouf was 5 feet 5 inches, more than 165 cm, while her weight was 55 kg.

Who was the photographer who took Barbara Rouf’s pictures?

The photographer who published Barbara’s picture in 2016 was Tom West.