Raquel Welch, the movie actress who became the 1960s’ first major American sex symbol and maintained that image for a half-century, died on Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 82. Her death was confirmed by her son, Damon Welch. No cause was given. Welch’s Hollywood success began as much with a poster as with the film it publicised. Starring in “One Million Years BC” (1966) as a Pleistocene-era cave woman, she posed in a rocky prehistoric landscape, wearing a tattered doeskin bikini, and grabbed the spotlight by the throat with her defiant, alert-to-everything, take-no prisoners stance and her dancer’s body. She was 26.
It had been four years since Marilyn Monroe’s death, and the industry needed a goddess. When Playboy in 1998 named the 100 sexiest female stars of the 20th century, Welch came in third — right after Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. Throughout her career, Welch was publicly admired more for her anatomy than for her dramatic abilities. She even called her 2010 book — a memoir cum self-help guide — “Beyond the Cleavage. ”
Despite a career based largely on sex appeal, Welch repeatedly refused to appear nude on screen. “Personally, I always hated feeling so exposed and vulnerable” in love scenes, she wrote in her memoir. Jo-Raquel Tejada was born in Chicago on September 5, 1940, the oldest of three children of a Bolivian-born aeronautical engineer and an American of English descent. She had early hopes of making her big-screen debut in a James Bond movie; producer Albert R Broccoli wanted her for “Thunderball”. But that dream was quashed when she was cast in “Fantastic Voyage” (1966). Then came “One Million Years BC,” and that did it. She appeared in some two dozen films over the next decade, most notably “Myra Breckinridge” (1970 and “The Last of Sheila” (1973).
After “Mother, Jugs and Speed” (1976), her screen acting was limited to television guest appearances. Inspired after seeing Frank Sinatra’s nightclub act, Welch made her club debut, singing and dancing, at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1973. Eight years later she made her Broadway debut in musical “Woman of the Year”. Her last film was “How to Be a Latin Lover” (2017) and her final TV appearances were on “Date My Dad” (2017). Welch was married and divorced four times. In addition to her son, she is survived by daughter Tahnee Welch and a brother Jimmy Tejada.
It had been four years since Marilyn Monroe’s death, and the industry needed a goddess. When Playboy in 1998 named the 100 sexiest female stars of the 20th century, Welch came in third — right after Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. Throughout her career, Welch was publicly admired more for her anatomy than for her dramatic abilities. She even called her 2010 book — a memoir cum self-help guide — “Beyond the Cleavage. ”
Despite a career based largely on sex appeal, Welch repeatedly refused to appear nude on screen. “Personally, I always hated feeling so exposed and vulnerable” in love scenes, she wrote in her memoir. Jo-Raquel Tejada was born in Chicago on September 5, 1940, the oldest of three children of a Bolivian-born aeronautical engineer and an American of English descent. She had early hopes of making her big-screen debut in a James Bond movie; producer Albert R Broccoli wanted her for “Thunderball”. But that dream was quashed when she was cast in “Fantastic Voyage” (1966). Then came “One Million Years BC,” and that did it. She appeared in some two dozen films over the next decade, most notably “Myra Breckinridge” (1970 and “The Last of Sheila” (1973).
After “Mother, Jugs and Speed” (1976), her screen acting was limited to television guest appearances. Inspired after seeing Frank Sinatra’s nightclub act, Welch made her club debut, singing and dancing, at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1973. Eight years later she made her Broadway debut in musical “Woman of the Year”. Her last film was “How to Be a Latin Lover” (2017) and her final TV appearances were on “Date My Dad” (2017). Welch was married and divorced four times. In addition to her son, she is survived by daughter Tahnee Welch and a brother Jimmy Tejada.