Raquel Welch

1940-2023

Jo Raquel Welch (née Tejada; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress and model.

Welch first won attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hammer Film Productions, for whom she made One Million Years B.C. (1966). Although Welch had only three lines of dialogue in the film, images of her in the doe-skin bikini became bestselling posters that turned her into an international s e x symbol. She later starred in Bedazzled (1967), Bandolero! (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970), Hannie Caulder (1971), Kansas City Bomber (1972), The Last of Sheila (1973), The Wild Party (1975), and Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976). She made several television variety specials.

Through her portrayal of strong female characters, which helped in her breaking the mold of the traditional s e x symbol, Welch developed a unique film persona that made her an icon of the 1960s and 1970s. Her rise to stardom in the mid-1960s was partly credited with ending Hollywood's vigorous promotion of the blonde bombshell. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy in 1974 for her performance in The Three Musketeers. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Television Film for her performance in the film Right to Die (1987). Her final film was How to Be a Latin Lover (2017). In 1995, Welch was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Se x iest Stars in Film History". Playboy ranked Welch No. 3 on their "100 Se x iest Stars of the Twentieth Century" list.

Welch died from cardiac arrest on February 15, 2023, at her home in Los Angeles. She was 82. At the time of her death, Welch was also suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Hannie Caulder

One Million Years, B.C.

"The Last of Sheila"

The Three Musketeers

1973