Raquel Welch, legendary Bolivian-American actress, singer, and entrepreneur, known for her breakout films Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years B.C., who went on win a Golden Globe for Best Actress for The Three Musketeers, made myriad USO and TV appearances, appeared in Victor/Victoria on Broadway, and who launched her own line of wigs, has passed away at the age of 82.
Welch’s passing is due to a “brief illness,” according to TMZ.
Welch rose to superstardom in 1966 following her portrayal of the cavewoman Loana in One Million Years B.C. The movie earned Welch the status of international sex symbol due to her character’s attire — a two-piece deerskin bikini that soon became the foundation upon which the movie built its marketing campaign; a campaign that included slogans such as “wearing mankind’s first bikini.” She was eventually named one of Empire’s “100 Sexiest Stars in Film History” as well as Playboy’s “100 Sexiest Stars of the Twentieth Century.”
As a natural-born brunette, Welch is largely credited with ending Hollywood’s longstanding fixation with the blonde bombshell movement, a stereotype by which only women with blonde hair were deemed attractive and subsequently subjected to sexist scrutiny as well as incessant “blonde jokes.” The stereotype was brought about following actress Jean Harlow’s movie Riffraff in 1936.
Welch’s career, as mentioned, spanned several mediums, earning her the reputation of an industry unto herself. Her last acting role was in 2017 as the character Rosa in Up TV’s comedy-drama series Date My Dad.
In her lifetime, Welch married a total of four times. Her first marriage was to her high school sweetheart, James Welch in 1959. In an attempt to avoid being typecast as a Latina, she chose to keep her husband’s last name. Her maiden name is née Tejada.
After her divorce from James in 1964, Welch married producer Patrick Curtis (1967 to 1972), producer Andre Weinfeld (1980 to 1990), and businessman Richard Palmer (1999 to 2004).
Welch is survived by her two children from her first marriage, son Damon Welch, and daughter Tahnee Welch.