Raquel Welch, Known for Many Films In The ‘60s and ‘70s, Has Died At 82
Image Source: The Times
1960s icon Raquel Welch has sadly died. Her manager released a statement that the former model-turned-actress passed away in her home in California after a short illness at the age of 82.
Welch is most often associated with One Million Years B. C., a movie where she only had three lines but caught everyone’s attention by wearing a doe-skin bikini. A still of Welch in the classic movie turned her into a pin up girl and eventually Playboy’s most desired woman of the 1970s (and the third most desired woman of the twentieth century). However, Welch was more than just another pretty face. She was charismatic, and always set hard boundaries on set. She starred in movies opposite every major star of the era including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Burt Reynolds.
Image Source: The Telegraph
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Welch was never afraid to reinvent herself for modern audiences. Her Golden Globe win in The Three Musketeers showed her knack for comedy that she expanded on in the 1990s and 2000s. Welch guest starred on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Seinfeld, and played the infamous Mrs. Windham Vandermark in Legally Blonde. She also put her extensive dance training to good use on Broadway in the critically acclaimed Victor/Victoria.
Movie producers initially tried to convince Welch to change her first name to Debbie, believing it to be too hard to pronounce. Raquel fought hard to keep it, but they did convince her to use her husband’s last name Welch instead of her maiden name Tejada. Despite being established in Hollywood for nearly half a century, she did not acknowledge her Latina heritage until her role in American Family in the early 2000s. Welch would film a spate of projects celebrating her heritage (Tortilla Soup, and How to be a Latin Lover) and earn an Imagen Foundation lifetime achievement award in recognition of her work.
A philanthropist and an entrepreneur, Raquel Welch donated $15 million dollars’ worth of wigs from her own line to cancer survivors. She has also been an avid supporter and fundraiser for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, the Barbara Davis Centre For Childhood Diabetes, and the United Service Organization.
Her impact cannot be overstated, and she will be sorely missed.
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Source(s): BBC, NALIP, SurvivorNet, Look to the Stars, Variety, Wikipedia
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