Raquel Welch, whose emergence from the sea in a skimpy, furry bikini in the film B次元官网网址淥ne Million Years B.C.B次元官网网址� would propel her to international sex symbol status throughout the 1960s and B次元官网网址�70s, has died. She was 82.
Welch died early Wednesday after a brief illness, according to her agent, Stephen LaManna of the talent agency Innovative Artists.
WelchB次元官网网址檚 breakthrough came in 1966B次元官网网址檚 campy prehistoric flick B次元官网网址淥ne Million Years B.C.,B次元官网网址� despite having a grand total of three lines. Clad in a brown doeskin bikini, she successfully evaded pterodactyls but not the notice of the public.
B次元官网网址淚 just thought it was a goofy dinosaur epic weB次元官网网址檇 be able to sweep under the carpet one day,B次元官网网址� she told The Associated Press in 1981. B次元官网网址淲rong. It turned out that I was the Bo Derek of the season, the lady in the loin cloth about whom everyone said, B次元官网网址楳y God, what a bodB次元官网网址� and they expected to disappear overnight.B次元官网网址�
She did not, playing Lust for the comedy team of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in their film B次元官网网址淏edazzledB次元官网网址� in 1967 and playing a secret agent in the sexy spy spoof B次元官网网址淔athomB次元官网网址� that same year.
Her curves and beauty captured pop culture attention, with Playboy crowning her the B次元官网网址渕ost desired womanB次元官网网址� of the B次元官网网址�70s, despite never being completely naked in the magazine. In 2013, she graced the No. 2 spot on MenB次元官网网址檚 HealthB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淗ottest Women of All TimeB次元官网网址� list. In the film B次元官网网址淭he Shawshank Redemption,B次元官网网址� a poster of Welch covers an escape tunnel B次元官网网址� the last of three that character Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) used after Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe.
Admirers took to Twitter to mourn the star, including TV host Rosie OB次元官网网址橠onnell, actor Chris Meloni and writer-director Paul Feig, who worked with Welch on B次元官网网址淪abrina the Teenage WitchB次元官网网址� and called her B次元官网网址淜ind, funny and a true superstar whom I was pretty much in love with for most of my childhood. WeB次元官网网址檝e lost a true icon.B次元官网网址�
In addition to acting, Welch was a singer and dancer. She surprised many critics B次元官网网址� and won positive reviews B次元官网网址� when she starred in the 1981 musical B次元官网网址淲oman of the YearB次元官网网址� on Broadway, replacing a vacationing Lauren Bacall. She returned to the Great White Way in 1997 in B次元官网网址淰ictor/Victoria.B次元官网网址�
She knew that some people didnB次元官网网址檛 take her seriously because of her glamorous image. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not Penny Marshall or Barbra Streisand,B次元官网网址� she told the AP in 1993. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檒l say, B次元官网网址楻aquel Welch wants to direct? Give me a break.B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址�
Welch was born Jo-Raquel Tejada in Chicago and raised in La Jolla, California. (The Jo in her name was from her mother, Josephine). Welch was a divorced mother when she met ex-actor turned press agent, Patrick Curtis.
B次元官网网址淭he irony of it all is that even though people thought of me as a sex symbol, in reality I was a single mother of two small children!B次元官网网址� she wrote in her autobiography, B次元官网网址淩aquel: Beyond the Cleavage.B次元官网网址�
Curtis became her manager and second husband and helped shape her into a glamor-girl with hundreds of magazine covers and a string of movies, plus exercise videos and books like B次元官网网址淭he Raquel Welch Total Beauty and Fitness Program.B次元官网网址�
Though she would appear in exploitative films, she also surprised many in the industry with fine performances, including in Richard LesterB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Three Musketeers,B次元官网网址� which earned her a Golden Globe, and opposite James Coco in B次元官网网址淲ild Party.B次元官网网址� She was also nominated for a Globe in 1988 for the TV movie B次元官网网址淩ight to Die.B次元官网网址� She played herself and mocked divas in an episode of B次元官网网址淪einfeld,B次元官网网址� memorably attacking Elaine and rattling Kramer.
Married and divorced four times, she is survived by two children, Damon Welch and Tahnee Welch, who also became an actress, including landing a featured role in 1985B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淐ocoon.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press
