Actress Raquel Welch has died at 82 in Los Angeles after a brief illness, her manager, Steve Sauer, confirmed (via Variety). The star was known for The Three Musketeers, One Million Years B.C., and Fantastic Voyage.
At the beginning of her career as an actress, Raquel Welch began on the small screen. She had small roles between 1964-65 in various shows like A House Is Not a House, The Virginian, Bewitched, and The Hollywood Palace. One of her most iconic roles was the one that launched her to the big screen with the 1966 sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage, which followed a crew in a shrunken submarine in the bloodstream of a nearly assassinated scientist.
From that point in the sci-fi flick, the star skyrocketed. She had her Golden Globe-winning role in The Three Musketeers in 1973. Then came the pre-historic blockbuster One Million Years B.C., which helped put her as one of the first major sex symbols in the entertainment world. Other notable films in her career were Myra Beckrinridge, Kansas City Bomber, and broke ground as one of the first women leads in a Western who was not a love interest in Hannie Caulder, which was cited to be one of the inspirations for Quentin Tarantino’s classic, Kill Bill.
Actress and sex symbol Raquel Welch has died
The star had done more than just be in front of the camera. She had produced some projects throughout her time. Most notably, she starred and produced the adaption of The Legend of Walks Far Woman by Colin Stuart. NBC fought her on it, but after pursuing the project, the network gave in, and it aired in 1982. She also wrote the hour musical comedy special, From Raquel with Love, in 1980.
Over the years, Raquel Welch talked about how being an actress turned to her as a sex symbol. While she had no regrets about the films and shows, the sex symbol part was something she had “mixed feelings” about due to it being “limiting.” She wrote about it and more in her 2010 memoir, Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage.
She is survived by her son, Damon Welch, and daughter, Tahnee Welch.