Raquel Welch

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Birth Name: Jo Raquel Tejada

Born: 5 September 1940 Died: 15 February 2023

Country of origin: United States

Height: 5' 6"

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364 votes

Women With Weapons (469 items)
list by Kev64

Published 1 month, 1 week ago

47 comments

236 votes

Copying Classic Actresses (25 items)
list by Agata

Published 15 years, 9 months ago

29 comments

186 votes

Sex symbol of every decade(female) (44 items)
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Published 15 years, 7 months ago

33 comments

157 votes

That 70's Girl (100 items)
list by Severin Severin

Published 13 years, 2 months ago

11 comments

138 votes

Over 50 and beautiful (47 items)
list by DuckNation

Published 13 years, 4 months ago

13 comments

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Raquel Welch Videos

Movie Legends - Raquel Welch (Finale)

1986 Views, 3 votes, 1 comments

Added 13 years ago

Raquel Welch Bikini Slideshow Lady In Cement 1968

2376 Views, 1 votes

Added 10 years ago

Raquel Welch and Cher

1085 Views, 1 votes

Added 10 years ago

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Description: Jo Raquel Welch (née Tejada) was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she signed a long-term 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 sex symbol. She later starred in Bedazzled (1967), Bandolero! (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970), Hannie Caulder (1971), Kansas City Bomber (1972 Jo Raquel Welch (née Tejada) was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she signed a long-term 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 sex 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 Three Musketeers (1973), The Wild Party (1975), and Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976). She made several television variety specials.

Through her portrayal of strong female characters, helping her break the mold of the traditional sex 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. Her love scene with Jim Brown in 100 Rifles also made cinematic history with their portrayal of interracial intimacy. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy in 1974 for her performance as Constance Bonacieux in The Three Musketeers and reprised the role in its sequel the following year. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Television Film for her performance in 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 Sexiest Stars in Film History". Playboy ranked Welch No. 3 on their "100 Sexiest Stars of the Twentieth Century" list.

Welch married her high school sweetheart, James Welch, in Las Vegas on May 8, 1959. They had two children, Damon (born November 6, 1959) and Tahnee (born December 26, 1961). The couple separated in 1962 and divorced in 1964; she retained the surname Welch for the rest of her life.

She married publicist Patrick Curtis in Paris on February 14, 1967, and they divorced on January 6, 1972. Curtis later said to the tabloid newspapers that Welch had had an abortion during their marriage. Spanish media reported that during the shooting of 100 Rifles in Spain in 1968, Welch, while married to Curtis, had a relationship with Spanish actor Sancho Gracia, who had a small role in the film, and that Welch's husband, upon finding out about the affair, chased Gracia at gunpoint through the hotel where they were staying in Aguadulce.

Subsequent boyfriends included football player Joe Namath, producer Robert Evans and comedian Freddie Prinze.

On July 5, 1980, she married producer André Weinfeld in Cabo San Lucas. In early February 1983, while vacationing in Mustique, Welch suffered a miscarriage three months into her pregnancy. Her marriage to Weinfeld ended in August 1990.

In 1996, after keeping a low romantic profile for several years, she dated former British boxing champion Gary Stretch, who was younger than Welch's children.

Richie Palmer, co-owner of Mulberry Street Pizzeria, who had one son from a previous marriage, broke off his engagement with business partner and actress Cathy Moriarty to pursue Welch in October 1997. In July 17, 1999, they married at her home in Beverly Hills; they separated in August 2003 and divorced a year later.

In 2011, Welch told Elle magazine she would not remarry. Her last known relationship, during the early-to-mid-2010s, was with American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe.

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. ... (more)