Raquel Welch, cinema siren and femme fatale, dead at 82

Raquel Welch at the 39th Emmy Awards Credits: Wikimedia Commons

Actress Raquel Welch, known for her appearances in films such as Fantastic Voyage(1966) and One Million Years B.C.(1966) has died at 82. According to a press release announced by KTLA, she died in Los Angeles, and is survived by her two children. 

Raquel Welch, previously “Jo” Raquel Tejeda, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1940 to aeronautical engineer Armando Carlos Tejada Urquizo, who was of Bolivian descent. Her mother came from an English background.

Raquel had won a series of beauty pageants in her youth and ventured into the arts by attending San Diego State College where she pursued a career of acting. Having divorced her high school sweetheart where she earned the surname “Welch”, she moved her two children from Dallas to L.A. where she met her agent, Patrick Curtis, who convinced her to use her ex’s surname as it would help her avoid being typecast as a Latina, with the goal of being recognized as a “sex symbol”.

Raquel Welch on the cover of Time magazine in November of 1969. Credits: Flickr

From there Raquel made her way up in Hollywood by starting out with small roles in television shows and films such as Bewitched and A House is Not a Home, where she ended up signing a contract with 20th Century Fox that lead her to the roles that launched her career (and sex symbol status) in the films Fantastic Voyage (1966) and One Million B.C. (1966). 

Italian postcard, no. 100 103. Photo: publicity still for One Million Years BC (Don Chaffey, 1966)

Raquel’s most famous image, promotional poster for the film One Million B.C.(1966). 

From there, Welch went international and filmed in countries such as Italy, Spain, England and starred in other films alongside famous actors: Elvis Presley, Frank Sintra, Burt Reynolds and Dean Martin. Playboy had even given her the title of “Most Desired Woman'' in 1970. CBS had also given her her own special titled “Raquel!” in the same year (1970). Due to her starring in the film Three Musketeers (1974), Raquel won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy and was then nominated for another Golden Globe in 1987 for Best Actress in television Film.

In the 1980’s, Raquel had released a series of beauty and fitness books titled “The Raquel Welch Total Beauty and Fitness Program'' and followed over the years in producing a line of jewelry, skincare and finally her most popular product line being a line of wigs called HAIRuWEAR, which can still be purchased today.

In an interview with NALIP, Raquel spoke up about how she felt about her Latina identity with examples of refusing to change her name from Raquel to sound more Anglicized. Although her father did not raise her to speak Spanish at home, in fear of similar prejudice falling unto her, she still claimed “The essence of who I am is Latina.” In the interview Raquel also mentioned how she held no regret in her sex symbol roles, however it did come with its limitations in roles for films. 

Before her death this February, Raquel had starred in a film with Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez, “How To Be a Latin Lover”.