Off The Record
Raquel Welch Dies At 82: Cause Of Death, Career, Net Worth, Movies, Children, & Last Photos
On Wednesday, February 15th, American actress and model Raquel Welch passed away at the age of 82.
Her management has verified her demise and stated she died peacefully after a brief illness.
Welch wore a deerskin bikini in the 1966 film One Million Years B.C., and this is widely regarded as the defining moment in her career as a global sex icon.
The basic yet attractive clothing Raquel Welch wore in the film helped make her famous performance stand out despite the fact that she had very few lines.
She became the sex icon of her time in part because of the clothes she wore and the way she acted in the film One Million Years B.C.
Her breakthrough role in the film Fantastic Voyage catapulted her to stardom. This led to a contract with 20th Century Fox, which in turn led to a contract with Hammer Film Productions for the film One Million Years B.C.
The movie poster featuring her in her deer-skin bikini went on to become a best-seller, cementing her status as a global sex legend.
After this, however, Welch created a distinct film image that made her an icon of the 1960s and 1970s by portraying a variety of powerful female characters that broke the mold of her usual sex symbol.
One of the reasons Hollywood stopped actively promoting the blonde bombshell was because of her fame.
Biography and Work of Raquel Welch
On September 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois, Welch was born Jo Raquel Tejada. Her Bolivian father was a pioneer in the field of aviation. Besides themselves, Welch also has a younger brother named James “Jim” Tejada and a younger sister named Gayle Tejada
After competing in and winning several teen beauty pageants, she went on to become a local meteorologist.
She worked as a cocktail server and a model for the Dallas, Texas branch of Neiman Marcus during her brief stay there. Soon after returning to Hollywood in 1964, she got her big break with cameo roles in the Elvis Presley musicals A House Is Not a Home and Roustabut.
Welch later wrote a biography called Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage in which she discussed her childhood, the difficulties of starting a career as a single mother in Hollywood, and why she would never lie about her age. Her career spanned five decades, and she made appearances in more than 30 films and 50 television series.
Welch, Raquel — Films
In her film career, Raquel Welch has been in several well-known films.
- Fantastic Vogue (1966)
- One Million Years B.C. (1966)
- Bedazzled (1967)
- Bandolero! (1968)
- 100 Rifles (1969)
- Myra Breckinridge (1970)
- Hannie Clauder (1971)
She was also featured in a number of television variety shows in addition to movies.
Raquel Welch Awards and recognitions
Welch’s 1974 performance in The Three Musketeers earned her the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. In addition to that, her performance in the TV drama Right to Die earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination (1987).
She was honored with a star at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard (Hollywood Boulevard).
She received the Imagen Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her tireless advocacy for Latino Americans.
The Walter Reade Theatre hosted a retrospective of Welch’s films hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2012.
On their list of the “100 Hottest Stars of the Twentieth Century,” Playboy magazine placed Welch at #3 in 1995.
How Rich Was Raquel Welch?
If the claims made by Celebrity Net Worth are to be believed, Welch was worth around $40 million. She was also the spokesperson for MAC cosmetics, a HAIRuWEAR wig line, a jewelry brand, and a skincare company, in addition to Foster Grant eyewear.
Children and Family, According to Raquel Welch
To her high school love, James Welch, Welch said “I do” on May 8, 1959.
Her children with James are Damon Wlech and Latanne ‘Tahnee’ Welch.
While James and Raquel divorced in 1964, Raquel continued to use the Welch surname until her passing.
She wed film producer Patrick Curtis in 1967 and afterwards filed for divorce two years later.
She remarried in 1980 to the producer Andre Weinfield, from whom she was divorced ten years later.
Rest In Peace, Raquel Welch!
Some of the final photos ever taken of Raquel Welch are below:
Welch disappeared after getting a manicure in a Beverly Hills shop.
What was the cause of death?
On January 15th, 2019, an American actress and model tragically passed away. A “brief illness,” according to her management, was the cause of her death. Some fans speculate it might’ve been cancer…
Welch’s spokesman Steve Sauer issued a statement in which he said, “Raquel Welch, the legendary bombshell actress of film, television and stage, passed away peacefully early this morning after a brief illness… The 82-year-old actress burst into Hollywood in her initial roles in One Million, B.C and Fantastic Voyage.”
“Her career spanned over 50 years starring in over 30 films and 50 television series and appearances. The Golden Globe winner, in more recent years, was involved in a very successful line of wigs. Raquel leaves behind her two children, son Damon Welch and her daughter, Tahnee Welch,” he added.
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