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Raquel Welch made her film debut in the 1964 drama 'A House Is Not a Home' with a small role as a call girl.
Later in 1964, she appeared opposite Elvis Presley in 'Roustabout' as a college girl. Elvis is pictured surrounded by actresses Joan Freeman, Sue Ane Langdon, and Raquel Welch (second right) on the film set.
By the mid-1960s, Raquel Welch was an international sex symbol. And one film would cement that reputation for good.
The latter half of the 1960s saw Welch appear in a number of Italian films, appearing alongside the likes of Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale. In 1968, she costarred with Robert Wagner and Edward G. Robinson in 'The Biggest Bundle of Them All,' a crime caper set in Naples. Robinson later quipped, "I must say she has quite a body. She has been the product of a good publicity campaign. I hope she lives up to it because a body will only take you so far."
'Fathom' was Raquel Welch's first starring role. A spy comedy, the movie received mixed reviews. A Los Angeles Times critic insisted Welch couldn't act, and instead had been born to be photographed. The New York Times, however, gushed that "Miss Welch had learned to act."
Welch's popular movies of the period included 'Bedazzled' (1967) with British comedy duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and 'Bandolero!' (1968), which costarred her against James Stewart and Dean Martin (pictured on set).
'Lady in Cement' starred Frank Sinatra, with whom Welch was smitten. "I think I was just so enamored with Frank Sinatra, you know. He's hypnotic," Welch said later, recalling her time working with the legendary entertainer.
An otherwise mediocre Western, '100 Rifles' (1969) courted controversy at the time because it included a love scene between Welch and Jim Brown (pictured) that breached the then Hollywood taboo of on-screen miscegenation. The movie is also infamous for another scene in which Welch distracts the soldiers on a train by taking a shower at a water tower along the tracks. The film's director, Tom Gries, tried hard to convince Welch to do the scene naked, but she refused—one of the many instances the actress resisted taking her clothes off on-screen.
The picture, which costarred John Huston, Mae West, and Rex Reed, was controversial for its sexual explicitness (including acts like female-on-male sexual abuse), and the promotion of bisexuality. A commercial and critical failure, Welch admitted years later that, "The only good thing about [the film] was the clothes."
Despite the mauling given to 'Myra Breckinridge,' her looks and fame led Playboy to dub Welch the "Most Desired Woman" of the 1970s, among other gushing tributes.
The sports drama 'Kansas City Bomber' took the actress into the competitive world of roller games, where she portrayed a member of an ambitious roller derby team. Noted as one of the earliest film appearances of Jodie Foster, the movie was well received and Welch cited it as the first of her films that she actually liked.
Raquel Welch won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance in 'The Three Musketeers' (1973), based on the 1844 novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas. She is pictured here with Michael York as d'Artagnan.
Welch started the new decade well. In 1981, she starred on Broadway in 'Woman of the Year,' receiving praise for following Lauren Bacall in the title role.
In 1982, Welch was due to star in the drama 'Cannery Row,' but was fired by the producers a few weeks into filming. The studio claimed she'd reneged on her contract by refusing early morning rehearsals. Debra Winger replaced her. Welch subsequently sued MGM for breach of contract. Welch's evidence at trial proved there was a conspiracy to falsely blame her for the film's budget problems and delays. The jury sided with the actress and she won a US$10.8 million verdict against MGM in 1986.
'Right to Die,' in which Welch played a psychologist diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease who comes to desire her own death as her disease progresses, is one of the films of which she was most proud. In fact, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. She's pictured at a press launch in front of a photo of herself as she looks in the movie.
In 1994, Welch received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
Did you know that for many years Raquel Welch performed in a successful one-woman nightclub musical act in Las Vegas? In 1987 she flirted with a pop singing career, releasing the dance single 'This Girl's Back in Town,' which peaked at no. 29 on Billboard's dance club chart.
Into her eighties, Raquel Welch was still acting in film and television. Her last big screen outing was 2017's 'How to Be a Latin Lover.' She's pictured at the film's premiere with co-star and Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez.
In this film directed by Burt Kennedy, Welch became the first female lead in a Western. Years later, Quentin Tarantino revealed that 'Hannie Caulder' was one of his inspirations for 'Kill Bill.'
Her first costarring role was as Cora Peterson in the science-fiction adventure 'Fantastic Voyage.' The film received mostly positive reviews.
As a businesswoman, Welch succeeded with her signature line of wigs, HairUWear. In 2005, the Raquel Welch Signature Collection donated US$1 million in wigs to the American Cancer Society in honor of the star's 65th birthday (pictured).
Raquel Welch was one of the great sex symbols of the 1960s and '70s. But she was also applauded as a screen icon due to her portrayal of strong female characters. In fact, the actress, once dubbed by Playboy magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars of the Twentieth Century," eventually helped break the mold of the archetypal blonde bombshell so vigorously promoted by Hollywood. A Golden Globe winner, Welch resisted attempts to typecast her despite her famous fur bikini appearance in 'One Million Years B.C.' Sadly, it has been announced that the actress has passed away, at the age of 82.
In honor of her, click through the following gallery for an appreciation of one of the most celebrated women of her generation.
Speaking about her reputation, the actress once famously talked about her image as a sex symbol, saying it was not in her nature, and "The fact that I became one is probably the loveliest, most glamorous and fortunate misunderstanding."
See also: The most beautiful actresses ever
The actress looking suitably regal as Lady Edith in the Richard Fleischer-directed movie 'The Prince and the Pauper.' The remainder of the 1970s saw Welch begin to wind down her film career, although she was seen on various television shows, including 'The Muppet Show,' 'Mork & Mindy,' and 'Saturday Night Live.'
Raquel Welch welcomed the 1970s in the same way she bade farewell to the 1960s, mired in controversy and bucking the trend. In 1970, she starred in 'Myra Breckinridge'. The film follows the exploits of Myra Breckinridge (née Myron), a transgender woman who has undergone a sex change operation.
In 1966, Raquel Welch appeared in the British adventure fantasy film 'One Million Years B.C.' Exterior scenes were filmed on Lanzarote and Tenerife in the Canary Islands, but it could have been the moon as far as the general public was concerned. All eyes were focused on Welch's fur bikini!
In January 2007, at age 67, Welch was selected as the newest face of MAC Cosmetics Beauty Icon series.
Welch's first featured role was in the feelgood beach film 'A Swingin' Summer.' Her sizzling shape and dazzling smile were beginning to get her noticed. Soon after this movie, she agreed to a seven-year nonexclusive contract, five pictures over the next five years, and two options.
Welch wore a bikini made of fur and hide in the film, later described as the "definitive look of the 1960s." The iconic publicity photograph of Welch from the film became a best-selling pinup poster, and something of a cultural phenomenon. Indeed, the bikini pose raised Welch's stature as a leading sultry symbol of the era.
The sultry on-screen legacy of Raquel Welch
The iconic actress has passed away at the age of 82
CELEBRITY Retrospective
Raquel Welch was one of the great sex symbols of the 1960s and '70s. But she was also applauded as a screen icon due to her portrayal of strong female characters. In fact, the actress, once dubbed by Playboy magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars of the Twentieth Century," eventually helped break the mold of the archetypal blonde bombshell so vigorously promoted by Hollywood. A Golden Globe winner, Welch resisted attempts to typecast her despite her famous fur bikini appearance in 'One Million Years B.C.' Sadly, it has been announced that the actress has passed away, at the age of 82.
In honor of her, click through the following gallery for an appreciation of one of the most celebrated women of her generation.