Raquel Welch

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Raquel Welch (born September 5, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is a Golden Globe Award-winning American actress and glamour model. Welch became the leading sex symbol of the late 1960s and 1970s, after the death of Marilyn Monroe. Today, Welch is one of the sexiest women over the age of 50.

Early life

Welch was born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest of three children She was the daughter of Josephine Sarah (née Hall) with English ancestry dating back to John Quincy Adams and the Mayflower, and Armando Carlos Tejada Urquizo, a Bolivian of Spanish descent.[1][2][3][4]

In 1942, Armando Tejada was transferred to San Diego, California. The family moved to the suburb of La Jolla, where Raquel grew up. She took dancing lessons as a child, and was winning beauty pageants by the time she was a teenager. Among her titles were "Miss Photogenic," "Miss La Jolla," "Miss Contour," and "Miss San Diego." In 1957, she was named "Miss Fairest of the Fair" at the San Diego County Fair. In mid-1957, Raquel graduated from La Jolla High School, and later went to San Diego State College on a theater arts scholarship. In 1959, Raquel married her high school sweetheart, James Welch.

Career

Raquel Welch
photo: Helmut Newton

In 1959, Raquel Welch played the title role in the famous Ramona Pageant, a yearly outdoor play at Hemet, California, which is based on the novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson.

She became a weather presenter at a local San Diego television station. Because of her heavy schedule, she decided to leave college. Her marriage broke up and she moved with her two children to Dallas, Texas, where she modeled for Neiman-Marcus and worked as a cocktail hostess, intending to move on to New York City from there.

Instead, she moved back to California. She found a place in Los Angeles and started making the rounds of the movie studios. She was cast in bit parts in two films and television shows, Bewitched, McHale's Navy, The Hollywood Palace, and The Virginian. She actually auditioned for the part of "Mary Ann" on Gilligan's Island but lost out to Dawn Wells. Welch's first featured role was in A Swingin' Summer, which led to a contract with 20th Century Fox. She was then cast in the Sci-fi hit Fantastic Voyage, which finally made her a star.

On loan out to Hammer Studios in Britain, she starred in the remake of One Million Years B.C.. After her appearance as "Lust Incarnate" in Bedazzled, she returned to the United States and appeared in a Western with James Stewart and Dean Martin titled Bandolero!, which was followed by Lady in Cement with Frank Sinatra. Her first real starring role was in Myra Breckinridge with Mae West. She took the role as the film's transsexual heroine in an attempt to be taken seriously as an actress, but the movie turned out to be a dismal failure.

Despite box office disappointments, Welch became one of the leading sex symbols of the 1960s and 1970s. Her most memorable publicity still, where she was clad in a furry animal-skin bikini for One Million Years B.C., became a bestselling poster. Playboy called her the "Most Desired Woman" of the 1970s. In December 1979, Welch posed for Playboy magazine, however she didn't pose naked.

Welch was due to star in the 1982 adaptation of Cannery Row, but was fired by the producers in favour of Debra Winger. She successfully sued, collecting a multi-million dollar award, but this effectively ended her film acting career until the mid-1990s. Her television appearances include the series The Hollywood Palace, the made for TV movies The Legend of Walks Far Woman and Right to Die, in which she turned in a stirring performance as a woman with Lou Gehrig's disease, and in the PBS series American Family, about a Mexican American family in East Los Angeles. She has also appeared in the night time soap opera CPW and made infomercials and exercise videos. While she never appeared on the show, her name was frequently used as an all-purpose answer on the game show Match Game. In 1987, she flirted with a pop singing career, releasing the dance single This Girl's Back In Town.

She has also performed in a nightclub act in Las Vegas and has starred on Broadway in Woman of the Year and in Victor/Victoria, where she replaced Julie Andrews.

In a 1997 episode of the comedy series Seinfeld entitled "The Summer of George", Welch played a highly temperamental version of herself, assaulting series stars Kramer and Elaine because they found humor in Welch's inability to swing her arms when she danced onstage. In 2001, Welch starred as Mrs. Windham Vandermark in Legally Blonde. After a 5-year hiatus, Welch returned to the big screen to star in Forget About It along with actor Burt Reynolds. In 2008, Welch starred in a short-lived CBS comedy show called Welcome to the Captain.

As a businesswoman Welch has experienced great success with her signature line of wigs. She also began a jewelry and skincare line although neither of those ventures compared to the success of her wig collection.

Personal Life

Raquel married her high school sweetheart, James Welch on May 8, 1959. The couple married two years after high school graduation. Raquel was 18 years old. The couple had two children. Damon Welch, son (b. November 6, 1959) and Tahnee, daughter (b. December 26, 1961). In 1964, Raquel divorced James and moved to Dallas, Texas.

In 1962, Raquel met her manager Patrick Curtis in Los Angeles, California. Curtis helped Raquel propel to stardom. On February 14, 1967, Raquel married Curtis in Paris, France. Soon after, her marriage with Curtis, Raquel moved to London, England, where she starred in some British films. In 1972, Raquel divorced Curtis. Soon later, Raquel moved back to the United States.

On July 5, 1980, Raquel married French writer André Weinfeld. Raquel and André worked on Raquel's nutrition, yoga and exercise videos. In 1990, Raquel divorced André. On July 17, 1999, Raquel married restaurant owner Richard Palmer. Years later in 2003, Raquel and Palmer separated.

Achievements and Awards

In 1974, Raquel won the Golden Globe Award for the "Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy" for the The Three Musketeers, where she starred as Constance Bonacieux. In 1988, Raquel was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role in the TV movie Right to Die.

Despite, being a solid actress during her career, Raquel was nominated for a Razzie Award for "Worst Supporting Actress" for her role in Chairman of the Board (1998). In 1994, Raquel was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.

Trivia

  • Welch was rated #3 on Playboy's Top 100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century.
  • Welch was rated #18 on Empire Magazine's 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History.
  • Welch was born at 2:04 p.m. CDT.
  • Welch's daughter, Tahnee, posed for Playboy in November 1995.
  • In 1980, film critic Michael Medved named Welch as the "worst actress" in The Golden Turkey Awards".

Filmography

One Million Years B.C. (1966)
  • Forget About It (2006)
  • Jim Brown: All American (2002)
  • Tortilla Soup (2001)
  • Legally Blonde (2001)
  • Chairman of the Board (1998)
  • What I Did for Love (1998)
  • Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
  • Trouble in Paradise (1989)
  • Crossed Swords (1978)
  • The Animal (1977)
  • Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976)
  • The Wild Party (1975)
  • The Four Musketeers (1974)
  • The Three Musketeers (1973)
  • The Last of Sheila (1973)
  • Bluebeard (1972)
  • Fuzz (1972)
  • Kansas City Bomber (1972)
  • Hannie Caulder (1971)
  • The Beloved (1970)
  • Myra Breckinridge (1970)
  • 100 Rifles (1969)
  • Flareup (1969)
  • The Magic Christian (1969)
  • The Biggest Bundle of Them All(1968)
  • Bandolero! (1968)
  • Lady in Cement (1968)
  • Think Twentieth (1967)
  • The Oldest Profession (1967)
  • Fathom (1967)
  • Bedazzled (1967)
  • The Queens (1966)
  • Fantastic Voyage (1966)
  • One Million Years B.C. (1966)
  • Shoot Loud, Louder... I Don't Understand (1966)
  • A Swingin' Summer (1965)
  • Roustabout (1964)
  • A House Is Not a Home (1964)

Television Work

  • American Family (2002-2004)
  • Seinfeld " The Summer Of George" (1997)
  • Central Park West (1995-1996)
  • Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby (1994) (voice)
  • Tainted Blood (1993)
  • Torch Song (1993)
  • Trouble in Paradise (1989)
  • Scandal in a Small Town (1988)
  • Right to Die (1987)
  • The Legend of Walks Far Woman (1982)
  • Raquel! (1970)
  • The Hollywood Palace (1964)

Big tit movies / pictures of Raquel Welch

External links

References

  1. Tavis Smiley. Shows. Raquel Welch. April 19, 2010. PBS (2010-04-19). Retrieved on 2010-12-30.
  2. www.levante-emv.com (Spanish)
  3. Read Chapter 1 of Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage. Oprah.com (2010-03-29). Retrieved on 2010-12-30.
  4. Raquel Welch Biography (1940-). Film Reference.com.



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