After a brief illness, legendary actress Raquel Welch passed away at the age of 82, according to the entertainment news website TMZ.
With her performance in Fantastic Voyage in 1966, she gained international recognition.
She was later hired by Hammer Film Productions in London for a role in One Million Years BC, where her appearance in a deerskin bikini caught audiences’ attention despite having just three lines of dialogue.
According to family members cited by TMZ, Welch passed away following a brief illness. Her manager reportedly provided confirmation of her passing to the BBC.
She was listed by Empire magazine as one of the 100 sexiest actors in movie history. She was rated as the third sexiest celebrity of the 20th century by Playboy.
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Her 1967 acting career featured Bedazzled, in which she played Lust Incarnate alongside Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Myra Breckinridge made another appearance in 1970.
In 1974, she went on to get a Golden Globe for her performance in Three Musketeers.
Welch also took part in a number of television specials. For her work in the 1987 movie Right to Die, she was awarded a Golden Globe.
Hollywood’s love of the blonde bombshell was viewed as being eclipsed by the brunette star’s portrayal of strong female characters, which was credited with changing the stereotype of the classic sex symbol.
In 1940, Jo Raquel Tejada was born in Chicago. She has a son, Damon, and a daughter, Tahnee, from her four previous marriages. Her son became married to Fred Trueman’s daughter, an England and Yorkshire fast bowler.
Her mother was American, while her father was Bolivian. She spoke about her Latina heritage in 2002, saying: “I’m happy to acknowledge it and it’s long overdue and it’s very welcome.
“There’s been kind of an empty place here in my heart and also in my work for a long, long time.”
Reese Witherspoon led tributes to Welch, describing her as “elegant, professional and glamorous beyond belief”.
Witherspoon, who worked with Welch on the 2001 cult classic film Legally Blonde, said she was “simply stunning”.
“So sad to hear about Raquel Welch’s passing,” she wrote on Twitter.
“I loved working with her on Legally Blonde. She was elegant , professional and glamorous beyond belief. Simply stunning.
“May all her angels carry her home. Sending love to her family and her many fans.”
Bridesmaids director Paul Feig described Welch as a “true superstar” and that the world had lost an “icon”.
“This is so sad. I had the great pleasure of working with Ms Welch when I was a regular on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and she was awesome,” he said.
“Kind, funny and a true superstar whom I was pretty much in love with for most of my childhood. We’ve lost a true icon.”
In addition to performing in more than 30 movies and 50 television shows during the course of his more than 50-year career, Welch also founded the successful wig company HairUWear and created a line of jewellery and skin-care items.
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