Raquel Welch, the American actress who became a huge box office draw and pop culture icon in the sixties and seventies with Fantastic Voyage and other films, has died aged 82.
A statement on Wednesday (February 15) from Welch’s management company Media Four said: “Raquel Welch, the legendary bombshell actress of film, television and stage, passed away peacefully early this morning after a brief illness. Her career spans over 50 years, with over 30 films and 50 TV series and appearances. The Golden Globe winner, in more recent years, was involved in a very successful line of wigs.”
Welch started out as a weather girl at a local TV station in California before landing small parts in TV series and films, including the Elvis Presley vehicle Roustabout.
Her breakthrough on the screen came in mid-sixties films like Fantastic Voyage or One Million Years BC. In 1975, she won her Golden Globe for best actress in comedy or musical for her role as The Three Musketeers.
In the nineties she was a spoof The Three Musketeers. In the decades that followed, she played roles in Legally Blonde in 2001 and How to Be a Latin Lover.
Welch’s son Damon James Welch, and daughter Tahnee Welch are her survivors.
