Raquel Welch, the iconic actress and Hollywood star, passed away at the age of 82 after a brief iIIness, according to her family.
Welch, born in Chicago in 1940, rose to fame in the 1960s with her stunning looks and roles in films like One Million Years B.C. and Fantastic Voyage. Although known as a s3x symbol, Welch was in control of her own image and refused to do n-ude scenes.
Growing up in San Diego, California, Welch embraced her Latina heritage and remained proud of it throughout her life. She appeared in beauty pageants as a teenager and later moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting dreams.
After minor film and TV roles, she had her breakout role in Fantastic Voyage, followed by her most iconic role in One Million Years B.C. where she wore a now-iconic deerskin bikini.
Welch continued to star in successful films, including Bedazzled and The Three Musketeers, for which she won a Golden Globe. She also worked as a singer and model and had a successful business venture with the Raquel Welch Wig Collection. Despite her beauty and s 3x appeal, she sometimes felt limited by her status as a s 3x symbol and wrote a memoir called Beyond the Cleavage.
Although critics were often unkind to her performances, Welch is now better respected for her comedic abilities and for changing the perception of what a Hollywood s 3x symbol could be, moving away from the previous “blonde b0mbshell” image. Welch is remembered as one of Hollywood’s all-time greats and was ranked on PIayboy’s “100 S 3xiest Stars of the Twentieth Century” list and Empire’s “100 S 3xiest Stars in Film History” list. She is sur-vived by her children and grandchildren.
