![raquel welch](https://doyouremember.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/M8DONMI_EC002-702x351.jpg)
Thereโs no denying that the greatest Hollywood sex symbol of the 1960s was Raquel Welch, and there are millions today that are shocked to learn that she has died at age 82 of undisclosed causes.
Raquel pretty much exploded in popularity at the time in movies like One Million, B.C.ย (she wore a fur bikini!) and the British spy comedyย Fathomย (featured in various stages of near-undress). In the process, she did away with the image of the blonde bombshell that had dominated the 1950s โ Marilyn Monroe or Jane Mansfield, for exampleย โ and ushered in a whole new kind of sexy that had a major impact on moviegoers, celebrity gawkers and studio heads desperate to get her on the big screen.
![Raquel Welch](https://doyouremember.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PSDRAWE_EC009.jpg)
Her film roles includedย Fantastic Voyage, co-starring with Dean Martin inย Bandolero! , Frank Sinatra inย Lady in Cement, Jim Brown inย 100 Riflesย and Peter Sellers inย The Magic Christian. In 1970 and 1971, she headlined a pair of TV variety specials in an attempt to showcase her comedic, musical and dancing skills (notย qualities viewers really had gotten the chance to see), before returning to the movies with flicks like Kansas City Bomber andย The Three Musketeers. In 1982, she decided to give Broadway a shot and took over for actress Lauren Bacall inย Woman of the Year, for which she was critically acclaimed.
![Raquel Welch](https://doyouremember.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/M8DMOJU_FE001.jpg)
Things would slow down in terms of movie work in the 1980s, so she began doing TV movies likeย The Legend of Walks Far Womanย andย Right to Die. In between, she jumped on the exercise craze and createdย The Raquel Welch Total Beauty and Fitness Programย books and videos. Her final role would be in the 2017 film How to Be a Latin Lover.
What’s interesting is that as much as the world viewed Raquel as a sex symbol, she never really bought into the idea, feeling imprisoned in a sense. As she explained, “I was locked in this image and couldnโt get out. My family was very conservative and I had a traditional upbringing. I was not brought up to be a sex symbol, nor is it in my nature to be one. The whole โsex symbolโ thing is part of what I do as an actress. Itโs a kind of character I play. Itโs part of me, but not the whole me.โ
Media and public scrutiny were also problems.ย “It’s human nature to pick people apart,” she offered, “and you just can’t stand that you’re under all this scrutiny.” But there was, she pointed out, a certain truth to this as well: “I didn’tย have to go along with it; nobody twisted my arm. But I did it, because that was my advantage. I was going to use my advantage and I’m glad I did.”
Raquel was married four times, and has two children, including actress Tahnee Welch.