Day One
Raquel Welch was born on September 5th, 1940 in Illinois, Chicago. Her father came from Spanish descent whereas her mother came from English descent, and the latter’s ancestors came to America on the Mayflower.
Day One
Royal Family
Raquel Welch is noted to have come from royalty of sorts. She is the 21st great granddaughter of King Edward I, but that’s not how she got famous.
Royal Family
The Ballerina
Since she was a little girl, Raquel liked to perform – she was born for the stage. One of the first outlets for her talent came in the form of ballet which she took classes for from age seven through seventeen. Her dreams of ever becoming a ballerina died when her teacher told her that she was not suitable for such a sport.
The Ballerina
Winning Titles
Shortly after her family moved to live in California, her parents decided to get divorced. Around the same time, Raquel won the title of “Miss Fairest of the Fair” at a San Diego county fair. 14-year-old Raquel Welch also took home two more titles that day – “Miss Photogenic” and “Miss Contour”.
Winning Titles
More Titles
That wasn’t the last of the beauty she was recognized for in her teens. She also snatched up the titles of Miss La Jolla and Miss Southern California.
More Titles
Finishing High School
Welch graduated from La Jolla High School in 1958. But she didn’t just finish school, she graduated with honors. Shortly after, she won roles in local theater performances.
Finishing High School
First Marriage
In 1958, she graduated high school and fell in love with her high school sweetheart, James Welch. She would also fall pregnant not too long afterwards, encouraging them to get married in 1959. By 1961, they had two children together, Damon and Latanne, but they were going through a rough time in their marriage.
First Marriage
First Of All
By 1964 they divorced and went their separate ways. Despite having a difficult relationship once they were married, Welch referred to her first marriage as her best marriage.
First Of All
Odd Jobs
When Rachel received a scholarship to study drama at San Diego State College, she needed to earn some money. She started by securing herself a job as a weather forecaster at KFMB, but ironically had to quit acting school because of the demand at the TV station. She decided to move to Texas with her kids where she became a cocktail waitress and a model.
Odd Jobs
Her Debut
In 1964, Raquel Welch made her debut in a movie called, “A house Is Not A Home”. She played a call girl – it wasn’t a big role, but it was a start.
Her Debut
Second Marriage
When her modelling career didn’t bear fruits, she decided to up and leave to Los Angeles in hopes of finding work as an actress. There she met Patrick Curtis, and he became her manager and eventually her husband. They got married in 1966, but only six years later they would divorce in 1972.
Second Marriage
Becoming Raquel Welch
Curtis worked to help Raquel achieve fame by becoming a symbol. He also encouraged her to use her first husband’s last name instead of her Latin last name, in hopes of avoiding being cast as a Latino. During this time she made some small-time appearances on TV series like The Virginian, McHale’s Navy, and Bewitched.
Becoming Raquel Welch
Changing Names
But changing her last name didn’t seem to be enough. The producers at 20th Century Fox tried to convince Welch to change her first name from Raquel to “Debbie”, because they claimed her name was too difficult to pronounce. She recalls, “I think they were paranoid that Raquel sounded too ethnic.”
Changing Names
The First Movie
Welch eventually made it on screen in her first actual movie, A Swingin’ Summer in 1965. Producer Saul David’s wife noticed Welch and her talent and put her name forward to her husband. Saul David and Patrick Curtis approached 20th Century and managed to secure a 7-year contract for Raquel which included having to make five films.
The First Movie
1966: Success
The year 1966 turned fame in the direction of Raquel Welch. First she appeared in a leading role in the science fiction film Fantastic Voyage where she caught everyone’s attention. In the same year, she donned the riske deer-skin outfit for the movie, One Million Years B.C. which would cause a stir.
1966: Success
See, Don’t Listen
In the movie, Welch had only three lines to speak, but she still made an impression. Funnily enough, the grunting sounds she made in the movie were not made by her – they were made by Nikki Van der Zyl.
See, Don’t Listen
Loss For Words
On the set of One Million Years B.C., Raquel Welch tried to give her opinion for some of the shots. but she was met with condescension. The director said, “You’ve got to be kidding. You’ve been thinking about this scene? See that rock over there? You just start from that rock and run across to that other rock, and that’s all we want from you today.”
Loss For Words
The Pin-Up Girl
The image of Raquel Welch in her fur outfit raised a lot of eyebrows. The photograph that made the cover for the movie has become as iconic as it is popular. In the 1994 film, Shawshank Redemption, it is the poster of her that covers up the hole in the wall that leads the protagonist to freedom.
The Pin-Up Girl
Where’s the Bikini?
To this day, many fans are asking about the whereabouts of the One Million Years B.C. bikini. Guaranteed it could be worth a lot of money. When a reporter asked Welch where the bikini was, she told him that there was actually more than one. She added, “I’ve been told it’s in mothballs waiting to be hung in the Smithsonian museum.”
Where’s The Bikini?
Barbarella
In 1968, Raquel Welch was cast to lead the role of Barbarella in a sci-fi movie based in the 41st Century. However, in the end she was replaced by Jane Fonda.
Barbarella
Myra Breckinridge
Following the 1968 satirical novel by Gore Vidal, Raquel Welch took the lead role in the 1970 film, Myra Breckinridge. The movie was supposed to be a success as it challenged the norms of sexuality and offered an interesting take on the way society sees gender. Unfortunately the movie failed miserably and has been called one of the worst movies of all time.
Myra Breckinridge
Out Of Her Control
After the movie hit screens, Simon Doonan asked Welch whether she enjoyed if there was anything she liked about the movie. She answered him, “Well, I liked the experience of it. I enjoyed making it.” “But there’s not much you can do as an actor when a film is falling apart. I couldn’t control that the script wasn’t coming together. Each rewrite got further and further from making any sense.”
Out Of Her Control
Kansas City Bomber
In 1972, Welch played K.C. Carr, a roller-skater trying to find fame and balance her personal life in a movie called, Kansas City Bomber. The movie was nominated for a Golden Globes Award but didn’t have anything to do with Welch’s performance personally.
Kansas City Bomber
Giving It Her All
During the shooting of The Kansas City Bomber, Welch dedicated herself to the film with all her might. She even broke her wrist in a skating accident while practicing for her role.
Giving It Her All
A Change In Perception
She wasn’t the first woman from Hollywood to make an appearance in Playboy magazine, but she only agreed to do it on one condition: she would pose fully clothed. Luckily they agreed. Welch was determined to change the perception of the women in Hollywood, and this was the start.
A Change In Perception
Hugh Hefner Was Impressed
Hugh Hefner was impressed by Welch’s insistence not to compromise on her principles for his magazine. “Raquel Welch…came from the era when you could be considered the most beautiful woman in the world…The pictures prove her point.”
Hugh Hefner Was Impressed
Fired And Sued
For the 1982 movie, Cannery Row, Raquel Welch was let go and replaced by Debra Winger. Welch was angry because she felt that the studio had just used her name to garner money for the movie. With her attorney’s help, she sued the studio and received $10 million in compensation for a breach in contract terms.
Fired And Sued
Third And Fourth Marriages
Raquel married director and journalist, Andre Weinfield in 1980 but they divorced in 1990. Later she married Richard Palmer in 1999 but separated from him in 2008, and that was the last straw for her. She made it clear that she would NOT be getting married again.
Third And Fourth Marriages
About Marriage
When Raquel Welch was asked how she would define love and marriage, this was her answer: “We all have a childhood dream that when there is love, everything goes like silk, but the reality is that marriage requires a lot of compromise.”
About Marriage
The Kids
Not all parents are the same, and neither are all childhoods. Discussing her kids and their upbringing, Welch commented, “I was not a classic mother. But my kids were never palmed off to boarding school. So, I didn’t bake cookies. You can buy cookies, but you can’t buy love.”
The Kids
Like Mother Like Daughter
Just like her mother, Tahnee Welch became an actress and starred in a number of films, like The Criminal Mind (1993), Night Train to Venice (1993) and I Shot Andy Warhol (1996). She also posed on the cover of Playboy magazine, garnering a lot of attention, but nothing as much as her mother.
Like Mother Like Daughter
Making Her Voice Heard
For a brief period in 1987, Welch took to the microphone to try her luck at singing. She released her pop dance single, “This Girl’s Back In Town”. Apart from that, she also pulled off a one-woman nightclub musical act in Las Vegas.
Making Her Voice Heard
The Real ‘Her’
Despite being such a successful Hollywood star, she claims that she is hardly ever seen for her. “People sit and wait for me to turn them on. I think to myself, what the hell, why should I come on to some guy? I can see he’s not interested in me. It’s not me he’s especially interested in. It’s Raquel Welch! The label. He’s after the label.”
The Real ‘Her’
Black And White
When Raquel Welch starred alongside Jim Brown in 100 Rifles, there was a lot of controversy. The movie had one of the first interracial love scenes and the year was 1969. Raquel Welch reflects on that time, “I really didn’t see what the big deal was. I’ve always personally been color blind. When I was doing 100 Rifles and I found out I’d be working with Jim Brown, I was more concerned with whether he could act, because he was primarily known as a football player. But he was great.”
Black And White
One’s On The Way
Country singer Loretta Lynn released a single called “One’s On The Way” in 1971. The song put a humorous twist on motherhood, and compared a stay-at-home mom with the likes of Hollywood stars like Raquel Welch.
One’s On The Way
Never Too Old
Throughout her career, Raquel Welch has made guest appearances on TV series as well as acted in her own movies. As she matured, her roles shifted from just being the beautiful broad in the picture, to becoming a leading female role.
Never Too Old
Hannie Caulder
When Raquel Welch played the character of Hannie Caulder in 1971, she became the first woman to play a leading role in a western. It wasn’t common for women to play strong roles instead of being the femme fatales. Quentin Tarantino said that Welch was the inspiration for his movie, Kill Bill in 2003.
Hannie Caulder
The Three Musketeers
Raquel Welch won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy for The Three Musketeers in 1974. She played the character of Constance Bonacieux.
The Three Musketeers
Best Costumes
After her success in The Three Musketeers, Welch took part in the sequel – The Four Musketeers. The second movie didn’t reach the same success as the first, but the movie did get a nomination at the 48th Academy Awards for “best costumes”.
Best Costumes
Mother, Jugs And Speed
In 1976, Welch starred alongside Bill Cosby and Harvey Keitel in a dark comedy about an independent ambulance company that races to beat other ambulances to calls in LA. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which character Raquel Welch played.
Mother, Jugs And Speed
Mork And Mindy
Robin Williams welcomed Raquel Welch onto this show for an episode aimed to raise the ratings. But the guest appearance didn’t go as simply as they had planned. The other two very attractive women who starred at the same time as Welch didn’t get along with “bossy” Welch. Welch even suggested that the other women wear dog masks during their shared scenes to play up her persona.
Mork And Mindy
Getting Fit
1987 was definitely a different time. But everyone, as they are now, was trying to find a way to lose weight and get healthy. Raquel Welch was and is a shining example of how someone can stay healthy as they age. She launched her fitness program called “The Raquel Welch Total Beauty and Fitness Program”. Her videos can even be found on YouTube.
Getting Fit
Burt Reynolds
When Raquel Welch starred alongside the smoking Burt Reynolds, everyone suspected that the two had something going on between them. Welch said that nothing was happening, “I did four movies with him and loved him. When he moved he was like an animal, so hot. He had a girlfriend, I had a husband, so that was that.”
Burt Reynolds
Her Book
Raquel Welch originally wrote and published her book called, “Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage” in 1969. The book has been edited and improved since. The 266-page book shares insights of the woman who had every man turning his head and every woman wishing she was her.
Her Book
When She Turned 50
Turning 50 is a milestone in every person’s life, and Raquel Welch was no different. She glowed when she said, “Change excites me. I am fifty years old. It’s when the mind catches up with the body.”
When She Turned 50
Sabrina
In November 1996, Raquel Welch made a guest appearance on the teen t.v. show, Sabrina. She played the third aunt of Sabrina the teenage witch, Vesta, in the episode called, “Third Aunt from the Sun”.
Sabrina
Playing Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch has played herself in some TV shows, like in the episode of the Muppet Show, Raquel Welch. She made a guest appearance as herself in Seinfeld in 1997 in an episode called, “The Summer of George”.
Playing Raquel Welch
Legally Blonde
In 2001, Raquel Welch starred alongside Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde. Although Welch’s role as Mrs. Windham-Vandermark wasn’t big, it still caught many people’s attention. The movie became a sleeper hit as it grossed $20 million over its opening weekend.
Legally Bonde
How to Be a Latin Lover
In 2017, Raquel Welch appeared in the movie, How to Be a Latin Lover and proved to the world that she is far from finished with the movie industry. Aside from the movies, she has also focused her attention on other areas which don’t involve the bright lights and cameras.
How To Be A Latin Lover
Date My Dad
In 2017, Raquel Welch played the character of Rosa in the single-season TV series called Date My Dad. The Canadian series was fortunate enough to have Welch for 10 episodes!
Date My Dad
Hair And Wigs
Throughout the 1950’s, blonde stars were the trademark of female stardom in the film industry, but Welch changed that. Her beautiful and flowing hair didn’t just change perceptions, it encouraged one of her most successful lines of work – “HAIRuWEAR”. This business venture is a collection of wigs and alternative hair products that aims to change how a person feels about themselves through their hair.
Hair And Wigs
Make Up
In 2007, MAC Cosmetics chose Raquel Welch to be the newest face of MAC Cosmetics Beauty Icon series. The collection celebrates Welch’s feline and sensuous image: “strong and wild, yet sultry and exotic”.
Make Up
Brand Ambassador
Since Welch had become such a notable figure in fashion and cinema, she was approached by many brands for her endorsement. In 2008 she took on the role of spokeswoman for Foster Grant’s reading glasses campaign.
Brand Ambassador
Online Presence
Although she is 79 years old, she is an active social media socialite. With accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, she is as active as ever.
Online Presence
Car Accident
In 2003, fans got a big shock when they heard that Raquel had been in a car accident. The initial reports were not clear so nobody knew what to expect. Eventually the facts came to surface, and they said that she had broken her left arm but that she was recuperating.
Car Accident
Falling For CSI
In 2012, Welch was supposed to take part in CSI: Miami but not long before the shooting Welch broke her foot. She worried that she would have to take on a role that confined her to a wheelchair, but luckily she recovered just quick enough to make the cut.
Falling For CSI
Plastic Surgery Rumors
Since Welch has always been a person of attention, her appearance has always been the first thing people discuss. For years other celebrities, reporters and the public have speculated that she has undergone surgery, but she denies all of it. “I’ve never had any such surgery. It’s so irritating when they say I have. What can I do?”
Plastic Surgery Rumors
What About Drugs
She has always maintained a staunch stance against the use of drugs, but she does make an exception. “I’ve never been into a drug culture. I was intrigued from time to time for a while about what it was that was making everybody more – uh – aware. But I myself would never toy with any of what I think of as hard drugs, and that includes coke. I have never done coke and hope I never do. I have smoked dope and I probably will continue to. But I’m not interested in getting into anything harder.”
What About Drugs
FHM Top 100
When FHM magazine put together a list of the 100 most beautiful women of all time, Raquel Welch came in second place. She topped all-time beauties like Marilyn Monroe and Madonna, so she was asked how she felt about that. “I don’t really understand how I could be ahead of Marilyn Monroe. That just seems bizarre to me.”
FHM Top 100
Jennifer Aniston
On the same list, Jennifer Aniston ranked as number one. FHM admitted that they received a lot of complaints about Aniston, but not many about Welch. Raquel commented, “Well that comes with the territory. That’s why it’s such a bad position. Nobody wants to be number one, because that’s where all the heat is. But I like Jennifer Aniston well enough. She probably deserves to be at the top.”
Jennifer Aniston
Worst Supporting Actress
As she quickly learned, not every movie was a success. But even more so, not every award was necessarily a good one. When she played “Grace Kosik” in Chairman of the Board (1998), she almost got an award she definitely wasn’t expecting. Welch was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress.
Worst Supporting Actress
Awards
She proved her worth on the screen by winning a Golden Globe. She has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and she received the Imagen Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for promoting Americans of Latin heritage throughout her career.
Awards
Raquel Welch, The Inspiration
This woman took the image of women in Hollywood to new heights. At first she was just seen as another broad who would only be recognized for her beauty, but she turned that on its head. Today she inspires millions through her personal image and success. She might be 79 years old, but she is far from done!
Raquel Welch, The Inspiration
