Raquel Welch: a life in pictures

15 Feb 2023

Jo Raquel Tejada was born in Chicago on 5 September 1940, to a Bolivian father and a mother of English descent.

Raquel Welch

Raquel Welch married her childhood sweetheart James Welch in 1959; they divorced in 1964, but she kept his surname. She began to appear on television and took bit parts in movies. Here she is, second from right, in the Elvis Presley vehicle Roustabout, 1964

Elvis Presley and Raquel Welch in Roustabout, 1964

Raquel Welch in a publicity shoot circa 1965

Raquel Welch in a publicity shoot circa 1965

Welch’s firstleading role was in the cult sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage in 1966, playing Cora Peterson, part of a medical team who are shrunk to microscopic size and sent into the body of an injured scientist to repair damage to his brain. The part turned her into a star

Raquel Welch’s first leading role was in the cult sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage in 1966, playing Cora Peterson, part of a medical team who are shrunk to microscopic size and sent into the body of an injured scientist to repair damage to his brain. The part turned her into a star

Raquel Welch at the Royal premiere of Born Free at the Odeon, Leicester Square in 1966.

Raquel Welch at the Royal premiere of Born Free at the Odeon Theatre, Leicester Square, London on 14 March 1966

Despite having only three lines in the Hammer fantasy film One Million Years BC made in 1966, Welch made an impact. This shot of her wearing a doe-skin and fur bikini was taken by an unnamed unit still photographer, turned into a poster and became a globally iconic pin-up.

Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C., 1966

The Oldest Profession, 1967

Raquel Welch in The Oldest Profession, 1967

Welch, wearing a crocheted mini dress is besieged by photographers as she enters a room in Paris for her wedding ceremony to her manager Patrick Curtis in 1967. The ceremony was delayed for 15 minutes while police and city officials tussled with the photographers who had been ordered out of the room

Original caption: Film actress Raquel Welch, wearing a crocheted mini dress and her manager, Patrick Curtis, are besieged by photographers as they enter the room in Paris for their wedding ceremony, 14 February 1967. The ceremony was delayed for 15 minutes while police and city officials tussled with the photographers who had been ordered out of the ceremonial room

Welch’s first starring role was as Fathom Harvill in this British spy comedy Fathom, 1967

Raquel Welch in Fathom, 1967

Welch in silk chiffon pajamas by Pauline Trigere, Julianelli silver sandals and large Hattie Carnegie earrings, shot for Vogue in 1967

Raquel Welch in silk chiffon pajamas by Pauline Trigere; Julianelli silver sandals and large Hattie Carnegie earrings, shot for Vogue in 1967
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Welch played Lust in the Peter Cook and Dudley Moore comedy Bedazzled in 1967which retells the Faust legend set in swinging-60s London

Raquel Welch as Lust in Bedazzled, 1967

Raquel Welch plays cards with locals in Saint-Tropez during a break in filming the crime drama the Biggest Bundle of Them All in 1968

Raquel Welch plays cards with locals in Saint-Tropez during a break in filming the crime drama the Biggest Bundle of Them All, 1968

Bandolero!, 1968

Raquel Welch in Bandolero!, 1968

Frank Sinatra as Tony Rome and Welch as Kit Forrester in the detective movie Lady in Cement, 1968

Frank Sinatra as Tony Rome and Raquel Welch as Kit Forrester in the detective movie Lady In Cement, 1968

Welch as Sarita and Jim Brown as Lyedecker in 100 Rifles, 1969. The director tried to persuade Welch to go nude in her famous shower scene, but, as she did throughout her career, she refused

Raquel Welch as Sarita and Jim Brown as Lyedecker in 100 Rifles, 1969. The director tried to persuade Welch to go nude in her famous shower scene, but, as she did throughout her career, she refused

Raquel Welch circa 1970

Raquel Welch circa 1970

Raquel Welch and Ringo Starr in the British comedy The Magic Christian in 1969

Raquel Welch and Ringo Starr in the British black comedy The Magic Christian, 1969

Raquel Welch as the eponymous transexual heroine in Myra Breckinridge, 1970, with Farrah Fawcett as Mary Ann Pringle

Raquel Welch as the eponymous transexual heroine, and Farrah Fawcett as Mary Ann Pringle in Myra Breckinridge, 1970

Raquel Welch circa 1970

Raquel Welch circa 1970

Welch leaves a Hollywood party in June 1971

Raquel Welch leaves a Hollywood party in June 1971

Hannie Caulder, 1971

Raquel Welch in Hannie Caulder, 1971

Fuzz, 1972

Fuzz, 1972

Raquel Welch with fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent circa 1975

Raquel Welch with fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent circa 1975

Raquel Welch with Miss Piggy in the Muppet Show, 1976

Raquel Welch with Miss Piggy in the Muppet Show, 1976

Welch arrives at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles in 1978 with André Weinfeld. The pair were married for 10 years from 1980

Raquel Welch arrives at the 50th Annual Academy Awards presentation in Los Angeles on 3 April 1978 with her companion, André Weinfeld. The pair were married for 10 years from 1980

Raquel Welch as voluptuous alien Captain Nirvana with Robin Williams in Mork and Mindy in 1979

Raquel Welch as voluptuous alien Captain Nirvana with Robin Williams as Mork in Mork & Mindy, 1979

Welch dances during a rehearsal in 1981 for the Tony winning Woman of the Year, which she starred in for two weeks while Lauren Bacall was on vacation

Raquel Welch dances during a rehearsal on 13 November 1981 for Broadway’s Tony winning Woman of the Year, which she starred in for two weeks while Lauren Bacall was on vacation

Welch on the runway at Jean Paul Gaultier’s amFAR (The American Foundation for AIDS Research) benefit fashion show in Los Angeles on 2 September 1992

Raquel Welch on the runway at Jean Paul Gaultier’s amFAR (The American Foundation for AIDS Research) benefit fashion show in Los Angeles on 2 September 1992

Leslie Nielsen with Welch in Naked Gun 33 1⁄3: The Final Insult in 1994

Leslie Nielsen with Raquel Welch in Naked Gun 33 1⁄3: The Final Insult, 1994

Welch as Mrs. Windham-Vandermark in Legally Blonde, 2001

Raquel Welch as Mrs. Windham-Vandermark in Legally Blonde, 2001

Gina Gershon as Donatella Versace, Madison McAleer as Young Allegra and Raquel Welch as Aunt Lucia in the television movie House of Versace, 2013

Gina Gershon as Donatella Versace, Madison McAleer as Young Allegra and Raquel Welch as Aunt Lucia in House of Versace, 2013

Welch as Celeste Birch and Eugenio Derbez as Maximo in the comedy How to Be a Latin Lover, 2017

Raquel Welch as Celeste Birch and Eugenio Derbez as Maximo in How to Be a Latin Lover, 2017

Raquel Welch 1940 - 2023

Raquel Welch 1940 - 2023
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