Raquel Welch dead: ‘Fantastic Voyage’ actress and sex symbol was 82
Actress Raquel Welch, who rose to fame as a sex symbol of the 1960s, died Wednesday after a brief illness, TMZ reported. She was 82.
Her long resume includes “Fantastic Voyage,” “Bedazzled” and “Hannie Caulder.” She also appeared on “The Cher Show” in 1975 and performed “I’m a Woman” with Cher.
Welch is a two-time Golden Globe nominee, winning the musical/comedy motion picture award in 1975 for her performance in “The Three Musketeers,” which starred Faye Dunaway and Charlton Heston.
“My first day on set, Faye Dunaway comes over to me all dolled up, and she was so cute. She said, ‘Darling, I just want you to know, I’m a big fan of yours. But don’t you know, they’re all just waiting for us to tear each other’s eyes out. So let’s have fun with them,'” Welch told The Post in 2012.
“Everyone on set was going, ‘Uh-oh, here they come,’ standing there watching. And Faye gets out her fan and starts fanning herself, saying, ‘Darling, I adore your work.’ And I say, ‘Everything you do is genius!’ Everyone was so disappointed.”
Born on Sept. 5, 1940, Welch became interested in performing at a young age by taking part in ballet and beauty pageants. She attended San Diego State College on a theater arts scholarship and starred in lots of local theater productions.
Welch rose to fame in the 1966 sci-fi movie “Fantastic Voyage” where she portrayed a medical team member that worked to save an injured diplomat’s life.
She married her high school sweetheart, James Welch, in 1959 and had two children: Damon, 63, and Latanne “Tahnee”, 61. The couple divorced in 1964.
Welch would marry three more times: Patrick Curtis (1967-1972), André Weinfeld (1980-1990), and Richard Palmer (1999-2004).
Welch was named one of the “100 Sexiest Stars in Film History” by Empire magazine in 1995. Despite her sex symbol status, she viewed herself differently.
“I was happy that I had got a break so I could have my career, but at the same time, it was like: ’This isn’t me. But this is what I have to do because this is my ticket to ride,’” she wrote of her “One Million Years B.C.” rol ein her memoir “Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage.”
“I’m not in a position to just say: ‘Oh, no, wait a minute. You’ve got it all wrong. I’d like to do Shakespeare.
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