Superstar of the 1960s and 70s: Who is Raquel Welch?
US actress Raquel Welch, who took part in many projects and was learning to be struggling with the disease for a while, passed away at the age of 82.
Born in Chicago in 1940, Raquel Welch's father was Bolivian and her mother was American. Growing up in California, Welch starred in numerous films in the 1960s and 70s.
(Born September 5, 1940, Chicago, Illinois; died February 15, 2023)
Raquel Welch, who made her name known to the whole world with the films 'Fantastic Voyage' and 'One Million Years BC', was known as one of the most beautiful stars in the history of cinema.
During her 50-year acting career, Welch acted in more than 30 films and appeared in more than 50 TV series.
Raquel Welch, who won a Golden Globe for her role as 'Constance de Bonacieux' in the 1974 remake of 'The Three Musketeers', was one of the leading names of Hollywood's 'blonde bombshell' in her youth.
Raquel Welch, who was married 4 times, continued to bear the surname of her high school sweetheart James Welch, whom she married for the first time and divorced in 1964.
Raquel Welch has two children from this union, Damon Welch and Tahnee Welch. Welch's daughter Tahnee Welch also modeled and acted like her mother, ending her career in the late 90s.
Life story
Raquel Welch was born on September 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the oldest of three children. The famous actor's father, Armando Carlos Tejada Urquizo, whose real name is Jo Raquel Tejada, is an aeronautical engineer, who immigrated from La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, at the age of 17. Her mother, Josephine Sarah Hall, is American. She has siblings named Castillo Tejada, Gayle Carole Tejada, and James Tejada. The family moved to San Diego, California when Raquel Welch was 2 years old. Raquel Welch started ballet lessons at the age of 7. In 1958 she graduated from La Jolla High School in San Diego.
Raquel Welch, who grew up in San Diego, registered her beauty by taking degrees in "Miss Photogenic", "Miss La Jolla", "Miss Contour", "Fair's Miss Fairest" (1958) and "Miss San Diego" beauty contests in her youth. Since 1958, she studied at the San Diego State College, which was founded on theatrical arts, on a scholarship. The following year, she married her high school friend, James Westley Welch, in 1959. She had 2 children. She dropped out of college in 1961 when she started working on local television in San Diego.
Divorced from her first husband in 1964, she took her 2 children and moved to Dallas, Texas, where she worked as a bartender for a while. She later moved to California and settled in Los Angeles.
HOW DID RAQUEL WELCH BEGIN IN CINEMA?
Raquel Welch began auditioning for movies after she moved to Los Angeles.
Raquel Welch signed a major movie deal with 20th Century Fox in 1965 after small roles in the TV series Bewitched, McHale's Navy, and The Virginian. The following year, she became known all over the world with her first movie role in the movie "One Million Years Ago" in 1966, with her bikini made of Loana cark leather.
Raquel Welch starred alongside Jim Brown and Burt Reynolds in the 1969 movie "Those Who Are Not Afraid of Death".
In 1972, she acted with Richard Burton in the movie “Bluebeard / Bluebeard”.
He acted with Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, Geraldine Chaplin, Charlton Heston, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York in the 1973 film "The Three Musketeers" directed by director Richard Lester, based on the novel was written by Alexandre Dumas (Father) 1844. With her role here, she won the 'Best Actress' award at the 32nd Golden Globe Awards in 1975.
In 1977, she played with Jean-Paul Belmondo, directed by French director Claude Zidi.
In 2017, she starred in the movie “How to Be a Latin Lover” with Eugenio Derbez, Salma Hayek, Kristen Bell, Rob Lowe, Raphael Alejandro, and Michael Cera.
RAQUEL WELCH MARRIAGES:
Raquel Welch made her first marriage to James Westley Welch on May 8, 1959. From this marriage of Raquel Welch, two children, Tahnee Welch (b.1961) and Damon Welch (b.1959), were born. Raquel Welch and James Westley Welch divorced in 1964.
Raquel Welch married for the second time on February 14, 1967, to the director and producer Patrick Curtis. Raquel Welch and Patrick Curtis divorced in 1972.
Her third marriage was to director André Weinfeld on July 5, 1980. She also divorced him in 1990.
She made her fourth and final marriage to Richard Palmer on July 17, 1999. Raquel Welch and Richard Palmer's marriage ended in 2008.
RAQUEL WELCH AWARDS:
1975 – 32nd Golden Globe Awards – Best Actress (Comedy) (The Three Musketeers)