Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct Welch’s first name.
,ktla) – Veteran Hollywood actress Raquel Welch has passed away. She was 82 years old.
“Legendary film, television and stage actress Raquel Welch passed away this morning after a brief illness,” her manager Steve Sawyer said in a statement.
“His career spanned more than 50 years, starring in over 30 films and 50 television series and appearances. The Golden Globe winner has, in recent years, been involved in a very successful line of wigs,” her manager continued. “Raquel leaves behind two children, son Damon Welch and daughter Tahnee Welch.”
Born as Jo Raquel Tejada, she gained attention for her role in the 1966 film “Fantastic Voyage,” which earned her a contract with 20th Century Fox.
She became an international sex symbol in “One Million Years BC” after wearing the famous doe-skin bikini. That position stayed with him. In 1995, Empire magazine selected her as one of the “100 Sexiest Stars in Film History”. She was ranked No. 3 on Playboy’s “100 Sexiest Stars of the Twentieth Century”.
Welch also proved that she has great acting skills. She won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy in 1974 for her role in “The Three Musketeers”.
In the 80s, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the 1987 film “Right to Die”.
In 1959, she married her high school sweetheart, James Welch, and they had two children, Damon and Latane “Tahnee” Welch. Both got divorced in 1964.
She married producer Patrick Curtis from 1967 to 1972, and then producer Andre Weinfeld from 1980 to 1990. Her last marriage was to Richard Palmer, owner of Mulberry Street Pizzeria, from 1999 to 2004.
