The fur bikini she wore in One Million Years B.C. is just one example of Raquel Welch’s jaw-dropping fashion moments. She passed away on February 15 after a brief illness.
I’m sorry, but no female celebrity today could ever hold a candle to #RaquelWelch . She was absolutely stunning #RIP🕊️ pic.twitter.com/Mdq9thpykK
— 〽️K 💛💙🏈🏀🇺🇦🌻 (@mkgoblue) February 16, 2023
The 82-year-old mother of two publicly admitted that her on-screen persona was not who she was meant to be, despite being glamorized as a sex symbol.
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“My family was very conservative, and I had a traditional upbringing. I was not brought up to be a sex symbol, nor is it in my nature to be one. The fact that I became one is probably the loveliest, most glamorous and fortunate misunderstanding,” she told the Daily Mail in 2001.
Welch has enjoyed success in recent years because to her iconic HairUWear wig line. She claimed that wearing wigs while working in the entertainment sector inspired her to launch the company because she wanted to make women feel beautiful.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend @Raquel_Welch. Raquel worked with #HairUWear for 25 years. She was and still is an inspiration. We are honored to keep her memory, passion and timeless beauty alive through her legacy of #raquelwelchwigs. pic.twitter.com/mWHYl3qZQT
— HairUWear (@HairUWearINC) February 15, 2023
Welch discussed her most recognisable performances with The Post in 2012 before a special display of her work by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Here are her best 5 movies:
Fantastic Voyage
Welch rose to fame in the sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage, which was directed by Richard Fleischer.
Raquel Welch, Fantastic Voyage (1966) pic.twitter.com/MOu7as3lAv
— 🎬 Fists & .45s! 🎙️ (@fistsand45s) January 27, 2023
“My co-star was Stephen Boyd, who was not hard on the eyes. I had a terrible crush on him,” she told The Post.
“I was too scared to say anything about it because it was my first big movie with Fox, and I was in with a lot of heavyweights. I had one really important line to say, and it was something to do with oxygenation, which I had written down on a piece of scenery so I could glance at it before they called me. It was kind of silly.”
One Million Years B.C.
Only a few sentences in One Million Years B.C. were spoken by Welch. Her deerskin bikini-clad character was the one that propelled her to new heights of fame.
Rachel Welsh passed today. Such a beauty in her hayday.
This is from One Million Years BC.#RachelWelsh pic.twitter.com/yP1aKh70Pe
— Timothy J. O'Connor (@iHomeTech) February 15, 2023
In the 1994 movie The Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins’ Andy Dufresne famously kept a poster of Welch in the bikini in his cell. It gave rise to a crucial story point.
“There was this picture that came out that caused all the stir,” Welch told The Post.
“I had been away shooting the film in the Canary Islands, and it was very remote. By the time I got back, everybody seemed to know who I was. I couldn’t have been happier, really, or more surprised. How was this possible?”
“When the [doeskin] bikini would get wet, it would stretch, so you’d be coming up and out of the water and there were a lot of strange things going on with it,” she added.
100 Rifles
This we shot in the Spanish desert, with Jim Brown and Burt Reynolds. I got to do all the things that the guys got to do,” she told The Post.
“There was one big conversation about whether I could wear a pair of pants. The director said, ‘No.’ But my character is a revolutionary! She’s with a band of guys — is she going to worry about a skirt?
Rest in peace Raquel Welch.
100 rifles
Director : Tom Gries#raquelwelch pic.twitter.com/MIbBl6x7KK
— Méziane Hammadi (@MezianeHammadi) February 15, 2023
“I did get to wear pants, because I had this idea of how I wanted to stab this one guy, that I could jump on him. And I couldn’t do that with a skirt,” Welch went on to say.
Myra Beckinridge
Another well-known swimsuit that Welch wore for her role in Myra Breckinridge was a monokini with an American flag theme.
Feuding stars Mae West (76) and Raquel Welch (26) pose for a publicity shot for the 1970 ill-fated Myra Beckinridge fiasco. @MaeWestQuotes @MaeWestFest @MaeWestObsessed @raquelwelch7 @worstmovies @GrandOldMovies @badmoviescast @badmoviesunday1 @100worstmovies @WorstMoviesPod pic.twitter.com/yeLfmNXRic
— [email protected] (@StGeorgeProd) March 11, 2021
“I thought the book was hysterically funny. And I heard they were talking to Anne Bancroft about doing the part, but then she had turned it down. So I had a conversation with them, I said, ‘I don’t know what kind of person you’re looking for, but what about the idea that if a guy was going to remake himself into a woman, would he maybe like to look like Raquel Welch?’” she said to The Post.
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“They said, ‘You know, that’s a thought!’ But the script was always problematic. I was really disappointed. I spoke to [co-star] John Huston about it. He said, ‘It’s only a movie, darling, it’s only a movie.’”
The Three Musketeers
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. This was the film that delivered her only Golden Globe win in her career.
RIP Raquel Welch. Best casting ever, Raquel and Spike Milligan as husband & wife in The Three Musketeers (1973). pic.twitter.com/ChptkLQvzU
— Tom's Movie Chat (@BrodysYahd) February 15, 2023
“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.”