Raquel Welch, actor famous for 1996 film Fantastic Voyage, died in Los Angeles on Wednesday, her manager Steve Sauer said in a statement. She was 82. Welch died after a “brief illness,” the statement further read. The actor was a part of more than 70 films and television shows including ‘Legally Blonde’ and ‘The Shawshank Redemption’.
The 82-year-old’s career took off as an ‘international sex symbol’ when her bikini-clad poster from prehistoric drama One Million Years, B.C.; a prehistoric drama went viral. Her picture was the foundation of the film’s marketing campaign. She had only three lines of dialogue in the film.
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Raquel Welch, who turned a bikini into one of the most iconic cinematic images of the 1960s, has died. She was 82.
Fantastic Voyage, Myra Breckinridge, One Million Years B.C. Roundabout and was nearly Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island and a “Bond Girl” in Thunderball. pic.twitter.com/O9MAFeJg4z— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) February 15, 2023
The actor also bagged roles in westerns like ‘Bandolero’ and ‘100 Rifles’. Welch was chosen by the Empire magazine, in 1995, as one of the “100 Sexiest Stars in Film History”. Playboy ranked her No. 3 on their “100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century” list.
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Welch had a net worth of $40 million at the time of her death, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Welch posed for Playboy in 1979, but she never did a fully nude shoot. She refused to take all her clothes off on screen or pose naked throughout her career spanning five decades.
In 1982, she was due to star in an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row but was abruptly fired by the producers a few weeks into production. The studio claimed she was not living up to her contract, by refusing early-morning rehearsals, and was replaced with Debra Winger. The actor sued MGM for breach of contract.
Studio executives claimed in testimony the reason Welch was following through with the trial was that she was over age 40 and generally actresses in that age range cannot get roles anymore. Welch’s evidence at trial proved there was a conspiracy to falsely blamed her for the movie’s budget problems and delays. The jury gave its verdict in Welch’s favor and won a $10.8 million verdict against MGM in 1986.
