Raquel Welch

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Raquel Welch

Welch at the premiere of Bette Midler's movie, The Rose, 1979
Born Jo Raquel Tejada
September 5, 1940 (1940-09-05) (age 67)
Chicago, Illinois,
United States
Spouse(s) James Westley Welch (1959–1964)
Patrick Curtis (1967–1972)
Andre Weinfeld (1980–1990)
Richard Palmer (1999–present)

Raquel Welch (born September 5, 1940) is a Golden Globe-winning American actress who achieved fame as a Hollywood sex symbol during the 1960s.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Welch, the oldest of three children, was born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Josephine Sarah (née Hall) and Armando Carlos Tejada Urquizo.[1] Her father immigrated from La Paz, Bolivia, her mother was an Irish-American.[2]

In 1942, Armando Tejada was transferred to San Diego, California. The family moved to the suburb of La Jolla, where Welch grew up. She took dancing lessons as a child, and was winning beauty pageants by the time she was a teenager. Among her titles were "Miss Photogenic," "Miss La Jolla," "Miss Contour," and "Miss San Diego." In 1957, she was named "Miss Fairest of the Fair" at the San Diego County Fair, and won the Maid of California 1957 title as well. After attending La Jolla High School ( Class of 1958 ), she entered San Diego State College on a theater arts scholarship. The following year she married a high school sweetheart, James Welch.

[edit] Career

In 1959, Welch played the title role in the famous Ramona Pageant, a yearly outdoor play at Hemet, California, which is based on the novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson.

Welch as Loana in One Million Years B.C. (1966)
Welch as Loana in One Million Years B.C. (1966)

She became a weather forecaster at KFMB, a local San Diego television station. Because of her heavy schedule, she decided to leave college. Her marriage broke up and she moved with her two children to Dallas, Texas, where she modeled for Neiman Marcus and worked as a cocktail hostess, intending to move on to New York City from there.

Instead, Welch moved back to California. She found a place in Los Angeles and started making the rounds of the movie studios. She was cast in bit parts in two films and in the television shows Bewitched, McHale's Navy and The Virginian, as well as on the weekly variety series The Hollywood Palace as a billboard girl and presenter of acts.

Welch's first featured role came in the beach film A Swingin' Summer, which led to a contract with 20th Century Fox. She was subsequently cast in a leading role in the sci-fi hit Fantastic Voyage (1966), which made her a star.

On loan out to Hammer Studios in Britain, Welch starred in the remake of One Million Years B.C. striking an iconic pose in a prehistoric animal-skin bikini. After her appearance as lust incarnate in the hit Bedazzled, she returned to the U.S. and appeared in the Western film Bandolero!, with James Stewart and Dean Martin, which was followed by the private-eye drama "Lady in Cement" with Frank Sinatra.

Welch's most controversial role by far came in the notorious Myra Breckinridge with Mae West. She took the part as the film's transsexual heroine in an attempt to be taken seriously as an actress, but the movie turned out to be a dismal failure.

Welch became one of the leading sex symbols of the 1960s and 1970s. Her most memorable publicity still for "One Million Years B.C." became a bestselling poster. Playboy called her the "Most Desired Woman" of the '70s. Despite her sex symbol persona in films and countless magazine layouts, including one for Playboy, Welch never appeared nude in a film or posed nude for a magazine.

The actress was due to star in an 1982 adaptation of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row, but was fired by the producers a few days into production (allegedly, she was taking too long to get ready each day). She was replaced with Debra Winger. Welch successfully sued, collecting a multi-million dollar award, but this effectively ended her film acting career until the mid-1990s.

Her television appearances include the TV movies The Legend of Walks Far Woman and Right to Die in which she turned in a stirring performance as a woman stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease, and in the PBS series American Family, about a Mexican American family in East Los Angeles. She has appeared in the night-time soap opera Central Park West and made infomercials and exercise videos.

In 1987, she flirted with a pop singing career, releasing the dance single "This Girl's Back In Town." She has performed in a one-woman nightclub musical act in Las Vegas and has starred on Broadway in Woman of the Year, receiving praise for following Lauren Bacall in the title role, and in Victor/Victoria, having less success following Julie Andrews and Liza Minnelli in the title roles.

In a 1997 episode of the comedy series Seinfeld entitled "The Summer of George," Welch played a highly temperamental version of herself, assaulting series characters Kramer and Elaine, the former because he fired her from an acting job and the latter because Welch mistakenly thought that Elaine was mocking her.

She joined the cast of Welcome to the Captain, which premiered on CBS television on February 4, 2008.

[edit] Beauty business career

The Raquel Welch Total Beauty and Fitness Program was published in 1984. The book, written by Welch herself, includes a Hatha Yoga fitness program, her views on healthy living/nutrition, as well as beauty and personal style. As a businesswoman, Welch has had success with her signature line of wigs. She also began a jewelry and skincare line although neither of those ventures compared to the success of her wig collection, the Raquel Welch Signature Wig Collection from HAIRuWEAR http://www.hairuwear.com.

On May 16, 2004, Raquel Welch joined thousands of men, women, and children at the 32nd annual Walk and Roll fundraiser in her hometown of Chicago, IL. Raquel was on hand to lend her support to those gathered to raise money for the fight against cancer.

During the opening ceremony, Raquel shared the story of her own cousin's fight with the disease. Her cousin had lost much of her hair as a result of chemotherapy and asked Raquel for some wigs. Soon after receiving them, her cousin called to tell Raquel how wonderful wearing the wigs made her feel. Upon hearing this, Raquel realized that her company, the Raquel Welch Signature Wig Collection, could bring similar happiness into the lives of women undergoing hair loss due to cancer treatment. That, she explained, is why her company donated over 6,500 wigs in 2003 to the American Cancer Society.

Before cutting the ribbon to begin the Walk and Roll, Raquel had the honor of meeting some of the women who have received wigs from the donation. It was an emotional meeting for the women and Raquel.

The Walk and Roll is an annual fundraiser for walkers, cyclists, and skaters in the Chicago area and has raised over $11 million dollars for cancer research over the last 32 years.

In January 2007, she was revealed as the newest face of MAC Cosmetics Beauty Icon series. Her line features several limited edition makeup shades in glossy black and tiger print packaging.[3]

[edit] Personal life

Welch has been married to James Welch (1959-1962), publicist and agent; Patrick Curtis (1967-1972), director and producer; Andre Weinfeld (1980-1990) and Richard Palmer (1999), from whom she is currently (2008) separated.[4]

She is the mother of Damon Welch (b. November 6, 1959) and actress Tahnee Welch (b. December 26, 1961). Tahnee followed her mother's December 1979 example and appeared on the cover of Playboy in the November 1995 issue.[5] Welch's son, Damon Welch, married Rebecca Trueman, the daughter of cricketing legend Fred Trueman, but the marriage was short-lived.

Welch is a fan of the British football club Chelsea FC, or was "in the '70s".[6]

[edit] Achievements and awards

In 1974, Welch won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy for The Three Musketeers. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the TV drama Right to Die (1987).

She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television work

[edit] References

  1. ^ Raquel Welch Biography (1940-). Film Reference.com.
  2. ^ Sandra Márquez "Becoming Raquel" Hispanic Online, April 2003
  3. ^ Pittilla, Mary Jane. "Raquel Welch becomes MAC beauty icon", 2007-02-02. Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 
  4. ^ Andrews, Emily. "Stunning at 67: Sixties sex siren Raquel Welch returns to TV", Daily Mail, 2008-02-15. Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 
  5. ^ D'Orazio, Sante (November 1995), 'Playboy' (U.S.) 42 (11): 74-81 
  6. ^ Celebrity Fans Chelsea Football Club Official Site

[edit] External links

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Persondata
NAME Welch, Raquel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tejada, Jo Raquel
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actress
DATE OF BIRTH September 5, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago, Illinois, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH