Current:Home > InvestRaquel Welch, actress and Hollywood sex symbol, dead at 82-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Raquel Welch, actress and Hollywood sex symbol, dead at 82
View Date:2024-12-23 17:07:51
Raquel Welch, who rose to fame as a sex symbol in the 1960s, has died. She was 82.
Welch's son, Damon, confirmed she died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness.
"She passed away with no pain," he said. "I'm very proud about what she contributed to society and her career and everything. I'm most proud of her doing the U.S.O tours with Bob Hope during the late 60s and early 70s. We missed Christmas with her for three years while she was doing that. She said that was the hardest thing."
Welch's career started in the 1960s with appearances on TV shows such as The Virginian, McHale's Navy and Bewitched. That paved the way for back-to-back roles in Fantastic Voyage, and One Million Years B.C. That latter role catapulted her to sex symbol status. Welch would go on to star in several films, including 1970's Myra Breckinridge, where she played a trans actress, and The Three Musketeers, which earned her a Golden Globe in 1974 for best actress in a motion picture comedy or musical.
She leaves behind her two children, her son Damon Welch and her daughter, Tahnee Welch.
Welch was born Jo-Raquel Tejada in Chicago, Illinois to a Bolivian father and an American mother.
Though she didn't often discuss her identity in the early years of her career, the actress embraced her Latinidad in the early 2000s, both by speaking openly about her background and by playing Latina roles like Aunt Dora in the PBS show American Family and Hortensia in the film Tortilla Soup.
"Raquel Welch was a screen legend during a time when Latinos rarely were given any work in Hollywood (unless it was a stereotype)," said film critic and Entertainment Weekly editor Yolanda Machado. "She had to hide her identity to succeed, and despite what a heavy weight that may have been to conceal, she triumphed in memorable performances that stand as a portal into an entire generation."
Welch told the New York Times in 2002 that though she didn't try to intentionally cover up her Bolivian heritage, it wasn't a significant part of her culture at home because of her father's attempts to assimilate as much as possible.
"Those people who wanted to make it in the American system found it necessary and desirable to kind of suppress their Latino quality," she explained. "He never spoke any Spanish in the home, so as not to have us have an accent. We never were in a neighborhood where there were other Latinos around. I didn't know any Latin people."
Welch went on to say that though she partially resented his erasure of their background, she understood he was trying to protect the family from facing prejudice and discrimination.
But 40 years into her career, as Latinos made more strides for inclusivity in Hollywood, so did Welch.
"Latinos are here to stay," she said at a National Press Club Luncheon in 2002. "As citizen Raquel, I'm proud to be Latina."
Political cartoonist and TV writer Lalo Alcaraz said that though Welch's background might have come as a surprise to many, he's honored Latinos can say she belongs to the community.
"We don't have that many stars," Alcaraz said. "Raquel Welch is viewed as one of our stars, and I'm happy and proud about that."
veryGood! (239)
Related
- Judge sets date for 9/11 defendants to enter pleas, deepening battle over court’s independence
- Trader Joe's recalls cashews over salmonella risk. Here are the states where they were sold.
- Baby giraffe named 'Saba' at Zoo Miami dies after running into fence, breaking its neck
- AI-aided virtual conversations with WWII vets are latest feature at New Orleans museum
- Horoscopes Today, November 9, 2024
- The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Finally Gets a Price Tag for All Its Performance
- Police in Idaho involved in hospital shooting are searching for an escaped inmate and 2nd suspect
- First Four launches March Madness 2024. Here's everything to know about women's teams.
- Man jailed after Tuskegee University shooting says he fired his gun, but denies shooting at anyone
- EPA issues new auto rules aimed at cutting carbon emissions, boosting electric vehicles and hybrids
Ranking
- Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA Pick, Brings a Moderate Face to a Radical Game Plan
- Arkansas airport executive director, ATF agent wounded in Little Rock home shootout
- How many people got abortions in 2023? New report finds increase despite bans
- DNA from discarded gum links Oregon man to 1980 murder of college student
- Gerry Faust, former Notre Dame football coach, dies at 89
- What to know about Dalton Knecht, leading scorer for No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers
- Kansas' Kevin McCullar Jr. will miss March Madness due to injury
- Man dead, woman rescued after falling down 80-foot cliff in UTV at Kentucky adventure park
Recommendation
-
Taylor Swift's Dad Scott Swift Photobombs Couples Pic With Travis Kelce
-
Supreme Court lets Texas detain and jail migrants under SB4 immigration law as legal battle continues
-
Powell may provide hints of whether Federal Reserve is edging close to rate cuts
-
On 20th anniversary of Vermont teen Brianna Maitland’s disappearance, $40K reward offered for tips
-
Mariah Carey's Amazon Holiday Merch Is All I Want for Christmas—and It's Selling Out Fast!
-
Fire destroys senior community clubhouse in Philadelphia suburb, but no injuries reported
-
Pair accused of stealing battery manufacturing secrets from Tesla and starting their own company
-
Delaware calls off Republican presidential primary after Haley removes name from ballot