Raquel Welch Box-office bombshell Raquel Welch was born Jo Raquel Tejada on September 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois. Welch’s father was of Bolivian descent; and her mother, Irish-American.
When Welch was two years old, her family moved to San Diego, California, where her father, an aerospace engineer, was transferred. Growing up in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla, Welch took dancing lessons and competed in beauty pageants, taking home the titles of Miss Photogenic, Miss La Jolla, and Miss San Diego. In 1957, seventeen-year-old Welch was declared Miss Fairest of the Fair at the San Diego County Fair. After graduating from high school, Welch studied theater arts at San Diego State College, and soon after, married high school sweetheart, James Welch.
In 1959, Welch made her acting debut in the title role of an outdoor play held annually in California, called Ramona Pageant. She then graced the small-screen as a weather forecaster for a local San Diego TV station, and continued to study at San Diego State at the same time. Around this time, Welch’s marriage began to suffer under her busy schedule, and the couple split. Welch then moved with the couple’s two children, son, Damon, and daughter, Tahnee, to Dallas, Texas; where she worked as a model for Neiman-Marcus as well as a cocktail waitress. While in Texas, Welch entertained thoughts of moving to New York City next; but instead, returned to California. After landing bit parts in such popular shows as Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Welch auditioned for the role of the wholesome Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island, which instead went to Dawn Wells. In 1965, Welch landed her first feature film role in A Swingin' Summer, and was then signed on to 20th Century Fox, where she was cast in her breakthrough role in the 1965 sci-fi hit, Fantastic Voyage. Fox then loaned out its new star actress to Britain’s Hammer Studios, and Welch began work on One Million Years B.C. in 1966, starring as the bikini-clad cave girl. Roles such as this one established Welch as the formidable screen sex kitten, and led to an appearence in Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine declaring her the Most Desired Woman of the 1970s.
Raquel also had the fortune in her early acting days of appeaing in a Western with James Stewart and Dean Martin titled Bandolero!, which was followed by Lady in Cement with Frank Sinatra. After being fired from a starring role in the 1982 film Cannery Row, and being replace by Debra Winger, Welch collected a multi-million dollar lawsuit settlement, and began making less frequent appearances in film. In 1987, she even dabbled with a career in pop music, releasing her own dance single, “This Girl's Back In Town.” In addition to acting in films, Welch has also performed a nightclub act in Las Vegas; starred on Broadway in Victor/Victoria when she took over the role that had been played by Julie Andrews. She has also branched out into her own line of wigs, jewelry, and skin care products. In 1997 Raquel starred in an episode of the comedy series Seinfeld starring Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards, entitled "The Summer of George" in which Welch played a highly temperamental version of herself, assaulting series stars Kramer and Elaine, played by Julia Louis Dreyfus. Since 1999, Welch has been married to her fourth husband, Richard Palmer, who is fifteen years her junior. She remains one of the most iconic sex-symbols of the twentieth century, and her contributions to entertainment have been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. YUDDY |
