The World Says Goodbye to Raquel Welch, a Legendary Hollywood Beauty Who Dies at 82

The famous Hollywood actress passed away on Wednesday in Los Angeles at the age of 82, after a short illness. Welch, who rose to fame in the ’60s and ’70s, will be remembered for a number of iconic roles as well as for her voluptuous beauty.

The veteran actress is also often referred to as one of the pioneers of playing female superheroes on the big screen. Her worldwide audience will remember her for her roles as Loana, the cave girl in One Million Years B.C., Cora in Fantastic Voyage, Sarita in 100 Rifles, and much more. She was awarded the Golden Globe in 1974 for her role as Constance de Bonacieux in The Three Musketeers.

Despite being celebrated for her looks, Welch admitted that she didn’t intend on becoming a bathing beauty, nor was it “her nature.” “The fact that I became one is probably the loveliest, most glamorous, and fortunate misunderstanding,” Welch once said.

Referring to her role as Loana in One Million Years B.C., Welch said that she liked that there was “something superhero about her,” adding: “at least I wasn’t one of those mincing little girls, I never wanted to be that.” She won the Golden Globe in 1975 for her role as Constance de Bonacieux in The Three Musketeers and was nominated for the same award again in 1988 for the TV drama Right to Die.

Behind all of the glitz and glam, Welch was a dedicated, hardworking single mom of 2 whose Hollywood career helped her children after divorcing her first husband in 1964. Raquel married 3 times after that, but was happily single for years after her last divorce in 2008. She detailed her life journey and her experiences in her book Beyond Cleavage.

Born in Chicago as Jo Raquel Tejada, she knew that she wanted to become an actress early on: ’’My parents enrolled me in a theater program. You could get away from some of the painfulness of real life. I always had flights of fancy,’’ Welch added.

Numerous celebrities and fans across the world continue to pay tribute to the iconic actress.