Actress Raquel Welch: Filmography, Career, Private Life

Raquel (Raquel) Welch and today is called the sex symbol of all times and peoples. Appearing on the screen in 1964, she drove millions of men crazy around the world. This year the actress will turn 77 years old, but she still looks amazing, admires her cheerfulness, charming smile and excellent physical shape.

Childhood and youth

Born Raquel Welch on September 5, 1940 in Chicago (USA, Illinois), having received the name Joe Raquel Tejada at birth. Her father, a Bolivian by birth, worked as an aviation engineer, and his mother had Irish roots. At the end of the forties, the family moved to California, where Rakel enters the San Diego school of public education (La Jolla district).

In her youth, Raquel was fond of dancing, she dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Therefore she took private lessons and even entered the choreography college. But the teachers considered it unpromising, because the girl's physical data did not match the ideal forms that dancers should have.

Indeed, from a small fragile girl in adolescence, she turned into a tall teen athletic. However, this did not prevent Raquel from participating in various beauty contests, where she often took prizes. Among her first conquered titles were Miss San Diego and Miss La Jolla. After graduating from high school and failures in the ballet, the girl enters the school of dramatic art, begins to play in amateur theatrical performances.

The beginning of the cinematographic career

The winner of beauty contests could not be overlooked by television producers. Raquel was invited to shoot commercials, she acted as the leading weather forecasts, and in her free time moonlighted as a waitress. The debut in the movie took place rather late. Twenty-four-year-old Raquel Welch was invited to star in a low-budget television movie, "Not That Home," where she played a call girl. At the same time, she manages to get a modest supporting role in the musical, where the idol of the public of those years - the legendary Elvis Presley - was shining.

The first significant successes in cinema

The next morning after the premiere of the film "One Million Years BCE" Welch Raquel, as they say, woke up famous. In the film, directed by Don Cheffy in 1966, the long-legged beauty starred in a semi-nude, playing Loan, the girlfriend of the protagonist. In the same year, viewers saw Rakel Welch in another film - "Fantastic Journey".

Two years later, the actress was invited to a role in the film "Barbarella", but Raquel refuses. It seems to her that the producers are not interested in her acting talent, but wish to get a girl with a beautiful appearance as the protagonist.

Thanks to the image created by Welch Raquel in the historical comedy, where she was dressed in the likeness of a deer skin bikini, she is given the unspoken title of the sex symbol of the year. In the 1970s, Playboy magazine called her "the most desirable woman" of the decade.

Filmography, awards, scandals

After a stunning success in the painting "One Million BCE," Rackel Welch, despite signing a contract with the studio "Twentieth Century Fox" rarely receives invitations to the main roles. Nevertheless, she manages to appear in several dozen films in the form of heroines of the second plan. In 1970, she agreed to participate in the shooting of the film, where she was to play the role of transsexual. The tape was coldly received by the public and critics, and Rakel decided for some time to part with the cinema. At this time, she starred in television series, participates in fashion shows. In 1974, Rachel Welch was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in The Three Musketeers.

Deciding to return to the big movie, Rakel begins shooting in the film "Cannery Row" (English Cannery Row), released in 1982. But after the first filming days, MGM studio breaks the contract with the actress, accusing her of slowness and non-punctuality. Through the court, Rakel seeks compensation in the amount of $ 14 million. This scandal puts a cross on her further cinematic career, and she begins to perform on the stage of Broadway music halls.

In 2001, the screen comedy Robert Luketich "Blonde in the Law." Raquel Welch is invited to the role of the aging lady Mrs. Windham Vandermark. In 2006, viewers could see the unfading beauty in the film "Forget about it", she also appeared in one of the episodic roles of the short series CBS Welcome to the Captain in 2008. Actress Raquel Welch is the owner of her own star on the Hollywood "Alla Glory".

Life Behind the Scenes

Outside the world of cinematography, Rakel actively tries himself in the literary field. In the mid-80's, she published her autobiographical book "Beyond the Decollete", which aroused the interest of the readership. The actress, supporting herself in good physical shape, created an original fitness program, released a series of CDs and video tapes with recording of sports exercises in her own performance.

Commercial success brought the launch of a line of cosmetics, wigs, leather and jewelry under the brand name Raquel Welch. In 2007, MAC Cosmetics invited Raquel to promote the new Beauty Icon series. A little later, she becomes the face of the company Foster Grant, which produces reading glasses.

Family and Children

Raquel Welch, whose personal life was not very successful, was married four times. Her first choice was the schoolmate James Welch - his name she retained and in subsequent marriages. She married a classmate in 1959, and in 1964 they split up. By this time, the couple had two children. In 1967, Rackel linked his fate with Patrick Curtis, who contributed to the promotion of the actress in the cinema. But this marriage in 5 years gave a break. From 1980 to 1990, the husband of the beauty was journalist Andre Weinfeld. In 1999, Rachel was married to businessman Richard Palmer, who was 15 years younger than her. Today, the actress is alone again. Marriage with Palmer fell apart in 2011.