Jo Raquel Welch (née Tejada; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress and model.
Welch first won attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hammer Film Productions, for whom she made One Million Years B.C. (1966). Although Welch had only three lines of dialogue in the film, images of her in the doe-skin bikini became bestselling posters that turned her into an international sex symbol.
She later starred in Bedazzled (1967), Bandolero! (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970), and Hannie Caulder (1971).
Through her portrayal of strong female characters, which helped in her breaking the mold of the traditional sex symbol.
Welch was born Jo Raquel Tejada on September 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois. She was the first child of Armando Carlos Tejada Urquizo and Josephine Sarah Hall. Her father, Armando Tejada, was an aeronautical engineer from La Paz, Bolivia, son of Agustin Tejada and Raquel Urquizo. In an interview Welch stated, "My father came from a country called Bolivia. He was of Spanish descent." Her cousin, Bolivian politician Lidia Gueiler Tejada, became the first female president of Bolivia and the second female non-royal head of state in the Americas.
In 2014, during an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor, Welch described herself as being on the conservative side, attributing it to her mother's Midwestern values.
During the Vietnam War, Welch showed her support for the troops at United Service Organizations (USO) shows often appearing with Bob Hope.
Welch died on February 15, 2023, at her home in Los Angeles, following a brief illness.
She was 82.
Brown had a love scene with Welch, one of the first interracial love scenes.
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