One of the sex symbols of world cinema Raquel Welch has died

One of the sex bombs of world cinema Raquel Welch has died at the age of 82, Entertainment Online reports. According to the manager of the actress, she died peacefully surrounded by family after a short illness.

Welch became world famous in 1966, when she starred in the fantastic film "A Million years BC". She had only three lines, and the tape was considered mediocre, but the poster depicting the actress as a cave woman dressed in a deerskin bikini made her a sex icon forever.

The real name of the actress at birth was Jo-Raquel Tejada, she was born in Chicago in the family of a Bolivian and an American. The girl dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but at the age of 17 she learned that her figure did not fall under ballet standards. According to the actress, at the beginning of her career, she was told that if she did not repaint, she would be stuck in the roles of Latin American women, so she became a blonde.

During her half-century career, Welch starred in more than 50 television series and 30 films. Throughout her career, she categorically refused to shoot nude, but otherwise was not afraid to take risks. Welch played in Hollywood's first interracial sex scene with Jim Brown in the movie "100 Rifles", and in "Myra Breckinridge" starred as a transgender. Her comedic talent was awarded a Golden Globe for the role of Constance Bonacieux in The Three Musketeers.

During the filming of Cannery Row in 1982, Welch was fired for insisting on doing her hair and makeup at home. She sued MGM studios for breach of contract and received $15 million for a settlement agreement.

In the 1980s, Welch, being a yoga lover, got into the fitness business, and later developed her own line of beauty products: wigs, hairpins and hair extensions. She starred until her old age, and after 60 she stopped hiding her Latin American origin and played Spanish-speaking roles in the TV series "American Family" and the movie "Turtle Soup".