Raquel Welch
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
" ...I made decisions based on, What will my kids think of this? I tried not to trash myself. I felt I owed them that, because there were sacrifices of time away, and they had enough difficulty dealing with the fact that I was there mother. The compromise of being a career woman and having children is ... My failings as a mother weren't intentional--and my kids grew up to be good people--but the failings were there. And I look at things now, and I go, Hmmm, maybe that was too high a price to pay for what I got out of it." --Raquel Welch to TV Guide, June 8, 1996
About "Myra Breckinridge" co-star Mae West: "She was a genius of sorts, but I was seeing her at a very sad moment in her life. She was frightened to be on camera with me. I thought, 'You never want to get to the point in your life when you're hanging onto this kind of thing. It's too painful.' And do you know that she never dropped her persona while on the set? It was all 'Come up and see me sometime.'" --Welch quoted in USA Today, June 26, 1997.
Biography
The last of the Hollywood sex symbols, Raquel Welch began appearing in films in the mid-1960s and enjoyed a run as pin-up girl after capturing the public's imagination clad in a well-tailored fur bikini in the prehistoric fantasy "One Million Years BC" (1966). Who would have known she was a single mother of two? Her packagers never let on. They just continued to push the fantasy, creating an uphill battle for her to earn any respect as a serious actor. Welch ornamented a number of lightweight vehicles before bombing in the title role of "Myra Breckinridge" (1970--Mae West walked off with most of the publicity), then took a measure of control over her screen persona, producing and starring in "Hannie Calder" (1971), the first of her macho femme Western roles. She altered the image further with "Kansas City Bomber" (1972), insisting on doing her own stunts as good-hearted roller derby star Diane 'KC' Carr.
Welch had one of her finest hours displaying her comic timing as Constance in Richard Lester's version of the "The Three Musketeers" (1973), winning a Golden Globe for her efforts. She appeared again as Constance in Lester's follow-up "The Four Musketeers" (1975) and shone as the Jugs of Peter Yates' "Mother, Jugs, and Speed" (1976), the easygoing camaraderie of the three principles (with Bill Cosby and Harvey Keitel) providing a refreshingly strong role for her. Hollywood, however, cast her body more than anything (she was a sex symbol after all) and refused to see an actress of any depth. In order to branch out into more dramatic fare, Welch moved to the small screen during the 80s earning plaudits for her work in NBC TV-movies like "The Legend of Walks Far Woman" (1982), "Right to Die" (1987, in which she was convincing as a woman stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease) and "Scandal in a Small Town" (1988).
Welch sued MGM in 1980 for firing her from "Cannery Row" (1982), eventually pocketing $14 million. In 1981, she made her Broadway debut succeeding Lauren Bacall in "Woman of the Year" and upped her credibility immensely. She made her series debut as a regular in the revamped version of Darren Star's "CPW" (CBS, 1996) before replacing Julie Andrews on the Great White Way the following year in "Victor/Victoria." Perhaps it strained credulity (not to mention challenging costumers) to present her as a woman passing for a man, but her presence could not keep the show from closing. Despite the setback, Welch has remained committed to developing her craft, appeared onstage in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's "The Millionairess" in 1998 (having previously played the role in a British tour). She also returned to features that year playing Grace Kosik the nemesis of comedian Carrot Top in the uneven comedy "Chairman of the Board."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Life Events
1943
Moved with family to La Jolla, California (date approximate)
1947
First taste of the stage at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre as member of a children's theater group (date approximate)
1955
Won La Jolla beauty competition at age 15 (date approximate)
1964
Broke into show business as billboard girl on the "Hollywood Palace" TV show
1964
First film appearance (as walk-on) in Elvis Presely vehicle "Roustabout"
1965
Film acting and singing debut ("introducing Raquel Welch") in "A Swingin' Summer"
1966
Indelibly entered the public's consciousness as the bikini-clad cave woman of "One Million Years B.C."
1968
First (of many) appearance on a Bob Hope TV special
1970
Hosted first variety special, "Raquel" (CBS)
1970
Played title role in "Myra Breckinridge"
1971
Produced and starred in "Hannie Caulder"
1972
Portrayed Diane 'KC' Carr in "Kansas City Bomber"
1973
Acted the part of Constance in Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers"
1975
Reprised role in Lester's "The Four Musketeers"; films were shot simultaneously
1976
Contributed her Jugs to "Mother, Jugs, and Speed"
1980
Sued MGM over dismissal from the film "Cannery Row"; eventually won a $14 million judgment in her favor
1981
Broadway debut in "Woman of the Year"; succeeded Lauren Bacall in role of Tess Harding; songwriters John Jander and Fred Ebb added new material for her to sing
1982
TV-movie debut in title role as "The Legend of Walks Far Woman" (NBC)
1987
Offered a convincing turn as stricken Emily Bauer in NBC-movie, "Right to Die"
1988
Starred as Leda Beth Vincent in NBC-movie, "Scandal in a Small Town"
1993
Headlined TV-movie "Tainted Blood" (USA Network)
1993
Made frequent guest appearances on sitcoms, including "Evening Shade", "Seinfeld" "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and "Spin City"
1994
Was TV spokesperson for Equal sweetner
1995
British stage debut touring in George Bernard Shaw's "The Millionairess"; production's London booking canceled
1996
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
1996
TV series debut as regular on the primetime CBS soap opera "CPW", a revamping of "Central Park West"; played the bitchy, wealthy ex-wife of a businessman
1997
Returned to Broadway, replacing Julie Andrews in "Victor/Victoria"
1998
Portrayed Grace Kosik in "Chairman of the Board"
1998
Starred in Foxborough, Massachusetts stage production of "The Millionairess"
2000
Had featured role in the TV pilot "An American Family", written and directed by Gregory Nava; series picked up for airing by PBS in 2001-2002
2001
Co-starred with Hector Elizondo in "Tortilla Soup", a remake of "Eat Drink Man Woman" set in L.A.'s Latino community
2001
Had supporting role in "Legally Blonde"
2002
Played Aunt Dora on the television series "American Family," also starred Edward James Olmos and Sonia Braga
2006
Plyayed an ex-Las Vegas showgirl opposite Burt Reynolds in the madcap comedy "Forget About It"
2008
Appeared in the CBS comedy "Welcome to the Captain"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
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Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
" ...I made decisions based on, What will my kids think of this? I tried not to trash myself. I felt I owed them that, because there were sacrifices of time away, and they had enough difficulty dealing with the fact that I was there mother. The compromise of being a career woman and having children is ... My failings as a mother weren't intentional--and my kids grew up to be good people--but the failings were there. And I look at things now, and I go, Hmmm, maybe that was too high a price to pay for what I got out of it." --Raquel Welch to TV Guide, June 8, 1996
About "Myra Breckinridge" co-star Mae West: "She was a genius of sorts, but I was seeing her at a very sad moment in her life. She was frightened to be on camera with me. I thought, 'You never want to get to the point in your life when you're hanging onto this kind of thing. It's too painful.' And do you know that she never dropped her persona while on the set? It was all 'Come up and see me sometime.'" --Welch quoted in USA Today, June 26, 1997.
"I remember a long, long time ago, George C. Scott said you can't teach acting. You know, you either have it or you don't. Well, I think that's great for him. He definitely had it. He's fabulous; he's one of my idols. But for the loads of us on the planet who are not as gifted as Mr. Scott, there are tried and true techniques that are available. Most of the time, an actor is left pretty much on his own with a script in his bedroom or hotel room to struggle it out and try to find the character. Some people do it easliy, but I'm personally not one of them. I mean, I can fake it easily enough when all I have to say is, 'Hello, goodbye.'" ... But with theater, you have to make a commitment of 2 1/2 hours of doing more than saying 'Hi.'"It's like swimming along in the deep end and you don't see the shore in sight. You just keep swimming anyway in some kind of blind faith that soon there will be land, you know?" --Welch quoted in The Boston Globe, May 24, 1998.
Welch is president of her own production company, RWP Inc, and is currently developing projects, including her own feature-length screenplay.
Welch has her own wig and beauty product lines.
"Americans have always had sex symbols. It's a time-honored tradition and I'm flattered to have been one. But it's hard to have a long fruitful career once you've been sterotyped that way. That's why I'm proud to say I've endured."-- Welch Biography Magazine July 2002
In 1994, Raquel Welch received a star on the Walk of Fame
