ACTOR
Raquel Welch
- Known for
- Fantastic Voyage (1966), The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974), One Million Years B.C. (1966)
41 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Raquel Welch is an actor best known for Fantastic Voyage, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers.
All facts (41)
- #001
Of Raquel Welch's four marriages, her first turned out to be the best.
- #002
Before leaving the University of San Diego, California, where she had won an acting scholarship, to marry her high-school sweetheart James Welch at 18, Raquel Welch wore the Miss La Jolla and Miss Southern California crowns.
- #003
Raquel Welch's striking figure gave the impression that she was quite tall and statuesque; in fact, she was about 5' 6".
- #004
Before acting, Raquel Welch worked as a cocktail waitress, a television weather girl and a model.
- #005
Raquel Welch was a cousin of Lidia Gueiler, President of Bolivia from 1979 to 1980 and the country's first female head of state, and of General Luis García Meza, a later President of Bolivia from 1980 to 1981. She was also a niece of José Luis Tejada Sorzano, an economist and politician who was another Bolivian president.
- #006
Raquel Welch's romantic partners included former footballer Joe Namath; Paramount executive Robert Evans; actors Warren Beatty, Richard Burton, Sean Connery and Freddie Prinze; musicians Bob Dylan and Alice Cooper; and costume designers Bob Moore Jr. and Ron Talsky.
- #007
On the set of Myra Breckinridge (1970), Raquel Welch had a famous behind-the-scenes clash with the indomitable Mae West.
- #008
Raquel Welch was considered for the lead in Barbarella (1968), which ultimately went to Jane Fonda.
- #009
After Raquel Welch appeared in One Million Years B.C. (1966) for Hammer Films, the studio planned a vehicle for her titled Lady of the Seas, a biography of the 18th-century pirate Anne Bonney: "The true story of Anne Bonney, who cut a path to fame and fortune with the most feared scourges of the Caribbean!" It was cancelled for financial reasons. The surviving poster art depicts Welch with a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other, wearing very little.
- #010
Raquel Welch was promoted as a sex symbol by her husband Patrick Curtis, a film producer and Hollywood press agent who had previously been engaged to Linda Evans.
- #011
Raquel Welch was considered for the lead in Norma Rae (1979), but Sally Field was cast instead; Field was nominated for and won the Best Actress Oscar for the performance.
- #012
20th Century Fox asked Raquel Welch to change her name to Debbie Welch because they found Raquel too difficult to pronounce.
- #013
Raquel Welch auditioned for the role of Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island (1964).
- #014
Raquel Welch was fired from Cannery Row (1982) and replaced by Debra Winger. She later sued Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and won a $10 million judgment.
- #015
Raquel Welch broke her wrist in a car accident in Los Angeles.
- #016
As of 2013, Raquel Welch had been the celebrity spokesperson for Foster Grant sunglasses since the 1960s.
- #017
Raquel Welch was the daughter of Josephine Sarah (Hall) and Armando Carlos Tejada-Urquizo. Her father was from La Paz, Bolivia, of Spanish origin. Her mother was from Chicago and came largely from English stock with deep New England roots and Mayflower ancestry.
- #018
Raquel Welch's favourite fashion designer was Bob Mackie, who worked with her for more than 50 years.
- #019
Raquel Welch was one of the posters on the cell wall in The Shawshank Redemption (1994). The other two were Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe.
- #020
Her second husband, producer Patrick Curtis, was reportedly one of several babies who alternately played Olivia de Havilland's baby in Gone with the Wind (1939).
- #021
Raquel Welch appeared in four films with Christopher Lee: The Magic Christian (1969), Hannie Caulder (1971), The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974).
- #022
Raquel Welch has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
- #023
Raquel Welch turned down roles in Valley of the Dolls (1967), Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Lenny (1974), The Towering Inferno (1974) and Heroes (1977).
- #024
Raquel Welch gained fame partly because Hollywood stopped trying to promote the 'Blonde Bombshell' in the late 1960s.
- #025
Raquel Welch has a younger brother named James Stanford Tejada and a younger sister named Gayle Carole Tejada, an ovarian cancer survivor.
- #026
Raquel Welch's grunts in One Million Years B.C. (1966) were voiced by Nikki Van der Zyl.
- #027
Raquel Welch graduated from La Jolla High School in La Jolla, California.
- #028
In 2010, Raquel Welch became involved with American Idol (2002) producer Nigel Lythgoe, after Lythgoe split from Priscilla Presley, who that same year had been linked to Raquel's ex-husband Richie Palmer.
- #029
Raquel Welch appeared in four films alongside Sybil Danning: Bluebeard (1972), The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974) and Crossed Swords (1977).
- #030
Empire magazine named Raquel Welch one of the 100 sexiest stars in film history (#18).
- #031
In February 1983, Raquel Welch suffered a miscarriage during her second trimester. The baby had been due in August.
- #032
Raquel Welch's son, Damon Welch, married the daughter of English and Yorkshire cricket legend Fred Trueman.
- #033
Raquel Welch's third ex-husband, André Weinfeld, owned a property on the private island of Mustique.
- #034
Raquel Welch met her third husband, André Weinfeld, in Paris while filming Animal (1977).
- #035
Raquel Welch was mentioned in the theme song of the 1980s series The Fall Guy (1981).
- #036
Raquel Welch's estranged husband, Richie Palmer, owns the Mulberry Street Pizzeria in Beverly Hills.
- #037
Raquel Welch's profile appears in Tom Lisanti and Louis Paul's book "Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973" (McFarland, 2002).
- #038
Raquel Welch has a stepson named Richie Palmer Jr., born in 1989.
- #039
Raquel Welch's name is pronounced "Rack-kel."
- #040
Raquel Welch was born at 14:04 CDT.
- #041
Raquel Welch's personal assistant is Polly Brown.
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work