Raquel Welch (1940)

Biography
Raquel Welch (born Jo Raquel Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress and singer.

She 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 a British studio, for whom she made One Million Years B.C. (1966). She had only three lines in the film, yet images of her in the doe-skin bikini which she wore became best-selling posters that turned her into a celebrity sex symbol. She later starred in notable films including Bedazzled (1967), Bandolero! (1968), 100 Rifles (1969), and Myra Breckinridge (1970). She made several television variety specials. In late 2008, she became a spokeswoman for Foster Grant's reading glasses campaign, created by Ferrara and Company.

Welch's unique persona on film made her into an icon of the 1960s and 1970s. She carved out a place in movie history portraying strong female characters and breaking the mold of the submissive sex symbol. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy in 1974 for her performance in The Three Musketeers. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Television Film for her performance in the film Right to Die (1987). In 1995, Welch was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History". Playboy ranked Welch No. 3 on their "100 Sexiest Stars of the Twentieth Century" list. In 2011, Men's Health ranked her No. 2 in its "Hottest Women of All Time" list.

Early Life
Welch was born as Jo-Raquel Tejada on September 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois. Her father, Armando Carlos Tejada Urquizo (1911–1976), was an aeronautical engineer from La Paz, Bolivia, born to Agustin Tejada and Raquel Urquizo; Welch was named after her paternal grandmother. Her mother, Josephine Sarah (née Hall; 1909–2000), was the daughter of architect Emery Stanford Hall and his wife Clara Louise Adams, and was of English origin, originally of Salford, Lancashire, that dated back to the Mayflower. She has a younger brother James "Jim" Stanford and younger sister Gayle Carole.

The family moved from Illinois to an Diego, California when Raquel was two years old. Welch attended the Pacific Beach Presbyterian Church every Sunday with her mother. As a young girl, Raquel wanted to perform. She studied ballet from age seven to seventeen but gave it up after her instructor told her that she didn't have the right figure.[16] At age 14, she won beauty titles as Miss Photogenic and Miss Contour. While attending La Jolla High School she won the title of Miss La Jolla and the title of Miss San Diego – the Fairest of the Fair – at the San Diego County Fair. These long line of beauty contests eventually led to the state title of Maid of California. Her parents divorced when she finished her school years.

Marriage and Family
Welch graduated from high school in 1958 and a year later married her high school sweetheart, James Welch on May 8, 1959. They had two children, Damon (born November 6, 1959) and Latanne Welch (born December 26, 1961), but they separated in 1962 and divorced in 1964. She married producer Patrick Curtis in 1967 and divorced him in 1972. In 1980, she began a 10-year marriage to André Weinfeld, whom she divorced in 1990. Welch wed Richard Palmer in 1999 but then separated from him in 2008 and later divorced. Welch has stated that she does not intend to marry again.

Welch has been married four times:


 * 1) James Welch (1959–64), publicist and agent; divorced
 * 2) Patrick Curtis (1967–72), director and producer; divorced
 * 3) André Weinfeld (1980–90), producer, director, and journalist; divorced
 * 4) Richard Palmer (1999–2008), divorced