Raquel Welch, a sex icon and Hollywood actress, passed away at the age of 82.
After a brief illness, Welch passed unexpectedly on Wednesday morning, according to her family’s statement to TMZ.
Due to her breakthrough performances in Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years B.C., the actress gained notoriety in 1966.
In the 1960s, she rose to fame as a sex icon after appearing in a tiny deerskin bikini in One Million Years B.C.
She was placed third in Playboy’s list of the 100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century and was voted one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History in a 1995 edition of Empire magazine.
Welch’s acting career soared throughout the 1960s and 1970s; in 1973, for her work in the movie The Three Musketeers, she took home the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy.
She performed I’m a Woman with Cher on The Cher Show in 1975 while they were pals.
Raquel’s fourth marriage to Richard Palmer, which lasted from 1999 to 2004, produced two children, Tahnee and Damon Welch.
Before getting hitched to Palmer, she was previously wed to James Welch from 1959 to 1964, Patrick Curtis from 1967 to 1972, and Andre Weinfeld from 1980 to 1990.
