Raquel Welch: 10 Sexiest, Funniest, Most Iconic Roles

There were screen bombshells, movie sex symbols, early film-nerd pin-ups — and then there was Raquel Welch. Born Jo Raquel Tejada, the Bolivian-American actor cut her teeth on a handful of early TV show appearances and a brief appearance in an Elvis Presley musical (Roustabout) before nabbing the role of Cora, the medical assistant who is shrunk down to miniature size in Fantastic Voyage (1966). That breakthrough role, along with her turn as a prehistoric heroine in One Million Years B.C. that same year, turned Welch into a favorite of science-fiction fanatics and young moviegoers who happen to appreciate [ahem] a beautiful starlet in a fur bikini.

Throughout the next few decades, Welch’s name became synonymous with a certain type of exotic screen beauty; the fact that she had a self-deprecating sense of humor about the way she drove her admirers into a state of heat only made her that much more of an icon. Even when she was simply being herself on talk-show couches and variety shows like SNL and The Muppet Show, Welch exuded a kind of breezy, “easy there, tiger” sense of cool. We pay tribute to the versatile star who both sold a thousand hot-cavewoman posters with a gallery of her 10 sexiest, funniest, most iconic roles and appearances. (Yes, there will be a shout-out to the Total Beauty and Fitness Program.)

‘Fantastic Voyage’ (1966)

An American scientist is in a coma after an assassination attempt — and only a group of scientists, shrunk down to the size of atoms and injected into his bloodstream, can save him! Even a miniature, subatomic Welch left quite a huge impression, and her breakthrough role made audiences and studio excutives sit up and take notice. Luckily, she had another film right around the corner….

‘One Million Years, B.C. (1966)

It was the image that sold a thousand hot-cavewoman posters. (Kidding: it was way closer to one million sold.) Welch’s turn as Loana, a prehistoric warrior caught between two warring tribes, in Hammer Studio’s fantasy adventure turned into her a genre-movie icon — not to mention the fact that it made doeskin-fur bikinis a late ’60s fashion must.

‘Fathom’ (1967)

You can almost see the thought bubbles above the producers’ heads: What if we took a protoypical “Bond Girl” and made her a James Bond type? Welch is Fathom Harvill, professional skydiver and amateur woman of mystery who is recruited by British agents to locate a rogue tiggering agent for nuclear warheads. Oh, it’s campy — and yet the star takes to the role so well you wish she had gotten her own spy-movie franchise as well.

‘Bedazzled’ (1967)

If you were devil and wanted to tempt some nebbishy guy into selling his soul circa 1967, who would you call up to tempt him? We fully admit that the name of Welch’s character — Lillian Lust, “the babe with the bust” — isn’t the most enlightened part of this Faust retelling, set in Swinging ’60s London. Yet Welch knows exactly how to comically vamp this Playboy-joke-sketch of a part up to the hilt. It takes a very good comedian to turn “Can you hear my pores breathe?” into a punch line.

‘100 Rifles’ (1969)

This Western kicked up controversy in its day for including a love scene between Welch and former NFL fullback Jim Brown. But it also gave our lady Raquel a plum role as a Native American revolutionary who convinces Brown’s sheriff to team up with Burt Reynolds’ bank robber. She referred to her role as “the baloney on a cheesecake factory,” yet it did prove she could more than hold her own against two charismatic stars. It remains a favorite of Welch fans to this day.

‘Myra Breckinridge’ (1970)

Everyone from author Gore Vidal to part-time actor/full-time film critic Rex Reed have spent their careers apologizing for this tale of a man who transitions into being the most beautiful woman in the world. It is one political minefield of a movie, to say the least. Welch had been a huge fan of the book, which is why she agreed to star in the film — and she remains the only reason to revisit it today. “I’m so very glad I made it,” Welch would later say, “because I think it means that someday, someone somewhere will have the cajones to come along and really do it the way Gore intended it.”

‘Kansas City Bomber’ (1972)

To every philistine who still thinks Welch was nothing but a pretty face and a va-va-voom figure: We’d like to direct you to this sports drama starring Welch as K.C. Carr, single mother and budding superstar of the then-burgeoning “Roller Games” (think roller derby, but wilder). It’s one of the star’s most physical roles, yet it also gave her the chance to flex her dramatic chops as well. It may be the least known film on this list, but it’s arguably the best.

‘The Muppet Show’ (1978)

A generation fell in love with Welch thanks to this appearance on Jim Henson’s groundbreaking show, in which she tells Fozzie he’s sexy — you know he’s the hottest member of any ensemble is the one rocking a porkpie hat and polka dot scarf, and nothing else! — and sings a bluesy “I’m a Woman” with Miss Piggy. A+, 10/10, zero notes.

‘Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness’ (1984)

Dude, it was the ’80s — everyone had fitness videos! And if you owned Welch’s tape, in which she asked the rehtorical question, “Are you in great shape…and want to stay that way,” chances are good you did her customized combo of yoga poses and stretching (call it Raquelarobics), you had a pretty good beach bod. Or at least could appreciate how Welch put 100 percent into becoming an exercise guru. Remember, don’t try to master everything at once. Little by little does it every time….

‘Legally Blonde’ (2001)

Mrs Windham-Vandermark may not be a big role in this Reese Witherspoon comedy, but the moment you saw who was playing her, you felt like you knew EXACTLY who this character was. Even folks who couldn’t care less that Welch was arguably the biggest sex symbol of her era could tell that the way she carried herself made her the perfect person for this cameo. R.I.P. to a legend.

From Rolling Stone US.