We are saddened to hear about the passing of legendary actress Raquel Welch, who starred as Loana in Ray Harryhausen's 1966 classic 'One Million Years B.C'. An iconic role which spawned one of the most famous movie posters ever. Our thoughts are with her family at this sad time. pic.twitter.com/vQW5tj52mk
— Ray Harryhausen (@Ray_Harryhausen) February 15, 2023
Tributes were paid last night to One Million Years BC star Raquel Welch, who has died at the age of 82.
The US star, who won a Golden Globe for The Three Musketeers, passed away after a brief illness, her manager said.
Among those paying tribute were her Legally Blonde co-star Reese Witherspoon, who tweeted: "So sad to hear about Raquel Welch's passing. I loved working with her on Legally Blonde. She was elegant , professional and glamorous beyond belief. Simply stunning. May all her angels carry her home. Sending love to her family and her many fans."
The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation also paid tribute, describing her role as Loana in One Million Years BC as "An ionic role which spawned one of the most famous movie posters ever".
Glamour was certainly a big part of Welch's brand. Born Jo Raquel Tejada, she won a string of beauty pageants as a Californian teenager and went on to work as a weather forecaster and a model.
She had cameos in Elvis films including Roustabout but it was her roles in One Million Years BC and Fantastic Voyage that propelled her to fame.
She directly addressed her sex symbol status in her book Raquel: Beyond The Cleavage about which she said she had "mixed feelings".
Her career spanned five decades, she also appeared in TV shows including Date My Dad and Welcome To The Captain and on Broadway in Woman Of The Year and Victor/Victoria.
She was married four times and is survived by her son Damon and actor daughter Tahnee, children from her first marriage to publicist James Welch.
