Rackel (Raquel) Welch is today called the sex symbol of all time. Appearing on movie screens in 1964, she drove crazy millions of men around the world. This year, the actress will turn 77 years old, but she still looks amazing, admires her cheerfulness, a charming smile and excellent physical shape.
Childhood and youth
Raquel Welch was born on September 5, 1940 in Chicago (USA, Illinois), having received the name Joe Raquel Tejada at birth. Her father, a Bolivian by birth, worked as an aviation engineer, and her mother had Irish roots. In the late forties, the family moved to California, where Rackel enrolled in a comprehensive school in the city of San Diego (La Jolla district).
In her youth, Rekel was fond of dancing, dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Therefore, she took private lessons and even entered a choreographic college. But the teachers considered her unpromising, since the physical data of the girl did not correspond to the ideal forms that dancers should have.
Indeed, from a small fragile girl in her youth, she turned into a tall teenager of athletic physique. However, this did not stop Rekel from participating in various beauty contests, where she often won prizes. Among her first titles won were Miss San Diego and Miss La Jolla. After graduating from high school and failing in the ballet field, the girl enters the school of drama art, begins to play in amateur performances.
The beginning of a cinematic career
The winner of beauty contests could not fail to notice the television producers. They began to invite Rekel to shoot commercials, she acted as a leading weather forecast, and in her free time worked as a waitress. The debut in the movie took place quite late. Twenty-four-year-old Rackel Welch was invited to star in the low-budget television film “Not That House, ” where she played a call girl. At the same time, she manages to get a modest supporting role in the musical, where the idol of the public of those years shone - the legendary Elvis Presley.
The first significant success in the cinema
The morning after the premiere of the film "One Million Years BC", Welch Raquel, as they say, woke up famous. In the film, directed by Don Cheffy in 1966, the long-legged beauty appeared half-naked, playing Loana, the girlfriend of the protagonist. In the same year, viewers saw Rackel Welch in another film, Fantastic Journey.
Two years later, the actress is invited to a role in the film "Barbarella", but Rackel refuses. It seems to her that the producers are not interested in her acting talent, but want to get a girl with a beautiful appearance as the main character.
Thanks to the image created by Welch Raquel in the historical comedy, where she was dressed in a kind of buckskin bikini, she is given the unspoken title of the sex symbol of the year. In the 1970s, Playboy magazine called her the “most coveted woman” of the decade.
Filmography, awards, scandals
After an overwhelming success in the film "One Million BC" Rackel Welch, despite the signed contract with the studio "Twentieth Century Fox" rarely receives invitations to the main roles. Nevertheless, she manages to star in several dozen films in the image of supporting characters. In 1970, she agreed to participate in the filming of the film, where she was to play the role of a transsexual. The tape was coldly received by the public and critics, and Rackel for some time decides to part with the cinema. At this time, she starred in television series, participated in fashion shows. In 1974, Rackel Welch won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Three Musketeers.
Having decided to return to the big movie, Rackel begins filming the movie "Cannery Row" (English Cannery Row), which was released in 1982. But after the first filming days, MGM Studios broke the contract with the actress, accusing her of slowness and punctuality. Through the court, Rackel seeks compensation of $ 14 million. This scandal puts an end to her further cinematic career, and she begins to appear on the stage of Broadway music halls.
In 2001, the comedy by Robert Luketic “Blonde in Law” was released. Rackel Welch is invited to the role of the aging lady Mrs. Windham Vandermark. In 2006, viewers could see the unfading beauty in the film "Forget About It", she also appeared in one of the episodic roles of the short series of the channel CBS Welcome to the Captain in 2008. Actress Rackel Welch is the owner of her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Life behind the scenes
Outside the world of cinema, Rackel is actively trying himself in the literary field. In the mid-80s, her autobiographical book, “On the Other Side of the Neckline, ” was published, which aroused interest among the readership. The actress, supporting herself in good physical shape, created an original fitness program, released a series of CDs and video tapes with a recording of sports exercises in her own performance.
Commercial success was brought by the launch of a line of cosmetics, wigs, leather and jewelry under the Raquel Welch brand. In 2007, MAC Cosmetics invited Rekel to advertise the new Beauty Icon series. And a little later, she becomes the face of the company Foster Grant, which produces reading glasses.
