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Raquel Welch, the legendary actress known for her striking beauty and international sex appeal, has died at the age of 82.

The official cause of death for the award-winning actress has not yet been revealed, but it has been reported that she died Wednesday at her Los Angeles home after suffering a brief illness.

Career

Welch 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 the British studio Hammer Film Productions, for whom she made “One Million Years B.C.” (1966). Although she had only three lines of dialogue in the film, images of her in the doe-skin bikini became best-selling posters that turned her into an international sex symbol.

She later starred in “Bedazzled” (1967), “Bandolero!” (1968), “100 Rifles” (1969), “Myra Breckinridge” (1970) and “Hannie Caulder” (1971). She made several television variety specials.

Through her portrayal of strong female characters, which helped in her breaking the mold of the traditional sex symbol, Welch developed a unique film persona that made her an icon of the 1960s and 1970s.

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Her rise to stardom in the mid-1960s was partly credited with ending Hollywood’s vigorous promotion of the blonde bombshell.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.

Personal life

Welch married her high school sweetheart, James Welch, on May 8, 1959, with whom she had two children, Damon Welch (born November 6, 1959) and Latanne “Tahnee” Welch (born December 26, 1961). James and Raquel Welch separated in 1962 and divorced in 1964; she retained Welch’s last name until her death. She married producer Patrick Curtis in 1967 and divorced him in 1972. In 1980, she married producer André Weinfeld, divorcing him in 1990. Welch wed Richard Palmer, owner of Mulberry Street Pizzeria, in 1999 but then separated from him in 2003 and later divorced. Welch said she would not remarry.

Her beauty and iconic status was still at a high until her death as pop culture audiences grew to love her.

In one of the funniest, in our opinion, episodes of Seinfeld, Welch portrayed herself as a Broadway actress who did not “swing her arms,” leading to her beating up Kramer, played by Michael Richards, and Elaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

We were a big fan.

RIP you funny, pretty lady.