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01
In 15 of her films, Raquel Welch kicks men in the groin, more than any other living actress.
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02
She revealed that her first marriage to James Welch was the best of her four.
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03
She was crowned Miss La Jolla and Miss Southern California before dropping out of college to marry her high-school sweetheart at age 18.
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04
Despite appearing tall and statuesque on screen, she was actually about 5 feet 6 inches tall.
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05
She was a cousin of Lidia Gueiler, Bolivia’s first female president 1979-1980, and of general Luis García Meza, who succeeded her. She was also a niece of Bolivian president José Luis Tejada Sorzano.
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06
She worked as a cocktail waitress, TV weather girl, and fashion model before acting.
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07
She had a notorious backstage feud with Mae West on the set of Myra Breckinridge 1970.
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08
She dated football player Joe Namath, Paramount executive Robert Evans, actors Warren Beatty, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, and Freddie Prinze, musicians Bob Dylan and Alice Cooper, and costume designers Bob Moore Jr. and Ron Talsky.
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09
She was considered for the lead in Barbarella 1968 before Jane Fonda was cast.
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10
After One Million Years B.C. 1966, Hammer Films planned a biopic of pirate Anne Bonney called Mistress of the Seas, but it was canceled for financial reasons.
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11
Her then-husband Patrick Curtis, a film producer and former press agent, promoted her as a sex symbol.
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12
20th Century Fox wanted to change her name to Debbie Welch because they thought Raquel was too difficult to pronounce.
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13
She auditioned for the role of Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island 1964.
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14
She won beauty contest titles including Miss Photogenic, Miss Contour, and Miss Maid of California in her teens.
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15
She was considered for the title role in Norma Rae 1979 but Sally Field was cast instead and earned an Oscar nomination.
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16
She broke her wrist in a Los Angeles car crash.
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17
Her mother Josephine Sarah Hall was of English heritage with Mayflower ancestry; her father Armando Carlos Tejada-Urquizo was from La Paz, Bolivia, of Spanish ancestry.
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18
She was fired from Cannery Row 1982 and replaced by Debra Winger, then sued MGM and won a $10 million judgment.
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19
She dated champion boxer Gary Stretch when she was 56 and he was 31, but the age difference ended the romance.
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20
In 1970, she accepted the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role on behalf of Goldie Hawn, who was absent.
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21
Her second husband, producer Patrick Curtis, reportedly was one of several infants who played the baby of Olivia de Havilland in Gone with the Wind 1939.
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22
As of 2013, she was a celebrity spokesperson for Foster Grant sunglasses since the 1960s.
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23
She was the 21st great-granddaughter of King Edward I.
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24
Her pin-up poster appears on a cell wall in The Shawshank Redemption 1994, alongside Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe.
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25
She kept her Bolivian heritage under wraps until she was established.
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26
She appeared with Christopher Lee in four films: The Magic Christian 1969, Hannie Caulder 1971, The Three Musketeers 1973, and The Four Musketeers 1974.
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27
After dating Gary Stretch, she began a relationship with restaurateur Richie Palmer, 14 years her junior, who left actress Cathy Moriarty for her.
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28
She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
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29
Her favorite fashion designer was Bob Mackie, who worked with her for over 50 years.
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30
She was named The Worst Actress of All Time in Harry Medved and Michael Medved’s 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards.
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31
She turned down roles in Valley of the Dolls 1967, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore 1974, Lenny 1974, The Towering Inferno 1974, and Heroes 1977.
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32
She is partly credited with ending Hollywood’s promotion of the Blonde Bombshell archetype in the late 1960s.
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33
Her grunting in One Million Years B.C. 1966 was dubbed by Nikki Van der Zyl.
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34
She has a younger brother, James Stanford Tejada, and a younger sister, Gayle Carole Tejada, an ovarian cancer survivor.
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35
She graduated from La Jolla High School in La Jolla, California.
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36
In 2010 she began a relationship with American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe after his split from Priscilla Presley.
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37
She appeared with Sybil Danning in four films: Bluebeard 1972, The Three Musketeers 1973, The Four Musketeers 1974, and Crossed Swords 1977.
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38
She is mentioned in the songs Glory of the 80s by Tori Amos and We’re All Water by John Lennon.
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39
Former flame Ron Talsky designed her clothes for Kansas City Bomber 1972 and The Last of Sheila 1973.
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40
She is one of 23 actresses who won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical but did not receive an Oscar nomination for that performance.
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41
Empire magazine chose her as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history at number 18.
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42
She met third husband André Weinfeld while filming Animal 1977 in Paris.
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43
She suffered a mid-trimester miscarriage in February 1983.
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44
Her son Damon Welch married the daughter of England cricket legend Fred Trueman.
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45
She is mentioned in the theme song of The Fall Guy 1981.
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46
Her estranged husband Richie Palmer owns Mulberry Street Pizzeria in Beverly Hills.
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47
She was profiled in the book Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973.
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48
She had a stepson, Richie Palmer Jr., born 1989.
