Raquel Welch was born Raquel Tejada, on September 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois. She entered beauty contests as a teenager, and worked as a model, waitress, and television weather-girl before making her film debut in 1964 with a bit part in the Elvis Presley movie, Roustabout.
Raquel Welch:'When Elvis came around, I suddenly understood what sex is all about'. Roustabout in 1964 was my very first film in Hollywood. I was a bit player in the opening moments. Like many adolescents of the '50s, I had been completely gaga over Elvis. I saw him live in San Diego in one of his early shows. It was my first rock 'n' roll music concert ever. That was the first time that I ever conjured up what a sexy guy could be.
But when I saw him on the set of Roustabout, I was a little bit taken aback because something had changed about him. It seemed like he was more packaged. His clothes were not the same, his hair was obviously dyed now, and it was all sprayed into place. It was a little shocking to me because it was a whitewashed, cleaned-up Elvis. They took all the sex out of him!
He had these buddies, this group of guys that hung out with him, and you had to go through them to get to him. There was no such thing as walking up to Elvis on a set. At one point, one of his guys came over and said, 'Elvis is having a little party at the house, and if you'd like to come up...'. And I thought, What? I wasn't sure if the invitation was from Elvis or from them, using Elvis. I had had a very strict upbringing, and I didn't like the setup, so I didn't go. I had a feeling that Elvis related so much more to men than women. I think he certainly liked women, but I just don't think he knew how to have a real relationship with one. He was a guy's guy.
Years later, about 1972, I had a contract to perform at the Las Vegas Hilton, and lo and behold, Elvis came in right after me. At his show he was dressed all in white, with bellbottoms with a little gold slit on the side, and a lot of jewelry and brocade coming down on his jacket and a high-neck collar. He looked almost like Liberace. I went to his dressing room, and he was very sweet, very nice, and he showed me all his jewelry. But he didn't seem to be really happy in his eyes.
Launched as a sex symbol after her scantily clad appearance in One Million Years BC (1966), Welch was rarely challenged by later roles, which included The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968) and 100 Rifles (1969). In an effort to shed her sex kitten image, Welch starred in the disastrous film adaptation Myra Breckenridge (1970), based on the intellectual and risque novel by Gore Vidal. Although for her part in The Three Musketeers (1973) she received a Best Actress Golden Globe Award, Welch failed to find success in her subsequent projects, garnering little attention in Hollywood after the failure of the 1976 black comedy Mother, Jugs and Speed. Despite mediocre film work, Welch continued to be regarded as a great beauty, and her career went on to include nightclub entertaining, the Broadway musical Woman of the Year (1982), and the publication of a 'Total Beauty and Fitness Program' (1984). She starred in the TV movies Right to Die (1987) and Scandal in a Small Town (1988), before returning to film with cameo appearances in the comedies Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) and Legally Blond (2001).
'When Elvis came around, I suddenly understood what sex is all about'.Raquel Welch
Roustabout publicity picture. Raquel is the second from the right, in the blue.
Stop, look and listen baby that's our philosophy .... First thing in the morning, last thing at night ... look, stare everywhere and see everything inside .... Stop, look and listen!
You need to have flash player installed and Javascript enabled to be able to see the site content.
Raquel Welch was born Raquel Tejada, on September 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois. She entered beauty contests as a teenager, and worked as a model, waitress, and television weather-girl before making her film debut in 1964 with a bit part in the Elvis Presley movie, 
