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(Original Source:CNN) — Raquel Welch, a veteran actress who rose to prominence in the 1960s with roles in “One Million Years B.C.” and “Fantastic Voyage,” has died, according to her manager, Steve Sauer.
She was 82 years old.Welch died Wednesday morning in Los Angeles following a “brief illness,” according to the statement.
The actress, who has over 70 film and television credits, began her career as a spokesmodel on a variety show called “Hollywood Palace,” and had a brief appearance in the Elvis Presley film “Roustabout” in 1964.
Two years later, her career took off with the release of the science fiction film “Fantastic Voyage,” about a team of scientists shrunken and injected into the body of a critically ill man; and “One Million Years, B.C.,” a prehistoric drama that cast Welch as the cavewoman Loana, with photos of her in a fur bikini becoming the foundation of the film’s marketing campaign, while turning Welch into an international sex symbol. (The poster was later used as a significant plot component in the critically acclaimed film “The Shawshank Redemption.”)
In the late 1960s, Welch had a number of starring parts, including the westerns “Bandolero” and “100 Rifles,” the latter noted for her then-controversial interracial love scene with former football great Jim Brown.
According to her manager, Welch leaves behind two children, son Damon Welch and daughter Tahnee Welch.