Actress Raquel Welch dead at 82

Actress Raquel Welch died Wednesday morning following a brief illness, according to multiple reports. She was 82.

Welch’s manager confirmed her death KABC-TV and CNN. Family members also confirmed her death to TMZ.

Welch rose to prominence with her roles in 1966′s “Fantastic Voyage” and “One Million Years B.C.,” according to TMZ. The entertainment news site was the first to report the actress’ death.

The actress told Fox News in 2017 that her role in “One Million Years B.C.,” which catapulted her to sex symbol status, nearly cost her life. She said she developed tonsillitis on the set while wearing her costume — a doeskin bikini — in severe weather conditions.

“I had already so much penicillin when I was wearing the fur bikini that I almost died,” she told Fox News.

“I had to rush, turn my car around and head right back to the doctor’s office, just run upstairs, jump in the elevator and all that. And I barely got there. They had to shoot me with an antidote. Otherwise, I would have died. It was (a) really rough shoot, man. Really rough. And then I came to London and everybody knew who I was.”

Over the course of her career, Welch appeared in dozens of TV shows, movies and stage productions. She won a Golden Globe Award in 1975 for best actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy for her role in “The Three Musketeers.” She last appeared in the comedy-drama series “Date My Dad” in 2017.

Welch is survived by her daughter, 62-year-old Tahnee, and her son, 63-year-old Damon, according to Page Six.

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