Tributes are pouring in for Raquel Welch, the Hollywood legend who died Wednesday at age 82 after a long and storied career both on and offstage.
“So sad to hear about Raquel Welch’s passing. I loved working with her on Legally Blonde,” tweeted the film’s star, Reese Witherspoon. “She was elegant, professional and glamorous beyond belief. Simply stunning. May all her angels carry her home. Sending love to her family and her many fans.”
After starring in the 1966 films “Fantastic Voyage” and “One Million Years B.C.,” Welch catapulted to stardom and was widely considered a sex symbol. But despite the iconic images of her character in “One Million” dressed in a fur bikini, she fought to be taken more seriously.
“She’s really pretty OK,” said Welch of her “One Million” character in a 2010 interview with The Times. “I recognize her as one part of my nature. But I just don’t want it to be my complete legacy.”
Honoring her legacy on Wednesday, many fans recalled her beauty, while others paid tribute to the independent female characters she portrayed, along with her comedic talent, memorable supporting roles on television and pop culture moments.
“Raquel Welch was my pretend relative I wish I had who inspired me by example of being unapologetically feminine & strong simultaneously, while not caring what anyone thinks, bc I am too hot & too happy living to care,” wrote one fan on Twitter. “Checking out after 1 last VDay is so her.”
Another fan thanked Welch for being “a strong, amazing role model and for your extensive charity work! Naturally beautiful inside and out!”
Boston-based broadcast journalist J. C. Monahan praised Welch for her “stunning beauty” but also for “her great comedic timing in tv and movies later in her career.”
Welch appeared in the 2017 comedy “How to Be a Latin Lover” as a widowed billionaire. She also had a small role in the 2001 romantic comedy “Legally Blonde,” in which she played an elusive widow, Mrs. Windham Vandermark, whom Witherspoon’s character encounters at a luxurious day spa.
Some fans remembered her guest appearance on “Seinfeld” playing an absurd version of herself who attacks the show’s main characters after Kramer fires her from a theater production she starred in.
One fan shared that they had just watched a rerun of the ABC sitcom “8 Simple Rules,” which featured Welch as a guest star. Another mourned her death by flipping on “Central Park West,” a soap opera in which Welch played the show’s main antagonist.
Welch’s depth also reached into music, with a fan recalling her performance on Cher’s variety show in 1975 in which she and Cher give a dazzling rendition of “I’m a Woman.”
Former BBC News host Simon McCoy tweeted the condolence, “Another person without whom the World will feel a lot less glamorous.”
