Hollywood actress Raquel Welch dead aged 82 as tributes paid

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Tributes have been paid to Hollywood actress Raquel Welch following her death at aged 82 today.The Hollywood megastar passed away following a "brief illness" leaving loved ones and fans devastated.Raquel shot to fame for her 1960s roles in Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years B.C, quickly becoming one of the industry's most sought-after stars.

TMZ broke the tragic news this evening after her heartbroken family confirmed the news, reports the Mirror.Raquel won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her 1974 role in The Three Musketeers.

NBA star Rex Chapman led tributes on social media this evening, Tweeting: "Raquel Welch has passed away at the age of 82.""What a life.

Rest in peace," he added - attaching a video clip from an archived TV interview.Raquel had pathed a life in the entertainment industry as a teenager, winning titles for Miss Contour and Miss Photogenic, she went on to grab the titles of Miss La Jolla and Miss San Diego.Early in her glistening Hollywood career, she became a local TV weather reporter in San Diego and it was in 1979 that she posed for Playboy, without ever going fully nude.Speaking about Welch, Hugh Hefner once said: "Raquel Welch, one of the last of the classic sex symbols, came from the era when you could be considered the sexiest woman in the world without taking your clothes off, she declined to do complete nudity, and I yielded gracefully, the pictures prove her point."Over the course of her career, Requel stood her ground and refused to undress on camera stating that was the way she had been brought up.It was her legendary fuzzy bikini in One Million Years B.C.