Raquel Welch, author of Beyond The Cleavage
Author at age 69, Raquel Welch still a legendary sex symbol
Raquel Welch became a legendary sex symbol back in the ’60s, and today at age 69, the beautiful lady can still turn heads and make men go “Wow!” That’s what happened when she breezed into a Barnes & Noble bookstore at The Grove in Hollywood with her entourage. She “performed” like the classic star she is, waving and smiling to the fans who had come to buy her book and get it autographed.
She looked like she could still fit into that fur bikini she wore when she burst onto the screen in One Million Years B.C., in 1966. But on this day she wore business-like attire, in slacks and a tailored tan jacket. After letting the paparazzi photograph her like she was at a red carpet event, Raquel got down to business, plugging her book Beyond the Cleavage.
The actress, author and businesswoman talked to the crowd about going out on her book tour, explaining, “I’ve been having so much fun traveling around the country for the book, talking to everyone, from George Stephanopoulos to Oprah.”
She did the media blitz because she wanted to let people know why she wrote the book. Raquel reported that, although people may think they know who she is after all these years, they don’t really know that much about her because she’s a very private person.
Raquel will celebrate her 70 birthday on September 5th and thought the time was right to look back on her life and write about it. “Most of my professional life I’ve been seen but not heard. But the passing years have given me plenty to say.” And growing older has given her the courage to speak up.
She says her image as just a face and a figure isn’t the whole story. “I have a voice and I have filled the book with my opinions. That is important to me. I felt the need to write down things I have discovered about myself.”
Raquel actually loves her image as a sex symbol, but says, “The world is full of beautiful girls, and you have to be more than that to make it and survive as an actress.”
The award-winning actress has starred in more than 45 films including The Three Musketeers, Bluebeard and Fantastic Voyage. And did a few television shows, such as American Family and Welcome to the Captain, and numerous guest-starring roles in dramas and sitcoms.
Decades ago, she was a popular guest on musical-variety shows, and then starred in a couple of her own TV specials. Being part of the Bob Hope USO tours and TV specials was a wonderful experience she says, because she could also show off her singing and dancing talents.
She put together a nightclub act and headlined in Las Vegas. She starred on Broadway too, in the musicals Woman of the Year and Victor/Victoria.
Another highlight in her career came when she showed off her dramatic skills in the title role of the 1982 television movie The Legend of Walks Far Woman. It was a production Welch developed for herself. It won her a Western Heritage Award, along with the respect of the critics.
As an actress a Raquel Welch earned her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And as a successful business woman, Raquel puts out her own line of wigs.
Now she can add author to her list of achievements with Beyond the Cleavage, which she hopes will be as popular as her iconic One Million Years B.C. poster, which was the bestseller of its day.
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