Raquel Welch

Raquel Welch, the voluptuous movie actress who became the 1960s’ first major American sex symbol and maintained that image for a half-century in show business, died on Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 82. After graduating from La Jolla High School in San Diego she received a scholarship to study theater at San Diego State College. But she dropped out at 19 to marry her high school boyfriend, James Wesley Welch. The birth of her two children complicated her career plans, but she soon left her husband. They divorced in 1964. Ms. Welch was married and divorced four times. After Mr. Welch, her husbands were Patrick Curtis (1969-72), a producer; André Weinfeld (1980-90), a French director and producer; and Richard Palmer (1999-2008), a restaurateur. In addition to her son Damon Welch, Ms. Welch is survived by her daughter, Tahnee Welch, and a brother, Jimmy Tejada.