International sex symbol Raquel Welch dead at age 82

Actress and international sex symbol Raquel Welch, who shot to fame in the 1960s and had an enduring career in movies, television and on Broadway, has died.

She was 82.

“Raquel Welch, the legendary bombshell actress of film, television and stage, passed away peacefully early this morning after a brief illness,” rep Stephen LaManna confirmed to the Daily News on Wednesday. “Her career spanned over 50 years starring in over 30 films and 50 television series and appearances.”

Welch’s roles in “Fantastic Voyage” and “One Million Years B.C.” in 1966 put her on the map, with the latter featuring her in a deerskin bikini with an equally scanty number of lines. The “B.C.” poster regained renown in 1994 as the last of three pinups featured in “The Shawshank Redemption.” after Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe.

She starred in dozens of films over the years, winning a Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture comedy or musical for the 1973 movie “The Three Musketeers.”

Welch was born Jo Raquel Tejada on Sept. 5, 1940 in Chicago. The eldest of three children, she grew up in San Diego, Calif. where she started as a dancer and transitioned to acting.

Her many incarnations throughout the decades not only made her a global star but also helped defy sex-symbol stereotypes through her portrayal of strong female characters.

Her mostly comic roles explored characters such as the title transgender woman in “Myra Breckinridge” and temptress Lilian Lust in the 1967 film “Bedazzled.” In the latter, Welch enticed Dudley Moore’s Stanley Moon to sell his soul to the devil.

In 1971′s “Hannie Caulder,” which director Quentin Tarantino credited with inspiring his 2003 “Kill Bill,” Welch was one of the first women to play a lead role in a western, Variety noted. Previously women were mostly relegated to playing the romantic love interest of a male star.

Welch went on to produce her own projects under the name Raquel Welch Productions. Most notably, she adapted the Colin Stuart novel “The Legend of Walks Far Woman” and fought for NBC to air it in 1982 after a years-long push. The western, based on a true story, featured almost all Native American or Mexican-American actors. Welch portrayed a Pikuni Blackfoot woman who is forced to kill her abusive Sioux warrior husband and is banished by the Sioux tribe as a result.

She also starred in the 1987 television movie “Right to Die,” as a terminally ill woman who wanted to end her life on her own terms.

In later years Welch launched a wildly successful wig line, LaManna’s statement noted — products that leap to the top of any Raquel Welch internet search.

Welch appeared in two Broadway shows, including as the lead in “Victor/Victoria” in the 1990s.

She was married and divorced four times and leaves behind children Tahnee Welch and Damon Welch, LaManna said.