MOD Monday - Raquel Welch

60's sex symbol and pop culture icon, Raquel Welch was a big deal in her heyday. Born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago, Illinois in 1940, she was of Spanish/American descent because her father was a Bolivian immigrant.  Prior to becoming an actress, Welch was involved in acting on a small scale doing plays in her local community theatre. She worked as a cocktail waitress and also did work modeling for the department store, Neiman Marcus.  Her first taste of being behind the camera was when she landed a gig as weather girl for a San Diego television station.

In 1965, at the age of twenty five, Raquel got her first movie roll in a campy beach film that landed her a contract with 20th Century Fox, but it wasn't until the 1966 movie 'Fantastic Voyage' that she actually achieved star status.  The movie that pushed her into her own, was the remake of 'One Million Years B.C.' which she starred in wearing nothing but a fur bikini and speaking only three lines of dialect. The movie poster for the film became a best seller and made her one of the leading sex symbols of the 60's.

Welch seemed to be solely responsible for making 'cleavage' a fashion accessory in the 60's as MOD fashions were becoming more revealing once her bodacious bod was on the scene!  Ironically, in 2010 at the age of 70 and still as fab as ever, Raquel Welch wrote a book titled..."Beyond The Cleavage" which is cited as being part autobiography and part personal philosophy on every subject from dealing with the angst of youth to aging gracefully.

Denying having had any plastic surgery, she promotes that her longevity with retaining a youthful appearance has everything to do with exercise, yoga, a strict diet, a tad of hormone replacement therapy and three hours of make up in the morning.  I don't know if I particularly buy into all of this especially after seeing this photo of her with her wig tape showing?  In all reality unless she has discovered the fountain of youth or sold her soul, there is absolutely no way in 'H-E-double hockey sticks' that anyone can be 70 and look this flawless without a little help from their friends (i.e. plastic surgeon).  It just ain't happenin'!

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