Hollywood star Raquel Welch’s cause of death revealed

The ‘One Million Years BC’ icon died in February

Raquel Welch’s cause of death has been revealed.

The Hollywood star, whose roles included Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years BC, died on 15 February 2023, aged 82.

At the time, the American actor and model’s manager said the star died following a brief illness. Now, in a death certificate obtained by TMZ, the cause of Welch’s death has been disclosed as Alzheimer’s.

The certificate notes that cardiac arrest was also listed as a contributory factor as Welch suffered heart failure while at home.

Welch, who rose to fame in 1966, had a career that spanned 50 years. She starred in more than 30 films and 50 TV shows.

After Welch’s death, tributes flooded in for the star who gained worldwide recognition when a publicity shot for One Million Years BC, depicting her in a bikini costume, went on to become one of the decade’s biggest-selling posters.

While Welch had just three lines of dialogue in the film, the image became one of the decade’s biggest-selling posters.

The poster appears on the wall of Andy Dufresne’s prison cell in 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption at the time of Tim Robbins character’s escape.

Welch was one of the most successful actors of the 1960s and 1970s.

High-profile roles in Bedazzled (1967), Bandolero! (1968) and 100 Rifles (1969) followed, and in 1968, she starred opposite Frank Sinatra in detective film Lady in Cement.

Raquel Welch photographed in 1966 (Getty Images)

Welch successfully escaped the “sex symbol” label she was given in the 1960s by producers and directors, many of whom tried to get her to perform nude scenes. She always refused.

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She is quoted as saying: “I was not brought up to be a sex symbol, nor is it in my nature to be one. The fact that I became one is probably the loveliest, most glamorous and fortunate misunderstanding”.

She added: “What I do on the screen is not to be equated with what I do in my private life. Privately, I am understated and dislike any hoopla.”

In the 1970s, Welch continued proving her mettle with roles in Hannie Caulder (1971), Kansas City Bomber (1972) and The Last of Sheila (1973). She won a Golden Globe in 1972 for her role in The Three Musketeers.

Welch’s role in the revenger Western Hannie Caulder was one of Quentin Tarantino’s primary inspirations for his Kill Bill films (2003-04), starring Uma Thurman.

Raquel Welch in ‘Bandolero!’ (Getty Images)

While she never won an Oscar, the actor did accept one on behalf of her friend Goldie Hawn, who won Best Supporting Actress for the comedy film Private Benjamin in 1981.

The actor, who had a small role in Legally Blonde (2001), had many variety specials, one of which, in 1970, saw her receive more than a 51 per cent share of the TV viewing audience in the US.

Her other TV appearances included The Muppet Show (1978), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) and Right to Die, in which she played a woman with Lou Gehrig’s disease. She received a Golden Globe nomination for the 1987 performance.

Welch also appeared opposite in the sitcom Seinfeld, and opposite Robin Williams in an episode of Mork and Mindy.

Welch also performed on stage, with one of her most notable roles arriving in a Broadway production of Victor/Victoria. She starred in the role after Julie Andrews and Liza Minnelli.