Raquel Welch, who has died aged 82, had only three lines as Loana in the 1966 film fantasy One Million Years BC but attained sex-symbol status from the role, in which she was dressed in a fur-lined bikini. When she arrived on set, she told the director, Don Chaffey, she had been thinking about her scene. It went to Welch, on contract to 20th Century Fox, when the American studio agreed to hire her out to the British company Hammer Films. Welch had to contend with critics who believed her looks to count for more than any acting ability she possessed. She increasingly took roles on television and worked up an act as a nightclub singer that she took across the US.

Source: The Guardian February 16, 2023 20:14 UTC