Meet ’60s and ’70s star Raquel Welch’s four husbands

In Raquel’s own words, James Welch “was gorgeous”. She wrote of first seeing him in her biography Beyond the Cleavage that: “He had wavy black hair, green eyes, and a cool demeanor. I’ll never forget the day I came running up the steps to my American government class and there he was.” According to the actress, “it was instant attraction”. 

Raquel andJim married in Las Vegas in 1959 and were expecting their first child, son Damon, just months later, followed by daughter Tahnee two years after that. The actress was just 19, which she refers to as a “painfully young age”, when Damon arrived. The couple divorced in 1964 but she continued to be known as Raquel Welch.

After her breakup, Raquel dated producer Patrick Curtis, working on the 1965 feature A Swingin’ Summer. Her iconic role as an inexplicably bikini-clad cavewoman in One Million Years B.C. released the next year, and she married Patrick at Paris City Hall the following February. 

Patrick is credited as a producer on The Sorcerers (1967) and Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch (1976), his most recent project being the 1995 TV movie The Avenging Angel. His marriage to Raquel lasted around 5 years, with the couple divorcing in 1972. The A Swingin’ Summer producer passed away in 2022 at the age of 83.

Raquel met her third husband, appropriately enough, in the City of Love. The actress and French screenwriter André Weinfeld said ‘I do’ in 1977, the very same year they met. Their relationship proved equally fulfilling in a professional sense, leading to collaborations on 1980 variety show special From Raquel With Love. 

They said their vows in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, and Robert Mitchum cameoed at their hotel reception since he “happened to be at the hotel”. Their marriage also included André’s co-production of Broadway’s Woman of the Year in 1981, with Raquel replacing previous lead Lauren Bacall. They parted ways in 1990.

Raquel met Richard Palmer at a party. The restaurateur opened his first pizza place in New Rochelle in 1985 and built a successful restaurant business. By 2000, he owned four restaurants in Southern California and had a fifth location based outside Denver in the works. 

He described Raquel as a “living legend”. “I get great seats at the fights,” he said of his celebrity perks. “You go wherever you want to go. It’s great.” They married in 1996, split 7 years later in 2003, subsequently divorcing.

Both Tahnee and brother Damon followed in their mother’s footsteps into the entertainment industry. They both appeared on-screen with the actress in The Beloved (1971). 

Tahnee worked primarily as an actress since leaving school at 16, known for her role as Kitty in 1985 sci-fi comedy Cocoon and its sequel in 1988. She has also modelled for titles like Vogue, British GQ and was featured on the 1995 cover of Playboy. 

Her brother Damon has worked behind-the-scenes on projects associated with his actress mother, Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness as well as I Am Raquel Welch, for which he was credited as an executive producer.

Raquel Welch was best known for her role in prehistoric hit One Million Years B.C. and won a Golden Globe in 1975 for her role in The Three Musketeers. Her last public appearance was in 2017 at PORTER Hosts Incredible Women Gala in Association with Estée Lauder, the same year as her last contributions to the screen in How to Be a Latin Lover and 10 episodes of Date My Dad. She passed away on 15 February 2023 at the age of 82.