Her breakout came quickly. Fantastic Voyage (1966) established her as a promising new face in the science-fiction genre, earning her widespread attention even before her star-making turn in One Million Years B.C. That iconic poster — fierce, confident, unforgettable — sealed her status as an international phenomenon. Welch’s major break came in 1966’s “One Million Years B.C.,” a remake of a 1940 stone-age fantasy that established her reputation as a pin-up girl, a unique non-blonde bombshell thanks to a best-selling poster of her in a revealing doe-skin bikini.
The rest of her resume ranges from 1970’s notoriously trashy “Myra Breckinridge” to 1973’s sublimely comedic “The Three Musketeers,” the source of Welch’s Golden Globe win for Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress, and all the way to her appearance in 2017 as a rich sugar granny targeted by an inept gigolo in “How to Be a Latin Lover.” Although she often found herself cast in glamorous or sensual roles, Welch worked tirelessly to redefine how Hollywood viewed her. She fought against being pigeonholed, seeking roles that challenged her and broadened her range.
