It is arguably the most famous piece of marketing in the history of cinema. You know the one. A woman stands amidst a jagged, volcanic landscape, wearing a tattered deerskin bikini, her expression a mix of defiance and sheer survival instinct. That image of Raquel Welch from the 1966 film One Million Years B.C. didn’t just sell movie tickets; it created a permanent tectonic shift in how the world viewed female stardom.
Honestly, it’s kinda wild when you think about it. The movie itself has almost no dialogue. Welch’s character, Loana, barely speaks. Yet, that single still photograph, captured on the sun-scorched Canary Islands, turned a relatively unknown actress into the definitive global sex symbol of a decade.
But there is a lot more to the story than just a skimpy outfit and a lucky shot.
The Shot That Changed Everything
In the mid-1960s, Hollywood was moving away from the "blonde bombshell" era of Marilyn Monroe. The industry wanted something different. Something more athletic. More modern. When photographer Terry O’Neill arrived on the set of One Million Years B.C., he found exactly that in Jo Raquel Tejada—the woman the world would soon know as Raquel Welch.
Welch wasn't a passive starlet. She was a trained ballet dancer and a divorced mother of two who had fought through the ranks of weather forecasting and cocktail waitressing to get her break. That discipline shows in the photos. Look at the muscle tone. Look at the posture. Unlike the soft, pillowy glamour of the 1950s, the image of Raquel Welch projected a rugged, "action heroine" energy that was decades ahead of its time.
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Why the Poster Worked
The poster's success was basically a perfect storm of timing and aesthetics.
- The Athletic Ideal: She looked like she could actually survive a dinosaur attack. This "fit" look was revolutionary in 1966.
- The Contrast: Tanned skin and chestnut hair stood out against the pale, platinum-blonde trend of the previous decade.
- Global Appeal: Because there was no language barrier in a picture, the poster became a best-seller from London to Tokyo before the film even premiered.
Beyond the Fur Bikini: The Terry O’Neill Collaborations
If you only know the prehistoric poster, you’re missing the most interesting stuff. Terry O’Neill, one of the most celebrated photographers of the 20th century, worked with Welch multiple times, and their collaborations are often much more nuanced.
There is a famous, slightly controversial image of Raquel Welch where she is "crucified" on a wooden cross while wearing the bikini. It was a publicity stunt for the film that never made it into the actual movie, but the photo itself is haunting. It’s an anachronistic mashup of religious imagery and pop-culture provocation. It was intended to shock, and it did. But it also showed that Welch and her team understood the power of a provocative visual to command the front page of every newspaper.
O'Neill also captured her in quieter moments—fixing her makeup in a mirror on a dusty set or standing among Greek-Cypriot seamstresses during the filming of The Beloved. These images show a woman who was acutely aware of her "product" but also deeply professional. She wasn't just "being pretty"; she was working.
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The Cultural Weight of a Single Photograph
It’s easy to dismiss these images as mere pin-ups, but that’s a mistake. The image of Raquel Welch became a cultural touchstone that appeared in the most unexpected places.
Remember The Shawshank Redemption? The poster of Raquel is what Andy Dufresne uses to hide his escape tunnel. It represents hope, beauty, and the "outside world" for men who have been locked away. In real life, her photos held a similar status for soldiers in Vietnam. She became a "totemic" figure, as some historians put it—a symbol of home and a specific type of American strength.
However, this fame was a double-edged sword. Welch often spoke about how that one image became a "box" she couldn't get out of. She was a talented comedic actress—she won a Golden Globe for The Three Musketeers in 1974—and a savvy businesswoman, but the public always wanted the girl in the deerskin.
Breaking the Mold
Despite being pigeonholed, she used her image to break barriers:
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- Interracial Intimacy: Her role in 100 Rifles with Jim Brown featured one of the first major interracial love scenes in Hollywood history.
- Challenging Gender Norms: In Myra Breckinridge, she played a trans woman, a role that was incredibly daring for 1970.
- Western Heroines: In Hannie Caulder, she played a woman seeking violent revenge, basically laying the groundwork for characters like Kill Bill’s The Bride.
How to View Her Legacy Today
When you look at an image of Raquel Welch in 2026, you aren't just looking at a beautiful woman. You are looking at the bridge between the Old Hollywood studio system and the modern era of the "Action Heroine." She proved that a woman could be a sex symbol and a physical powerhouse at the same time.
If you are looking to appreciate her work beyond the stills, start with these steps:
- Watch the "Serious" Roles: Check out Hannie Caulder or The Three Musketeers. You’ll see the wit and the grit that the posters don't always capture.
- Study the Photography: Look for the collections by Terry O’Neill or Douglas Kirkland. Their work shows the technical skill required to create an "icon."
- Acknowledge the Context: Understand that she was a Bolivian-American woman (born Jo Raquel Tejada) who navigated a very white, very male-dominated industry by turning her image into a fortress.
The image of Raquel Welch remains relevant because it wasn't just about skin. It was about presence. It was about a woman who looked the camera in the eye and refused to blink. That kind of confidence never goes out of style.
Next Steps for You
To truly understand her impact, you should look up the Terry O’Neill "Lost" Photoshoot series. Many of these outtakes remained unseen for nearly 50 years and offer a much more personal look at the woman behind the Loana persona. Additionally, exploring her 1970s fashion editorials in Vogue by Norman Parkinson shows how she influenced the high-fashion world just as much as she did the local cinema.