Reese Witherspoon has led tributes to Hollywood bombshell Raquel Welch, describing her as “elegant, professional and glamorous beyond belief”.
Celebrities who knew and collaborated with the US actress shared fond memories of her after the announcement of her death, aged 82, on Wednesday.
Welch died after a brief illness, her manager and family confirmed.
Witherspoon, who worked with Welch on the 2001 cult classic film Legally Blonde, said she was “simply stunning”.
“So sad to hear about Raquel Welch’s passing,” she wrote on Twitter.
“I loved working with her on Legally Blonde. She was elegant, professional and glamorous beyond belief. Simply stunning.
“May all her angels carry her home. Sending love to her family and her many fans.”
Bridesmaids director Paul Feig described Welch as a “true superstar” and that the world had lost an “icon”.
“This is so sad. I had the great pleasure of working with Ms Welch when I was a regular on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and she was awesome,” he said.
“Kind, funny and a true superstar whom I was pretty much in love with for most of my childhood. We’ve lost a true icon.”
Aside from her big screen roles, notably in Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years BC in 1966, Welch also enjoyed a career in television — even appearing as a guest in an episode of children’s TV show The Muppets.
The Muppets' official Twitter account, and several of the cast members, posted their own tributes to the actress.
“We’ll never forget our remarkable friend Raquel Welch, one of our favorite guests on The Muppet Show,” The Muppets wrote.
“From dancing with a giant spider, to inspiring @FozzieBear, and duetting with @MissPiggy, Raquel could do it all!”
The account of loud-mouthed puppet Miss Piggy said Welch helped her “become the woman I am today”.
“Raquel Welch was one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever worked with,” Miss Piggy wrote.
“Performing a duet with her on The Muppet Show helped moi become the W-O-M-A-N I am today! We’ll never forget vous, Raquel!”
Muppets co-star Fozzie Bear added: “I have Raquel Welch to thank for becoming a more confident comedian.
“On The Muppet Show, she helped pick me up when I was down and she was someone I could confide in. Thanks for being my friend, Raquel.”
Other stars remembering encounters with Welch included British TV presenters Carol Vorderman and Gyles Brandreth.
Sharing a photo of Welch, Vorderman wrote: “I was at her son’s wedding (pic) to Yorkshire cricketer Fred Trueman’s daughter Rebecca.
“It was wild. She was sensational. A lot of laughing & every other bedroom in the hotel had a news editing suite in it. I loved it all. Wild.”
Brandreth said he was “blown away” by Welch’s beauty when they met at a London restaurant.
“I love to claim that I’ve met everyone — but I haven’t, of course,” he wrote.
“However I was lucky enough to meet Raquel Welch — at Le Caprice restaurant in Arlington Street, London.
“I was blown away by her beauty & her extraordinary complexion. A memorable encounter for which I’m grateful.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see other people we've lost in 2023 so far
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American comedian Kelly Monteith died on January 1 aged 80. Getty Images -
Daredevil rally driver Ken Block died on January 2 aged 55. EPA -
Child actor Adam Rich died on January 7 aged 54. AP -
British guitarist Jeff Beck died on January 10 aged 78. AFP -
German model Tatjana Patitz died on January 11 aged 56. Reuters -
Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, died on January 12 aged 54. Reuters -
Italian movie star Gina Lollobrigida, one of the last from the Golden Age of Hollywood, died on January 16 at 95. PA News -
Wrestlers and brothers Jay, right, and Mark Briscoe. Jay died on January 17 aged 38. jaybriscoe84 / Twitter -
American folk-rock star David Crosby died on January 18 aged 81. EPA -
Balkrishna Doshi, one of India’s most distinguished architects, died on January 24 aged 95. AP -
TikTok star Randy Gonzalez died on January 25 aged 35. @enkyboys / Instagram -
Cindy Williams, who played Shirley on the hit sitcom Laverne & Shirley, died on January 25 aged 75. AFP -
Barrett Strong, one of Motown’s founding artists, died on January 29 aged 81. AP -
The Last of Us and 24 actress Annie Wersching died on January 29 aged 45. AP -
South Indian director and actor K Viswanath died on February 2 aged 92. Photo: Wikimedia Commons -
Fashion designer Paco Rabanne died on February 3 aged 88. Reuters -
Veteran Indian singer Vani Jayaram died in Chennai on February 4 aged 78. Photo: Twitter -
Pop composer Burt Bacharach died on February 8 aged 94. AFP -
South African rap sensation Kiernan Forbes, popularly known as AKA, died on February 10 aged 35. AFP -
David 'Trugoy the Dove' Jolicoeur of the US hip-hop band De La Soul died on February 12 aged 54. EPA -
Manga artist Leiji Matsumoto died on February 13 aged 85. AP -
American actress Raquel Welch died at the age of 82 on February 15. EPA -
Stella Stevens, pictured in New York in 1968, died on February 18 aged 84. AP -
Law & Order actor Richard Belzer died aged 78 on February 19. AP -
Jansen Panettiere, who appeared in shows such as Major Crimes and The Walking Dead, died aged 28 on February 19. Getty -
Football commentator John Motson died on February 23 aged 77. PA -
Hollywood film producer Walter Mirisch died aged 101 on February 24. AP -
Animator and director Burny Mattinson worked with Disney for nearly 70 years until his death aged 87 on February 27. WireImage -
French football player Just Fontaine died aged 89 on March 1. EPA -
Pulp bassist Steve Mackey, right, died aged 56 on March 2. Getty -
Wayne Shorter, an influential jazz musician, died aged 89 on March 2. AFP -
Architect Rafael Vinoly died aged 78 on March 2. Getty -
Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore died aged 61 on March 3. Reuters -
Gary Rossington, a founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, died aged 71 on March 5. EPA -
Pakistani actor Qavi Khan died aged 80 on March 5. Photo: Parveen Shah Productions -
Bollywood actor, comedian, writer and director Satish Kaushik died aged 66 on March 8. Jeff Topping / The National -
Israeli actor Chaim Topol died aged 87 on March 8. AP -
British TV presenter and comedian Paul O'Grady died on March 28 at the age of 67. PA -
Moonbin, a member of K-pop boy band Astra, died at the age of 25 on April 19. AFP -
Bodybuilding social media influencer Jo Lindner, popularly known as Joesthetics, died on July 1 at the age of 30. @joesthetics / Instagram -
Peter Hellyer, who moved to the UAE in the 1970s, died on July 2 at the age of 75. Pawan Singh / The National -
British-French actress and singer Jane Birkin, who inspired the famous Hermes Birkin bag, died aged 76 on July 16. AFP -
American musician Tony Bennett died on July 21 at the age of 96. Reuters -
Acclaimed Irish singer Sinead O’Connor died at the age of 56 on July 26. Sarah Dea / The National -
Matthew Perry, one of the stars of TV sitcom Friends, died on October 28 aged 54. AFP -
Former US first lady Rosalynn Carter died at the age of 96 on November 19. AP -
South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, best known for his role in Parasite, died on December 27 aged 48. Reuters
