

She knew that some people didn’t take her seriously because of her glamorous image.


She returned to the Great White Way in 1997 in “Victor/Victoria.” She surprised many critics - and won positive reviews - when she starred in the 1981 musical "Woman of the Year" on Broadway, replacing a vacationing Lauren Bacall. In addition to acting, Welch was a singer and dancer. In the film “The Shawshank Redemption,” a poster of Welch covers an escape tunnel - the last of three that character Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) used after Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe.Īdmirers took to Twitter to mourn the star, including TV host Rosie O’Donnell, actor Chris Meloni and writer-director Paul Feig, who worked with Welch on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and called her “Kind, funny and a true superstar whom I was pretty much in love with for most of my childhood. 2 spot on Men's Health's “Hottest Women of All Time” list. Her curves and beauty captured pop culture attention, with Playboy crowning her the "most desired woman" of the '70s, despite never being completely naked in the magazine. She did not, playing Lust for the comedy team of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in their film “Bedazzled” in 1967 and playing a secret agent in the sexy spy spoof “Fathom” that same year.
