Raquel Welch

The whole sex-symbol thing is part of what I do as an actress. It's a kind of character I play. It's part of me, but not the whole me.

I felt like, you know, my presence in the world of cinema had a different meaning than Meryl Streep... There was an impact that was made, but it wasn't the usual.

People do stop me and talk to me about something they saw that they loved. It is very satisfying, but I have my own opinions.

Without women to nurture in this world, how do - how do men get by? How do children get by? How does society get by at all?

I have a very, very good life. I'm grateful for all of my friends, my family and the life that I have, and the possibilities in my future.

I inherited good skin from my mother, and I stay away from soap, which dries it out.

I knew my mother was - well, her ancestry dated back to John Quincy Adams, so she was totally not Latina. She was definitely whatever you call it - white bread, shall we say?

I take a multivitamin, I take extra C, I take chondroitin and glucosamine for my joints, I take calcium for my bones. And by the way, weight-bearing exercises can help ward off osteoporosis and yoga helps ward off arthritis.

I'm far more ready to go with the flow now because I am more accepting of myself.

Turning 60 was not a happy time. I didn't think 'I'm falling apart,' but I did re-examine my priorities.

I've always been a health fanatic.

Myra Breckenridge is the antithesis of sex symbol. She's revolutionary; she's a warrior.

I'm not imperceptible to masculine charm, but, well, you know, I can flirt.

Oh I had crushes on all my leading men, I think. Oh, you know who I really had fun with? In this movie 'Mother, Jugs & Speed,' I really liked working with Harvey Keitel.

We try to do too many things that used to be in the men's domain, and we try to do them like men's. I'm a prude - I guess you can tell that - but I think, 'Why would you do that?'

'My self-esteem,' 'my self-this,' 'my self-that.' Believe me, I've been there - I'm an actress. At one point, you just get nauseous with it and think, 'I have to take my mind off myself!'

I was a bigger-than-life persona before I was anyone in my own mind.

In school, nobody could pronounce my name. They just called me Rocky.

Not everybody is comfortable with my ethnicity. When I first came along in the business, they didn't really like the idea of my name being Raquel.

Once you get rid of the idea that you must please other people before you please yourself, and you begin to follow your own instincts - only then can you be successful. You become more satisfied, and when you are, other people will tend to be satisfied by what you do.