Q & A With Raquel Welch

By Rebecca Winters

A five-DVD set of Raquel Welch's films from the '60s and '70s will be released on March 9.

You once said that being a sex symbol was rather like being a convict. How?

It gets really boring to walk into a room and have people go, "Oh, wow, you are just so gorgeous." That's all there is then. It is a one-note samba. No one wants to let you out of that box.

Your fur bikini in One Million Years B.C. caused a stir in the '60s. Do we show too much today?

In my generation we were trying to fight against a lot of stereotypical things where the woman wasn't supposed to be aggressive sexually. But now it's gone all the way to where every woman is so blatantly sexed out. Britney Spears is gorgeous, and she sure can dance. But she's just a kid. Have a little substance there.

Is it true you and Mae West clashed on the set of Myra Breckinridge?

In one scene we were supposed to play together, [West] didn't want me to wear this dress, so she managed to persuade the producer to confiscate it from my dressing room. I just laughed.

You have a wig collection. Are wigs back?

You're a little behind the times. Mary J. Blige, Drew Barrymore--they have all got hair extensions or wigs. I've got extensions. You should have a wig. I'll send you one.