Born Jo Raquel Tejada September 5, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois, Ms. Welch was the first child of a Bolivian aerospace engineer, Armando, and the English descended Josephine Sarah Hall. When Ms. Welch was two, the family moved to San Diego, California, where Ms. Welch was soon enrolled in dance classes, initially pursuing a career as a professional dancer before being told at 17 that she did not possess the right body type for a career in ballet.