Farrah Fawcett

Early Years

Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on February 2, 1947. She is the daughter or James William Fawcett and Pauline Alice Evans, and had an older sister, Diane, who passed away from lung cancer in 1998. Fawcett majored in biology at the University of Texas at Austin but switched to an art major before dropping out.

Acting Roles

Farrah Fawcett first appeared in guest roles on I Dream of Jeannie, The Flying Nun and The Partridge Family, and had her first film role in Myra Breckenridge in 1970. From there, her big break came playing Jill Munroe on Charlie’s Angels in 1976. Playing opposite Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson, the trio made a huge impact on seventies television.

Fallen Angel

Fawcett was dissatisfied with Charlie’s Angels and left the show after the first season even though she was contracted to do the series for another year. Cheryl Ladd replaced her. Her early leave resulted in a lawsuit, with the settlement requiring Fawcett to appear as a guest star six times during seasons three and four. After Angels, she branched out into roles that showed the range of her talent, including Somebody Killed Her Husband (1978), The Burning Bed (1984), Extremities (1986) and The Apostle (1997).

The Poster

In the mid-70s, the now legendary Farrah Fawcett poster graced many a young man’s bedroom wall. The success of the famous “red bathing suit” photograph was unprecedented, making Fawcett the most popular pin-up girl of the seventies, and ultimately 12 million copies of the poster were sold.

The Hair

Farrah Fawcett started her Charlie's Angels feathered hairstyle trend in the 1970s. Much like the Jennifer Aniston hair craze of the nineties, Fawcett’s hairstyle was one of the most sought after of the day. The long, flowing locks started the trend for a generation of feathered hairdo’s.

Awards and Accomplishments

Fawcett has received three Emmy Award nominations – for her work on the 1984 television movie The Burning Bed, the miniseries Small Sacrifices, and her role on The Guardian in 2004. She has received critical acclaim for both the stage and movie version of Extremities, as well as Golden Globe, Independent Spirit and ACE award nominations for other roles. Fawcett was recently inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. The Burning Bed marked the first television movie to offer an 800 number for help and included a public service announcement by Fawcett. The movie also helped to alter police procedures for responding to domestic violence calls.

Playboy

In the mid-1990s, Fawcett agreed to a pictorial in Playboy magazine, perhaps to once again boost her pin-up status. She posed for Playboy for the December 1995 issue, which sold over 4 million copies and became the best-selling issue for the 1990s. She posed again in July 1997.

Relationships

Farrah Fawcett was married to Six Million Dollar Man star Lee Majors from 1973 to 1982 but separated in 1979 and divorced in 1980. Following her divorce from Majors, Fawcett was then involved with actor Ryan O’Neal from 1980 to 1997. Although the two never married, they had a long-term relationship that produced a son. In 1998, Fawcett dated James Orr, who assaulted Fawcett and was arrested.

Strange Appearances

Fawcett at Comedy Central's William Shatner Roast

An incoherent appearance on a 1997 episode of The Late Show with David Letterman sparked rumors that Fawcett had a drug problem. She denied any drug use and maintained that she was nervous about the appearance and was not prepared. When she appeared on Comedy Central’s roast for William Shatner, she again stumbled over her prepared jokes, needing to restart several times to deliver her speech.

Losses and Illness

In 2006, Fawcett suffered the loss of her mother, agent Jay Bernstein, and Angel’s creator Aaron Spelling. In the fall of 2006, Fawcett revealed that she was suffering from intestinal cancer and was in the process of chemotherapy treatment and surgery.

Farrah Fawcett Facts

• Fawcett had a reality television series in 2005, called Chasing Farrah.
• She went back to college to earn a degree in microbiology.
• She has a son, Redmond, with Ryan O’Neal.
• She guest starred with Lee Majors on The Six Million Dollar Man.
• That 70’s Show uses Fawcett’s legendary hairstyle for one of the show’s characters.