Dallas12
06-25-2009, 04:42 PM
Farrah Fawcett, the actress who shot to worldwide fame thanks to her role in 'Charlie's Angels' and other Hollywood ventures along the way, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. She was 62 years old.
"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away. Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world," her longtime partner Ryan O'Neal said in a statement.
The 'Charlie's Angels' star -- who was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006 -- had recently been hospitalized again before succumbing to the illness.
A friend of the actress told PEOPLE, "There was a moment last week when she was supposed to be released and was going home but things changed."
Earlier in the week, O'Neal told '20/20' that he had proposed and hoped to marry her before she died.
Fawcett is survived by O'Neal and their son, Redmond.
Fawcett's career spans several decades. She got her start in the early '70s, scoring a key role in 'Myra Breckinridge' in 1970. She tied the knot with actor Lee Majors in 1973, and in 1976 landed jobs in both 'Logan's Run' as well as 'Charlie's Angels.' Along with Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson, 'Angels' drew a whopping 23 million fans per week.
Though she lasted just one season as a regular character on 'Angels,' the success of the show made her a worldwide star. Her infamous red bathing suit pin-up poster still holds a record with 12 million copies sold. 50 Top Pin-Up Posters Ever
She left 'Angels' for a career in movies, but the results were mixed. Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, she starred in film flops like 'Somebody Killed Her Husband,' the comedy 'Sunburn' and the sci-fi whopper 'Saturn 3.'
Fawcett fared better with television movies such as 'Poor Little Rich Girl' and as an abused wife in 1984's 'The Burning Bed,' which earned her an Emmy nominationIn 1995, a 50-year-old Fawcett posed nude in Playboy magazine and later starred in a video for the lad mag called 'All of Me,' in which she sculpted and painted while wearing little clothing.
Two years later, she made a bizarre appearance on 'The Late Show' where her rambling, disjointed answers led many observers to believe she was on drugs. She said she was simply following advice from her mother to be more playful with host David Letterman.
Born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas, she was named Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett by her mother, who said she added the Farrah because it sounded good with Fawcett. She was less than a month old when she underwent surgery to remove a digestive tract tumor with which she was born.
After attending Roman Catholic grade school and W.B. Ray High School, Fawcett enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. Fellow students voted her one of the 10 most beautiful people on the campus and her photos were eventually spotted by movie publicist David Mirisch, who suggested she pursue a film career. After overcoming her parents' objections, she agreed.
Soon she was appearing in such TV shows as 'That Girl,' 'The Flying Nun,' 'I Dream of Jeannie' and 'The Partridge Family.'
"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away. Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world," her longtime partner Ryan O'Neal said in a statement.
The 'Charlie's Angels' star -- who was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006 -- had recently been hospitalized again before succumbing to the illness.
A friend of the actress told PEOPLE, "There was a moment last week when she was supposed to be released and was going home but things changed."
Earlier in the week, O'Neal told '20/20' that he had proposed and hoped to marry her before she died.
Fawcett is survived by O'Neal and their son, Redmond.
Fawcett's career spans several decades. She got her start in the early '70s, scoring a key role in 'Myra Breckinridge' in 1970. She tied the knot with actor Lee Majors in 1973, and in 1976 landed jobs in both 'Logan's Run' as well as 'Charlie's Angels.' Along with Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson, 'Angels' drew a whopping 23 million fans per week.
Though she lasted just one season as a regular character on 'Angels,' the success of the show made her a worldwide star. Her infamous red bathing suit pin-up poster still holds a record with 12 million copies sold. 50 Top Pin-Up Posters Ever
She left 'Angels' for a career in movies, but the results were mixed. Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, she starred in film flops like 'Somebody Killed Her Husband,' the comedy 'Sunburn' and the sci-fi whopper 'Saturn 3.'
Fawcett fared better with television movies such as 'Poor Little Rich Girl' and as an abused wife in 1984's 'The Burning Bed,' which earned her an Emmy nominationIn 1995, a 50-year-old Fawcett posed nude in Playboy magazine and later starred in a video for the lad mag called 'All of Me,' in which she sculpted and painted while wearing little clothing.
Two years later, she made a bizarre appearance on 'The Late Show' where her rambling, disjointed answers led many observers to believe she was on drugs. She said she was simply following advice from her mother to be more playful with host David Letterman.
Born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Texas, she was named Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett by her mother, who said she added the Farrah because it sounded good with Fawcett. She was less than a month old when she underwent surgery to remove a digestive tract tumor with which she was born.
After attending Roman Catholic grade school and W.B. Ray High School, Fawcett enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. Fellow students voted her one of the 10 most beautiful people on the campus and her photos were eventually spotted by movie publicist David Mirisch, who suggested she pursue a film career. After overcoming her parents' objections, she agreed.
Soon she was appearing in such TV shows as 'That Girl,' 'The Flying Nun,' 'I Dream of Jeannie' and 'The Partridge Family.'