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Farrah Leni Fawcett (born February 2, 1947) is an American actress. She became a noted pop culture figure and sex symbol of the 1970s and into the 1980s, shaping the landscape of fashion and pop culture.

Biography

Early life

Fawcett, the younger of two daughters, was born in Corpus Christi, Texas,^[1] the daughter of Pauline (née Evans), a homemaker, and James Fawcett, an oil field contractor.^[2] As a child, Ferrah (later changed to "Farrah") displayed a natural athletic ability which her father encouraged. She attended John J. Pershing Middle School in Houston, Texas, a school which is now the magnet program for fine arts, and graduated from W.B. Ray High School in 1965. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Career

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw Fawcett doing commercials and TV guest spots. In April 1976, a poster company Pro Arts Inc., that had started out making anti-war posters, started to hear about a young up-and-coming beauty named Farrah Fawcett doing Wella Balsam shampoo commercials.^[3] They got in touch with her agent at the time, Rick Hersh, and arranged a photo shoot. Fawcett arranged to have Bruce McBroom, a freelance photographer that she worked with before, to do the shoot. McBroom took the pictures at Farrah's poolside Bel Air, California home. For the back drop, McBroom used the ratty old Indian Blanket covering his '37 Chevy car seat.^[4]

On September 22, 1976, the first episode of Fawcett playing the character Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie's Angels was aired. Around the same time, her swimsuit poster was released. It went on to sell a still-unrivaled 12 million copies and she became known for her tousled mane, beautiful smile and enviable figure. Charlie's Angels went on to become a huge hit but after just one year Fawcett left the show. As settlement to a lawsuit stemming from her early departure, Fawcett appeared three more times as a guest star in each of seasons three and four. She was replaced on the show in 1977 by Cheryl Ladd (who portrayed her younger sister Kris).

Farrah Fawcett, top, in Charlie's Angels

Fawcett achieved critical praise and the first of three Emmy Award nominations as a serious actress for her role as a battered wife in the 1984 television movie The Burning Bed. She also won acclaim in the stage and movie version of Extremities, in which she played a rape victim who turns the tables on her attacker. She then played a predatory role in another miniseries, Small Sacrifices, receiving a second Emmy nomination. Her third Emmy nomination came in 2004 for her work in The Guardian. Fawcett has been nominated for several other awards as well a Golden Globe and ACE awards.

Fawcett, who steadfastly resisted appearing nude in films or magazines throughout the 1970's and 1980's, caused a major stir by posing nude in the December 1995 issue of Playboy, which became the best-selling issue of the 1990s, with over 4 million copies sold worldwide. At the age of 50, she returned to the pages of Playboy with a pictorial for the July 1997 issue, which also became a top seller.

Personal life

Fawcett was married to Lee Majors, star of The Six Million Dollar Man, from 1973-1982, though the two separated in 1979; during this time, she was known as Farrah Fawcett-Majors. From 1982-present, Fawcett has been involved in a committed relationship with her longtime boyfriend, actor Ryan O'Neal; they are still dating, on and off. The relationship produced one child, Redmond, born in January 1985.

On June 5, 1997, Fawcett received some negative commentary after giving a less-than-coherent interview on The Late Show with David Letterman. It was speculated that her rambling, incoherent manner was the result of drug abuse. Months later, she explained on the Howard Stern Radio show that her rambling was in fact just her way of joking around with the television host. She also insisted that what looked like random looks across the theater was just her looking and reacting to the fans in the audience.

In the first half of 2006, Fawcett suffered several personal losses including the deaths of her agent Jay Bernstein, and mentor Aaron Spelling; she was also still recovering from the loss of her mother, "Polly." In August 2006, Fawcett took part in the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner, where she appeared to have difficulty telling her jokes, seeming frazzled or incoherent at times. One snarky presenter, Jeffrey Ross, asked Betty White to "explain the jokes to Farrah."

Cancer

On October 4, 2006, it was revealed that Fawcett had anal cancer, and was undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy and surgery.^[5] Thus, a possible Charlie's Angels reunion was put on hold.

The Associated Press wire reported on her 60th birthday that Fawcett was now cancer free.^[6] Fawcett said in a statement, "This is an extraordinarily happy day for me and my family. I hope that my news might offer some level of inspiration to others who unfortunately must continue to fight the disease." ^[7]

Fawcett celebrated her 60th birthday with boyfriend O'Neal with the news that she was cancer-free. After the party, O'Neal returned to his home where a fracas occurred between him and his son Griffin. The actor was subsequently arrested for allegedly threatening his son with a gun.^[8] Prosecutors declined to charge Ryan O’Neal with assault with a deadly weapon, as of May 25, 2007.^[9]

On Wednesday, May 16, 2007, it was reported that a malignant polyp was found in the area where Fawcett had been treated for the initial cancer. Doctors contemplated whether to implant a radiation seeder (which differs from conventional radiation and is used to treat other types of cancer).^[10] Fawcett, however, chose to travel to Germany (with O'Neal) for cancer treatment not available in the US. This treatment in Germany has been, or continues to be, filmed for a possible reality television show.^[11]

TV work

• Bat Girl (1967)
• Mayberry R.F.D. (1969)
• I Dream of Jeannie (1969)
• Three's a Crowd (1969)
• The Feminist and the Fuzz (1971)
• Inside O.U.T. (1971)
• The Great American Beauty Contest (1973)
• Marcus Welby, M.D.(1974)
• The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (1974)
• Harry O (1974-1976)
• Murder on Flight 502 (1975)
• Charlie's Angels (cast member from 1976-1977)
• Murder in Texas (1981)
• The Red-Light Sting (1984)
• The Burning Bed (1984)
• Between Two Women (1986)
• Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story (1986)
• Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story (1987)
• Margaret Bourke-White (1989)
• Small Sacrifices (1989)
• Good Sports (1991) (canceled after 9 episodes)
• Criminal Behavior (1992)
• The Substitute Wife (1994)
• Children of the Dust (1995)
• Dalva (1996)
• Ally McBeal (1999)
• Silk Hope (1999)
• Baby (2000)
• Jewel (2001)
• Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (2003)
• Intimate Portrait With Farrah Fawcett (2004)
• Chasing Farrah (2005) (miniseries)

Filmography

• Love Is a Funny Thing (1969)
• Myra Breckinridge (1970)
• Logan's Run (1976)
• Somebody Killed Her Husband (1978)
• An Almost Perfect Affair (1979) (Cameo)
• Sunburn (1979)
• Saturn 3 (1980)
• The Cannonball Run (1981)
• The Burning Bed (1984) (made for T.V. movie)
• Extremities (1986)
• See You in the Morning (1989)
• Man of the House (1995)
• The Apostle (1997)
• The Lovemaster (1997) (Cameo)
• The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (1998) (Voice)
• The Flunky (2000) (Cameo)
• Dr. T & the Women (2000)
• The Cookout (2004)

References

External links

• Official web site
• Farrah Fawcett at the Internet Movie Database
• Farrah Fawcett at TV.com