Short Biography

Farrah Leni Fawcett (February 2, 1947 - June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett shot to international fame in 1976 due in part to her role as private investigator Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie`s Angels. Fawcett went on to become a critically acclaimed actress, appearing off-Broadway and in highly rated television movies in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed, Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices).
Fawcett was also a pop culture figure whose hairstyle was emulated by millions of young women and whose poster sales broke records, making her an international sex symbol in the 1970s and 1980s.

Farrah Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, to Pauline Alice (née Evans), a homemaker, and James William Fawcett, an oil field contractor. She was of French, English, and Choctaw Native American ancestry. Fawcett has said that her first name was "made up" by her mother because it went well with her last name.
A Roman Catholic, Fawcett`s education was at the parish school of the church her family attended, St. Patrick`s Roman Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. She graduated from W.B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi in 1965. From 1966–1969, Fawcett attended the University of Texas at Austin and became a sister of Delta Delta Delta Sorority. She appeared in a photo of the "Ten Most Beautiful Coeds" from the university, which ran in Cashbox magazine. A Hollywood publicist saw the photo, called Farrah and urged her to move to Los Angeles, which she did in 1969, leaving after her junior year with her parents` permission to "try her luck" in Hollywood.
Career

Early career - TV commercials
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fawcett appeared in TV commercials for consumer products, including Noxema shaving cream, Ultra Brite toothpaste, Wella Balsam shampoo, and the 1975 Mercury Cougar. Later in 1978, after achieving TV stardom, she appeared in a series of commercials for her own brand of shampoo, marketed by Fabergé. Early TV series appearances Fawcett`s first TV series appearance was a guest spot on I Dream of Jeannie in the 1968-1969 season, followed by guest appearances in Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law. She later appeared in The Six Million Dollar Man with Lee Majors, which first aired in 1974, The Dating Game, and several episodes of Harry O alongside David Janssen. In 1976, Pro Arts Inc., pitched the idea of a poster of Fawcett to her agent, and a photo shoot was arranged. The resulting poster, of Farrah in a one-piece red bathing suit, was a best-seller; sales estimates ranged from over 5 million to 8 million to as high as 12 million copies.

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006, and began treatment, including chemotherapy and surgery.
Fawcett died at approximately 9:28 a.m., PDT on June 25, 2009, in the intensive care unit of Saint John`s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, with O`Neal and Stewart by her side. A private funeral was held in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 30. Fawcett`s son Redmond was permitted to leave his California detention center to attend his mother`s funeral, where he gave the first reading. She was laid to rest at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.

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