Farrah Fawcett, the television and film star who transcended her early typecasting as a pinup model to earn multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, has lost her battle with cancer at the age of 62. According to a statement issued by her partner of nearly 30 years, Ryan O’Neal, Fawcett passed away Thursday morning at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, concluding a struggle that became public with Fawcett’s 2006 announcement of her diagnosis. The news comes a little over a month after NBC aired a documentary, titled Farrah’s Story, about Fawcett’s life and efforts to beat the disease.
Though she starred in a long list of theatrical releases, television shows, and made-for-TV movies, Fawcett was arguably always best remembered for her status as a ’70s sex symbol, earned thanks to her status as an original member of the cast of Charlie’s Angels and her appearance on a wildly popular poster that depicted the swimsuit-clad star in a state of sun-baked bliss. Not content to be known mostly for her hairstyle, Fawcett left Charlie’s after a year and moved on to a wide variety of film projects, both comedic (1981’s The Cannonball Run) and dramatic (1986’s Extremities, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination). She also continued to return to television, perhaps most notably in 1984’s The Burning Bed, a drama which earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Though her profile diminished after the ’80s, Fawcett continued to work regularly, turning up in shows such as Ally McBeal, Spin City, and The Guardian (the latter netting another Emmy nomination), as well as films including The Apostle, Dr. T & the Women, and 1998’s The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars (in which, appropriately, she played the voice of Faucet).
Fawcett is survived by her son, Redmond O’Neal.
Source: CNN
Source: Time Magazine
Source: TV Guide
