Farrah Fawcett is a true Hollywood success story. Born in Texas,she was the daughter ofPauline Fawcett (Pauline Alice Evans), a homemaker, andJames Fawcett, an oil fieldcontractor. She was a natural athlete, something that her fatherencouraged, and she attended a high school with a strong arts program.She attended the University of Texas in Austin, graduating with a degree inMicrobiology, but only wanted to be an actress.

Winning a campus beauty contest got her noticed by an agent, whoencouraged her to pursue acting. After graduating, she moved to LosAngeles and her healthy, all-American blond beauty was immediatelynoticed. She quickly got roles in various television commercials forsuch products as Ultra-Brite toothpaste, and Wella Balsam shampoo, andalso made appearances in some TV series. In 1968, she met another Southerner, actorLee Majors, star of the popular TVseriesThe Big Valley (1965), on a blind date set up by their publicists. He became very taken with her and also used his own standing topromote her career. In 1969, she made her film debut inUn homme qui me plaît (1969). The next year, she appeared in the filmadaptation of theGore Vidal bestselling novelMyra Breckinridge (1970). Theshooting was very unpleasant, with much feuding on the set, and Farrahwas embarrassed by the finished film, which was a major failure. ButFarrah was undamaged and continued to win roles. In 1973, she andMajors married, and the following year, she won a recurring role in thecrime series,Harry O (1973). She hadher first taste of major success when she won a supporting role in thescience fiction film,2300 nen: Mirai e no tabi (1976). She came to theattention of the highly successful producerAaron Spelling, who was impressed by herbeauty and vivacious personality. That won her a role in the TV series,Charlie's Angels (1976). Sheplayed a private investigator who works for a wealthy and mysteriousbusinessman, along with two other glamorous female detectives, playedbyKate Jackson andJaclyn Smith. The show immediatelybecame the most popular series on television, earning record ratingsand a huge audience. All three actresses became very popular, butFarrah became, by far, the best known. She won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Performer in a New TV program in 1977. Her lush, free-wheeling, wavy blond hair also became a phenomenon, with millions of women begging their hairstylists to give them "The Farrah", as her hairstyle was called. Fawcett was also a savvy businesswoman, and she received 10% profit from the proceeds of her famous poster in a red swimsuit. It sold millions and she became the "It Girl" of the 1970s.

Fawcett was America's sweetheart and found herself on every celebritymagazine and pursued by photographers and fans. While she enjoyed thesuccess and got along well with her co-stars (both of whom were also ofSouthern origin), she found the material lightweight. Also, the longhours she worked were beginning to take a toll on her marriage toMajors, who found himself eclipsed by her popularity. So the followingyear, when the show was at its peak, she left to pursue a movie career.Charlie's Angels' producers sued her, and the studios shied away from her, and she lost out on the lead role in the hit feature filmFâru Purei (1978) toGoldie Hawn. Eventually, she and the Charlie's Angels producers reached a settlement, where she would make guest appearances on the series. As a result of the negative publicityand some poor script choices, her career briefly hit a slow spot. Inaddition, she and Majors separated in 1979. She had starring roles inCharade '79 (1978),Sunburn (1979), andSaturn 3 (1980) (which she did a toplessscene in), but all three failed financially. She appeared in theBurt Reynolds chase comedyThe Cannonball Run (1981),which was successful financially, but it was met not only with bad reviews but also with bad publicity when Farrah's stunt doubleHeidi Von Beltz was involved in a stunt that went horribly wrong and left her a quadriplegic. Farrah's feature film career came to a halt, and she and Majors were drifting apart. In1981, she metRyan O'Neal, a friendof her husband's, and they began became friends and spent a great dealof time together. He also encouraged her to go back to television and she received good reviews in the well-received miniseries,テキサス殺人事件 (1981). In 1982, she filed for divorce, which Majors readilyagreed to. Soon, she and O'Neal were a couple and moved in together. She set on sights on becoming a serious dramatic actress. She took over forSusan Sarandon in the stage play, "Extremities", where she played a rape victim who turns the tables on her rapist. That, in turn, led her to her major comeback, when she starred in the searing story of abattered wife inバーニング・ベッド (1984),based on a true story. It garnered a very large audience, and criticsgave her the best reviews she had ever received for her heartfeltperformance. She was nominated for both an Emmy and Golden Globe and alsobecame involved in helping organizations for battered women. Thefollowing year, she and O'Neal became the parents of a son,Redmond O'Neal. She tried to continue her momentum with a starring role in the feature film adaptation ofExtremities (1986), and while shegarnered a Golden Globe nomination, the film, itself, was not a hit.

She continued to seek out serious roles, appearing mainly ontelevision. She scored success again inSmall Sacrifices (1989),again based on a true crime. Portraying an unhappy woman who is soobsessed with the man she loves that she shoots her children to makeherself available and disguises it as a carjacking, Farrah again wonrave reviews and helped draw a large audience, and was nominated for anEmmy again. Shortly afterwards, she and O'Neal co-starred inGood Sports (1991), playing acouple who co-star in a sports news program, but O'Neal's performancewas lambasted and only 9 episodes were aired. In 1995, she surprisedher fans by posing for "Playboy" at the age of 48, it became themagazine's best-selling issue of that decade.

Her relationship with O'Neal was deteriorating, however, and in 1997,they broke up. The breakup took a toll, and she posed for Playboy again at the age of 50. To promote it, she appeared onLate Show with David Letterman (1992)and gave a rambling interview, sparking rumors of drug use. That sameyear, however, she made another comeback inThe Apostle (1997), playing theneglected wife of a Pentacostal preacher, played byRobert Duvall. Both stars were praised andthe film became a surprise hit. She also began datingJames Orr, who had directed her earlier in the feature film,Man of the House (1995). An incident occurred between them in 1998, and Farrah suffered injuries. The scandaldrew nationwide headlines, especially after the tabloids published photos of Farrah with her injuries. The authorities compelled Fawcett to testify against Orr in court, and he was found guilty of assault and given a minimum sentence. Embarrassed, she loweredher profile and her career lost momentum, but she continued to work intelevision and films. She and O'Neal also started seeing each otheragain, when he was diagnosed with leukemia. The new millennium brought her highs and lows. In 2000, she acted withRichard Gere inRobert Altman's film,Dr. T & the Women (2000). Her son Redmond has had problems with drug abuse and has been in and out of jail. In 2001, she lost her only sister,Diane Fawcett Walls, to cancer. In 2004, she received her third Emmynomination for her performance inThe Guardian (2003), and she starred in her own reality show, titledChasing Farrah (2005), in 2005 along with Ryan O'Neal, but that ended after only 7 episodes. That same year, she was devastated when her beloved mother,Pauline Fawcett, died. In 2006, producerAaron Spelling died, and she famously reunited with her Charlie's Angels co-stars, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, at the Emmys, in a tribute to him. She looked tan and healthy, but soon, she was diagnosed with anal cancer. She asked her friendAlana Stewart to accompany her and videotape her during her doctor's visits. Those video journals resulted in the documentaryFarrah's Story (2009), co-executive produced by Fawcett. It aired in 2009, and viewers were shocked to see Farrah with a shaved head and in a continuous state of pain. Ryan O'Neal and Alana Stewart were constantly by her side, and her Charlie's Angels co-stars, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, also visited her, marking the final time that all three original Angels appeared together on television. The documentary became a ratings success, and it earned a Emmy nomination as Outstanding Nonfiction Special. On June 25, 2009 Farrah lost her battle with cancer and passed away at aged 62. She left the bulk of her estate to her only son Redmond, and her trust fund allowed for the creation of The Farrah Fawcett Foundation, which provides funding for cancer research and prevention.Alana Stewart is the president of the Foundation and Jaclyn Smith's husband Dr. Brad Allen is one of the Board of Directors. Ryan O'Neal and Farrah's nephew, Greg Walls, are also on the Advisory Board, keeping alive her legacy.