The idol of the 70s and 80s, the actress who played Jill Munroe in the legendary series had a life of ups and downs that culminated in a publicized battle with cancer.
June 2023 marked the 14th anniversary of Farrah Fawcett's death from cancer, American actress and model who rose to fame for her portrayal of Jill Munroe in the series "Charlie's Angels" ("Charlie's Angels" in English). , in which he starred with Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith.
Regarding the premiere in Peru of the remake of the franchise, this time starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska, we find it interesting to explore Fawcett's life and its profound impact on American and world society, not only during his peak popularity in the 1970s but also for his publicized fight against cancer in the last years of his life.
The girl next door
Farrah Fawcett was born on February 2, 1947, in the town of Corpus Christi, Texas. The daughter of Pauline Alice Evans and James William Fawcett, Farrah also had an older sister Diane Fawcett Walls.
From a young age, Fawcett's natural beauty set her apart from her contemporaries, with her being voted "most beautiful in class" each year as she attended W.B. Ray High School. This beauty was also recognized when she went to the University of Texas in 1965, where she was studying art, leading to photos of her being sent to various Hollywood agencies. Finally, Fawcett dropped out of school and moved to Hollywood in 1968 to try her luck. She was 20 years old.
Farrah Fawcett's first jobs were commercials and minor appearances in the series The Moment, highlighting two episodes of the then popular comedy "My beautiful genius", another two in "The flying novice" and an episode of "The Patridge Family". She would later participate in series like "SWAT" and "Harry O."
Two weeks after arriving in Hollywood, she met the actor Lee Majors, with whom she would begin a relationship that would end in marriage in 1973. Between 1974 and 1976 Fawcett and Majors would collaborate when she got a minor role in "The Nuclear Man", a series in which Majors played the lead Steve Austin.
The best-selling poster in history
Farrah Fawcett's first glimpse of immortality would come from the humblest of sources: a poster. In 1976 Ted Trikilis of Pro Arts Inc. proposed to Fawcett's agents to do a photo shoot. Trikilis had noted the model's popularity from the fact that even men bought women's magazines because of the ads featuring Fawcett promoting beauty products.
Fawcett agreed to the idea on the condition that she had control over the process. Another of her reasons for accepting her, she noted in a later interview, is that she knew if she didn't do it “someone else is going to do it anyway” without leaving her with a dime.
Farrah Fawcett suggested that Bruce McBroom be the photographer for the shoot, which took place at the house she shared with Lee Majors. A Biography.com article reveals that Farrah did her own makeup and styled her hair for the occasion, with the help of a bit of lime to give it more shine. The now iconic red bathing suit that was hers, and served to hide a scar from her childhood, meanwhile, the distinctive background of the photo was a towel bought in Mexico.
In the end, Farrah made a selection of the images that she liked the most, and Pro Arts Inc. chose the favorite of her model, which was marked by a star. In the photo, Farrah appears blonde and smiling, with her hair tousled. Her tanned skin complements the red bathing suit (although it gives the impression of being orange).
The iconic outfit that Farrah Fawcett wore for the famous 1976 poster. The items were donated to the National Museum of American History.
It is impossible to overestimate the unexpected success that the poster would have. Farrah Fawcett, and her hairstyle in particular, became the object of desire and envy among men and women. In addition, in one year 5 million posters would be sold, which would rise to 12 million copies in later years, making it the most popular image of this type of all time. It also made Fawcett $400,000 in royalties, much more than what she received from her for her subsequent part in "Charlie's Angels," which was $5,000 per episode.
Charlie's Angels (and Demons)
The poster would also open new doors for Farrah, who would be given a supporting role in the 1976 sci-fi "Logan's Run." Her friendship with television producer Aaron Spelling led to her being considered for a TV movie titled "Charlie's Angels."
In this, Farrah plays Jill Munroe, one of three investigators for the Townsend Associates detective agency, the other two being Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson) and Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith). Led by the millionaire inmate better known as Charlie, who only communicates with his employees by phone, the 'angels' would be in charge of solving various cases. The initial pilot was a success and a series with the same team was soon approved for production, making Jackson, Smith, and Fawcett instant celebrities.
“When the show was number three, I thought (the reason for our success) was our acting. When we got to first place, I decided it could only be because none of us were wearing a bra,” she famously said in a 1977 interview.
Her premature departure, as Farrah had signed a five-year contract, led to a legal battle that ended with an agreement that the actress would return for six subsequent appearances on the show, which took place in the third and fourth seasons.
Farrah Fawcett's sudden triumph also had repercussions on her marriage to Lee Majors, from whom she separated in 1979, although they would not divorce until 1982.
“When Lee married me, he married a very dutiful person who just wanted to cook for him, clean his house, and be dependent on him. I still like to cook his food and clean his house, but I am no longer dependent. I feel bad for Lee. I still love him very much, and he is trying to be understanding and protective,” Fawcett told People Magazine at the time of their split from her.
In 1979 she would also meet Ryan O'Neal, who would be her partner for much of her life and with whom she would have a son, Redmond James Fawcett O'Neal. The relationship would last until 1997 and was sometimes violent, according to what O'Neal's own daughter, Tatum, indicated, although without affirmations from Farrah herself.
“He had a terrible temper and was very violent. He would hit her,” she said in an interview with E! online. Whatever the truth of the accusations, Fawcett would return to Ryan O'Neal in 2001, with whom she would stay until she died in 2009.
Later works
Taking advantage of her growing fame, Fawcett participated in a series of films that were not successful either at the box office or among critics: there is "Someone Killed Her Husband" (1978), "Sunburn" (1979), "Saturn 3" (1980 ), and The TV movie “Murder in Texas” (1981). That same year she would participate in "He who doesn't Run, flies", also known as "Cannonball Run" with Burt Reynolds, a film also hated by critics but a box office success.
Fawcett would find better luck acting in the 1983 production of "Extremities," in which she would play Marjorie, a rape victim who manages to overcome her attacker and subject him to the same suffering. Farrah would return to that role in the film adaptation of the play in 1986, a performance that would earn her a Golden Globe nomination. In 1984 she also participated in the film "The Burning Bed," a performance that earned her an Emmy nomination.
Other important examples of her filmography were “Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story” (1986), “Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story” (1987), and “The Apostle” (1997).
Farrah Fawcett Fight
Farrah Fawcett's last years were, strangely, the most public of her life. And it is that in 2005, the actress ventured into reality TV with the series “Chasing Farah”. The seven-episode show follows Fawcett through her 'every day', including a shopping spree and a visit with her parents.
A year later, in 2006, Farrah Fawcett was diagnosed with cancer. After proceeding with the corresponding treatments, the cancer had remission. However, shortly after it was discovered that she had metastasized to her liver, reducing the life expectancy of the actress radically. Her battle with her illness, filmed by her longtime friend Alana Stewart, was also captured in a two-hour documentary titled "The Farrah Story" that premiered in May 2009, a month before her death.
Farrah Fawcett passed away on June 25, 2009, she was 62 years old. However, the impact of her death on show business was overshadowed by the death of Michael Jackson a few hours later.
