Farrah Fawcett - daughter, mother, wife, friend, actress...fought the odds

Farrah Fawcett & Lana Marks                      (PRNewsFoto/Lana Marks)

We lost a precious actress, lady, wife, mother, daughter... today, one who had been ill fighting a battle with cancer.  Today she lost that battle, but we will never forget her - Farrah Fawcett.

We will never forget Farrah's ability to make us laugh and cry, as her character portrayals in film and telelvision were quite varied and dramatically challenging - as she made the viewer believe her no matter if she was one of Charlie's Angels, a battered wife or even the mother of a "challenged" baby that no one thought she should keep, but she fought to keep her just the same - she fought the odds.   

No one can forget her physical beauty - the young woman clad in red swimsuit posed for posters - America's sexy sweetheart with golden curls - that became known as the Farrah Fawcett hair style.  But those who knew her, knew there was much more than her outward looks - she was beautiful on the inside as well.

Farrah was close to her family and friends and such ties especially showed in the last few months of her illness.  Charlie's Angels co-star actresses (two of whom are Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith) had stayed by her side throughout her illness, along with long time close friend Ryan O'Neal, among many others.

A part of Farrah Fawcett's entertainment background was an American actress. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie's Angels in 1976.

Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to the approval of critics 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).

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.

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 rest is history with a result of millions of posters being sold!

The reason that the all-American boy prefers beauty to brains is that he can see better than he can think." - Farrah Fawcett

Posters, movies, TV shows, stage performances and promoting products were not all that Farrah was about.  There was a soft, real and homey side to her, and even to the end she wanted everyone to see how horrible cancer can be - an eye opener to hopefully help warn everyone to be careful with their health, and catch whatever health issue might develop, to catch it early and fast. To be a fighter and fight the odds.

Farrah's last video(s) - Farrah's Story - recorded highlights pertaining to her life and most recenlty her fight with cancer.  She insisted that the camera be running even when she was not at her best - not looking or feeling her best - so people would see the bad side of "her" disease and realize that it could happen to anyone.  This was her way of forewarning us.  Thank you Farrah.

Thank you, Farrah, too, for your wonderful gifts of love and laughter in your work as well as helping to make us aware of the disease that took you from us. Hopefully your caring will help others avoid what you went through. 

By the way, sources say that Farrah's companion of many years, Ryan O'Neal, who had apparently proposed to her before, did so again in June 2009, Farrah accepted, but she passed away before they could wed.

Fortunately we will be able to enjoy Farrah's past "work" through DVDs of movies and telelvision shows she was a part of, and remember the Farrah that many of us only took for granted not so long ago.  Farrah, you will be missed.