Posted by: David W
Sep 10, 2010
Ferrah Leni 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 Irish, French, English and Choctaw Native American ancestry. The name "Ferrah" was "made up" by her mother because it went well with their last name; she later changed the spelling to Farrah.
A Roman Catholic, Fawcett's early education was at the parish school of the church her family attended, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Corpus Christi. She graduated from W. B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi in 1965. For three years, 1965–68, Fawcett attended the University of Texas at Austin, living one semester in Jester Center, and became a sister of Delta Delta Delta Sorority. During her sophomore year, 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 Fawcett and over the course of a year urged her to move to Los Angeles, which she did the summer following her junior year with her parents' permission.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fawcett appeared in TV commercials for consumer products, starting with her selection as a Breck Girl for Breck Shampoo, and moving on to other products including Noxzema shaving cream, Ultra Brite toothpaste, Wella Balsam shampoo, and the 1975 Mercury Cougar. Beginning in 1978, after achieving TV stardom, she developed her own brand of hair care products, marketed by Fabergé, for which she appeared in a series of commercials and print ads.
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 and "The Partridge Family". 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. She appeared in a bit part on the critically-panned movie Myra Breckinridge in 1970. Her next movie appearance was on the well-received science-fiction movie Logan's Run.
In 1976, Pro Arts Inc., pitched the idea of a poster of Fawcett to her agent, and a photo shoot was arranged with photographer Bruce McBroom, who was hired by the poster company. From 40 rolls of film, Farrah herself selected her six favorite pictures, eventually narrowing her choice to the one that made her famous. 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.
Farrah Fawcett later soared to fame as a national sex symbol in the late 1970s on television's campy "Charlie's Angels" and in a swimsuit poster that showcased her feathery mane and made her a generation's favorite pinup. She was 62 at the time of her death and had one son, Redmond James Fawcett O'Neal, born in January of 1985.