FARRAH FAWCETT
Name: Ferrah Leni Fawcett
Born: 2 February 1947 Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Ferrah Leni Fawcett (born February 2, 1947) is an American actress. She became a
noted pop culture figure and sex symbol of the 1970s and into the 1980s, shaping
the landscape of fashion and pop culture.
Fawcett, the younger of two daughters, was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, the
daughter of Pauline (née Evans), a homemaker, and James Fawcett, an oil field
contractor. As a child, Ferrah (later changed to "Farrah") displayed a
natural athletic ability which her father encouraged. She attended John J.
Pershing Middle School in Houston, Texas, a school which is now the magnet
program for fine arts, and graduated from W.B. Ray High School in 1965. She
attended the University of Texas at Austin and was a member of the Delta Delta
Delta sorority.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw Fawcett doing commercials and TV guest spots
but she still sought that big breakthrough role that would launch her career. In
April 1976, a poster company Pro Arts Inc., that had started out making anti-war
posters, started to hear about a young up-and-coming beauty named Farrah Fawcett
doing Wella Balsam shampoo commercials. They got in touch with her agent at
the time, Rick Hersh, and arranged a photo shoot. Fawcett arranged to have Bruce
McBroom, a freelance photographer that she worked with before, to do the shoot.
McBroom took the pictures at Farrah's poolside Bel Air, California home. For the
back drop, McBroom used the ratty old Indian Blanket covering his '37 Chevy car
seat.
On September 22, 1976, the first episode of Fawcett playing the character Jill
Munroe in the TV series Charlie's Angels was aired. Around the same time, her
swimsuit poster was released. It went on to sell a still-unrivaled 12 million
copies and she became known for her tousled mane, beautiful smile and enviable
figure. Charlie's Angels went on to become a huge hit but after just one year
Fawcett left the show. As settlement to a lawsuit stemming from her early
departure, Fawcett appeared three more times as a guest star in each of seasons
three and four. She was replaced on the show in 1977 by Cheryl Ladd (who
portrayed her younger sister Kris).
Farrah Fawcett, top, in Charlie's Angels
Fawcett achieved critical praise and the first of three Emmy Award nominations
as a serious actress for her role as a battered wife in the 1984 television
movie The Burning Bed. She also won acclaim in the stage and movie version of
Extremities, in which she played a rape victim who turns the tables on her
attacker. She then played a predatory role in another miniseries, Small
Sacrifices, receiving a second Emmy nomination. Her third Emmy nomination came
in 2004 for her work in The Guardian. Fawcett has been nominated for several
other awards as well a Golden Globe and ACE awards.
Fawcett, who resisted any nudity in films or magazines through the 70s and 80s,
caused a major stir by posing nude in the December 1995 issue of Playboy, which
became the best-selling issue of the 1990s, with over 4 million copies sold
worldwide. She later posed for the July 1997 issue (aged 50), which also became
a top seller, and appeared fully nude in the 2000 Robert Altman movie Dr T and
the Women.
Name: Ferrah Leni Fawcett
Born: 2 February 1947 Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Ferrah Leni Fawcett (born February 2, 1947) is an American actress. She became a
noted pop culture figure and sex symbol of the 1970s and into the 1980s, shaping
the landscape of fashion and pop culture.
Fawcett, the younger of two daughters, was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, the
daughter of Pauline (née Evans), a homemaker, and James Fawcett, an oil field
contractor. As a child, Ferrah (later changed to "Farrah") displayed a
natural athletic ability which her father encouraged. She attended John J.
Pershing Middle School in Houston, Texas, a school which is now the magnet
program for fine arts, and graduated from W.B. Ray High School in 1965. She
attended the University of Texas at Austin and was a member of the Delta Delta
Delta sorority.
The late 1960s and early 1970s saw Fawcett doing commercials and TV guest spots
but she still sought that big breakthrough role that would launch her career. In
April 1976, a poster company Pro Arts Inc., that had started out making anti-war
posters, started to hear about a young up-and-coming beauty named Farrah Fawcett
doing Wella Balsam shampoo commercials. They got in touch with her agent at
the time, Rick Hersh, and arranged a photo shoot. Fawcett arranged to have Bruce
McBroom, a freelance photographer that she worked with before, to do the shoot.
McBroom took the pictures at Farrah's poolside Bel Air, California home. For the
back drop, McBroom used the ratty old Indian Blanket covering his '37 Chevy car
seat.
On September 22, 1976, the first episode of Fawcett playing the character Jill
Munroe in the TV series Charlie's Angels was aired. Around the same time, her
swimsuit poster was released. It went on to sell a still-unrivaled 12 million
copies and she became known for her tousled mane, beautiful smile and enviable
figure. Charlie's Angels went on to become a huge hit but after just one year
Fawcett left the show. As settlement to a lawsuit stemming from her early
departure, Fawcett appeared three more times as a guest star in each of seasons
three and four. She was replaced on the show in 1977 by Cheryl Ladd (who
portrayed her younger sister Kris).
Farrah Fawcett, top, in Charlie's Angels
Fawcett achieved critical praise and the first of three Emmy Award nominations
as a serious actress for her role as a battered wife in the 1984 television
movie The Burning Bed. She also won acclaim in the stage and movie version of
Extremities, in which she played a rape victim who turns the tables on her
attacker. She then played a predatory role in another miniseries, Small
Sacrifices, receiving a second Emmy nomination. Her third Emmy nomination came
in 2004 for her work in The Guardian. Fawcett has been nominated for several
other awards as well a Golden Globe and ACE awards.
Fawcett, who resisted any nudity in films or magazines through the 70s and 80s,
caused a major stir by posing nude in the December 1995 issue of Playboy, which
became the best-selling issue of the 1990s, with over 4 million copies sold
worldwide. She later posed for the July 1997 issue (aged 50), which also became
a top seller, and appeared fully nude in the 2000 Robert Altman movie Dr T and
the Women.