What Farrah Fawcett Really Thought of Her Iconic Bathing Suit Poster

Mike Pingel Yesterday, 8:00 am

CHARLIE'S ANGELS, Farrah Fawcett, 1976-81 — Everett Collection

What To Know

Farrah Fawcett personally chose the iconic 1976 swimsuit poster image.
The poster became a massive commercial success.
The swimsuit was later donated to the Smithsonian.

In 1976, Farrah Fawcett and photographer Bruce McBroom took a sunny California afternoon and a poster photoshoot in her Los Angeles backyard and turned it into one of the most iconic pin-ups of all time.

Tanned with her tousled locks looking perfect, Fawcett slipped into her one-piece burnt-orange swimsuit and let the magic happen with no hair and makeup crew, just Farrah being Farrah. Initially, they had wanted her to wear a bikini, but she opted for the one-piece, mainly to conceal a childhood scar on her stomach. McBroom grabbed a Mexican serape from his truck and suggested she sit in front of it. He snapped many photos with many different poses. Out of all the images, that super special one was chosen by Fawcett.

“It was Farrah’s pose, Farrah’s suit, Farrah’s idea. She picked that shot,” McBroom told Time.

The poster was released by Pro Arts Inc. and hit stores in 1976. It was an instant hit and has sold over 12 million copies, solidifying Fawcett as a cultural icon (and a savvy businesswoman).

“The reason I decided to do a poster was, well, if you don’t sign a deal to do one, somebody does one anyway, and then you get nothing,” she was quoted as saying in a 1977 Washington Post article.

Courtesy Mike Pingel

In 2006, Fawcett mentioned in a SAG-AFTRA Foundation video: “OK, it’s nice … I wish I’d held my stomach in!”

The swimsuit designer, Norma Kamali, told David Yontef on his Behind the Velvet Rope podcast that Fawcett shopped frequently in New York and bought much of her swimwear.

“When I saw the poster, I was horrified because I did a lot of testing, and I tested that style. I did six swimsuits, and I put it in the store, and I thought, ‘I’m not going to make that one again. It’s not good. I don’t like what I did.’ And then I see it in on the poster!”

Kamali actually wanted to remake the suit before it was immortalized in the Smithsonian, but the museum turned her down.

The swimsuit was donated to the Smithsonian in 2011. In celebration of the poster’s 50th anniversary, the Farrah Fawcett Foundation is selling anniversary products with the image from T-shirts and mugs to greeting cards and beach towels. Proceeds benefit the foundation, which funds innovative cancer research.

This article appears in the 1976 Top TV Moments September 2026 Issue of ReMIND Magazine.