See Rare Farrah Fawcett Behind-the-Scenes Photos From ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ and More

Ferrah Leni Fawcett — better known as Farrah Fawcett — had a career that saw her evolve not just from Texas girl to major celebrity, but from sex symbol into a serious actress. She hit it big in 1976 with the debut of Charlie’s Angels, on which she was a regular as Jill Munroe for just one season (later in a recurring role from 1978-80). But that was enough to make her an international superstar; women everywhere wanted to emulate her hairstyle, and sales of that famous poster of her in a red swimsuit went through the roof.

Her newfound superstardom made Fawcett’s personal life ba subject of interest among fans and magazines, notably her marriage to Lee Majors from 1973-82 (she guest-starred in Majors’ hit series The Six Million Dollar Man in four episodes from 1974-78), and her relationship(s) with Ryan O’Neal (they initially were partners from 1979-97, during which time they had a son named Redmond James Fawcett O’Neal, born in 1985; the couple then reunited from 2001-09).

In the late ’70s and early ’80s, Fawcett made the jump to the big screen in sci-fi productions Logan’s Run (1976) and Saturn 3 (1980), and the comedies Somebody Killed Her Husband (1978), Sunburn (1979) and The Cannonball Run (1981). Though most of those roles were lighter, starting in the ’80s, Fawcett shed her perception as being merely the pretty face of ’70s “jiggle TV” and lesser movies by embarking on a number of more dramatic roles in better, more critically acclaimed productions on both the small and big screens.

Everett Collection

The actress earned her first Emmy nomination for her role as a battered wife in the TV movie The Burning Bed in 1984. In 1987, she returned to feature film work, receiving a Golden Globe nod for Extremities, in which she played an intended rape victim who turns the tables on her attacker — a role she had also performed onstage.

Over the next 15 years, Fawcett continued a focus on television, taking on other critically lauded roles — notably her CableACE Award-winning performance as the title subject of Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White, a 1989 biopic about the famed photographer; her Emmy-nominated role as Diane Downs (alongside O’Neal) in the 1989 crime drama Small Sacrifices; and her Emmy-nominated guest-starring role over four episodes in the CBS drama The Guardian in 2002-03. Amid all that, in 1997, Fawcett returned to the big screen as the wife of Robert Duvall‘s main character in The Apostle, a performance that earned the star some of the strongest reviews of her career.

In 2009, Fawcett received an Emmy nomination for her last TV project, which featured the legend in her bravest role — as executive producer and subject of Farrah’s Story, a documentary about the last stages of her life as she battled cancer that aired about a month before her passing.

Check out the gallery below to remember Farrah Fawcett in various moments from across her life and career.

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Charlie's AngelsThe Burning BedThe Cannonball Run (1981 movie)Farrah FawcettLee MajorsRyan O'Neal