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"In the face of excruciating pain and uncertainty, I never lost hope, and it never occurred to me to stop fighting — not ever." Farrah Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and has one older sister. Her mother was a homemaker, and her father worked as a contractor in the oil fields. Her older sister, who died in 2001, worked as a graphic artist. She was raised Roman Catholic and voted "most beautiful" by her classmates throughout high school. After high school she attended the University of Texas, and studied microbiology before switching to an art major.

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In her freshman college year she was voted one of the 10 most beautiful coeds on the entire campus. A freshman had never had that honor before, and her pictures were sent to Hollywood agencies. One agent asked her to come to LA, but she refused. The agent persisted for the next two years, and she finally agreed to go to Los Angeles to see if she could make it in the industry. She was 21 at the time, and was signed to a contract right away for $350 per week. But where did she go from there, and how did she make it big in Hollywood? Here's everything you need to know about the late Farrah Fawcett's life.

That Iconic Poster Made All the Difference

Fawcett started out in commercials for products like Noxzema skin cleanser, Mercury's Cougar automobile, Max Factor makeup, and Beautyrest mattresses, among other products. She also had guest spots on a few popular TV shows, including I Dream of Jeannie (1969-1970) and The Flying Nun (1969). She was also seen on The Partridge Family, The Dating Game, The Six Million Dollar Man, and S.W.A.T. She played David Janssen's character's girlfriend in Harry O, and had a larger role in Love is a Funny Thing (1969). She was in Myra Breckinridge (1970), in the role of Mary Ann Pringle.

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But it was a poster in 1976, of a smiling Fawcett in a red bathing suit, that really launched her career more than any of the roles in TV shows or movies. A poster company out of Ohio, called Pro Arts Inc. contacted Fawcett's agent and suggested the idea of a poster. From 40 rolls of film, Fawcett picked her favorite pictures. Eventually the choice was narrowed all the way down to the picture that became an iconic poster, selling over 12 million copies. The popularity of that poster led to Fawcett being cast in Logan's Run (1976). Fawcett and her then-husband, Lee Majors, frequently played tennis with Aaron Spelling, as well.

That relationship with Spelling led to Fawcett being cast in Charlie's Angels, which was a made-for-TV movie. She played Jill Munroe, and the movie was so popular that it became a series. Fawcett was in the first season, left the show, and then returned for six guest appearances during the third and fourth seasons. There were some disagreements and disputes over contractual issues, and a lot of speculation as to why Fawcett left the show. The show also started a cottage industry of products that were marketed with the Angel's faces. This produced an incredible amount of revenue.

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Being Seen as More Than Charlie's Angel

Fawcett has said, "I don't think an actor ever wants to establish an image. That certainly hurt me, and yet that is also what made me successful and eventually able to do more challenging roles." After Fawcett left Charlie's Angels, she starred in Somebody Killed Her Husband (1978). The reviews were not good, and the same was true of the next few movies she was in after that. The reviews were much better for The Cannonball Run (1981), and Fawcett got more movie roles at that point. The same year, she was also in the movie Murder in Texas.

1983 saw Fawcett receiving a lot of critical acclaim for Extremities, an off-broadway play that was very controversial. The movie The Burning Bed (1984) earned her an Emmy nomination. Throughout the rest of her career, she would be nominated four more times. She was also nominated for other awards, including a Golden Globe. But it was not just her acting that got her noticed. After refusing for many years to pose nude, she posed semi-nude in 1995 in Playboy. In 1997, when she was fifty, she appeared again in the magazine.

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In 2006, Fawcett was diagnosed with cancer. She was treated, but the cancer recurred the following year. From that point she continued to battle against cancer, which eventually spread to other organs in her body. She traveled to Europe to be treated, and then returned to the United States. Regardless of the treatments offered to her, though, the cancer continued to grow. Fawcett passed away on June 25, 2009. She was 62 years old. While she may be gone, she will always be remembered for her roles in TV shows and movies, and that poster that hung in bedrooms all over the country.