Although many actress have made a name for themselves in Hollywood, few can compare to the legendary Farrah Fawcett! In the ’70s Farrah was taking the L.A. by storm when she played Jill Munroe in the crime-fighting ABC series Charlie’s Angels — among other projects.

The breakout role led to her doing more popular projects like 1980’s Saturn 3 and 1981’s The Cannonball Run. Although it seemed like the end wasn’t in sight for the four-time Emmy Award nominee, her career came to a sudden halt when she fell sick and passed away in 2009.

At age 62, Farrah died from anal cancer at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. According to her spokesman, Paul Bloch, she was first diagnosed with the deadly disease in 2006. Farrah coincidentally died a few hours before Michael Jackson.

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“After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away. Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world,” Farrah’s longtime partner, Ryan O’Neal, once said in a statement, according to CNN.

Although Farrah’s death shocked the world it also brought a lot of attention to anal cancer. Once she found out she was diagnosed with the disease she started to chronicle her life on camera, which later turned into the Emmy-nominated documentary Farrah’s Story.

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“She gave people courage, hope, and inspiration,” her best friend, Alana Stewart, previously shared to Closer Weekly about the star. “[Farrah] said, ‘I’m almost glad I got cancer, because now I can make a difference.’” Since her pal’s death, Alana has been running the Farrah Fawcett Foundation for cancer research in her memory. Currently, she acts as the president/CEO of the board.

If you want more info about or to donate to the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, click here.

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