Farrah Fawcett, 1947 - 2009

Above, the famous poster that sold 12 million copies.

Actress and Hollywood icon Farrah Fawcett has passed away from cancer at age 62.

According to the Washington Post:

Farrah Fawcett, 62, golden-haired sex symbol of the late 1970s most remembered for her appearance on bedroom posters and the detective series "Charlie's Angels" and who later found a niche portraying troubled women in made-for-television dramas, died today from cancer.

Ms. Fawcett was a Texas-born college dropout who parlayed success as a model for toiletries such as Ultra Brite toothpaste and Wella Balsam shampoo into a viable acting career.

Still a relative unknown, she achieved two iconic roles at the same time in 1976. On Wednesday nights, she was Jill Munroe, the blond Angel on the ABC detective drama produced by Aaron Spelling. The rest of the week, she was the star attraction on a poster that sold a record 12 million copies.

Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett was born Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, where her father started a pipeline construction company. She was an art major at the University of Texas at Austin and began modeling for a local clothing store. She was voted one of the 10 most beautiful women on campus, and Hollywood publicist David Mirisch urged her to quit school for a career in show business.

Fawcett was once married to actor Lee Majors but that marriage ended when she took up with Ryan O'Neal.

It is sad to see her go, but it is a blessing that she's no longer suffering.