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fast - and still looked great.

But Farrah felt that Charlie's Angels was limiting. She was afraid of being type-cast as a bouncy, bra-less blonde. So she left the show after one season, she shunned the easy roles that were offered to her. Instead, she went on Broadway, and she surprised the critics with her intense performance as a woman who is threatened by a rapist. That role defined the rest of Farrah's career, as she found her calling as a strong woman who would not back down to violent men and relentless diseases. Her most famous acting role came a few years later in a TV drama about a battered housewife, "The Burning Bed," for which she won the first of her two Emmys. Over her career, she also played women who were activists, scientists, and murderers - never the ditzy damsel in distress.

After she learned she had cancer, Farrah took her commitment up another notch. She didn't hide, and she didn't lie. She chose to confront her illness and to use her fame to educate other women. The docu-drama about Farrah's cancer was one of the most popular and moving shows on TV in the last decade, and it is already being credited with saving lives.

Farrah Fawcett. Quite a life. Small-town girl becomes world-famous model. Does television, poses in Playboy, marries big movie star. And then, gets serious and impresses all those people who thought she was only a beauty. She will be remembered fondly by all.

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