“She was the girl down the street who cheered me on, the girl who adored her parents,” Jaclyn Smith says of Farrah Fawcett.
Farrah Fawcett’s Charlie’s Angels co-star Jaclyn Smith remembers her “brave” and gorgeous companion more than ten years after her death.
“Farrah was persistent in her struggle,” Smith says of her late costar’s choice to go public with her cancer battle and establish The Farrah Fawcett Foundation to collect funds for research and education.
“Who would have imagined that this girl known for her smile, hair, and glitz would reveal the depths of her soul to the world?” Smith said of Fawcett, who died on June 25, 2009, at 62.
Smith recalls the day Fawcett told her she had cancer for the first time.
“She started crying and said, ‘I always imagined I’d get breast cancer or heart disease, but never this,’” Smith recalls. “After that, I never saw her cry again.”
Their bond lasted decades, beginning with fellow Charlie’s Angels costar Kate Jackson.
“We had each other’s backs,” Smith, 73, recalls their days on set. “Eating in our trailers together seemed like a college dorm. On weekends, we’d shop for what we would wear. We weren’t simply working actresses, but girlfriends, and it stayed that way for 40 years.”
“We all backed Farrah when she wanted to leave after one season,” Smith says of Fawcett’s decision to depart the show in 1977. “She didn’t hesitate to proclaim, ‘This is what I’m going to do.’”
Farrah desired to be perceived as a serious actor. She marched to the beat of her drum. After being accepted as an actress, she returned to Playboy and posed at 50. From serious actress to sex icon once more. “There was never a dull time.”
“That transformed our life,” she recalls about the play. We were kind of like rock stars. We had guards on duty around the clock when we went to Hawaii for the season opener. We all continued with our lives, but the influence of Charlie’s Angels helped define who we were and where we went.”
They were even closer toward the end of Fawcett’s life.
“Farrah brought me a German chocolate cake she’d baked,” Smith recalls during one of their final encounters. Then I discovered her in my closet. Her legs were swollen from her treatment, but she wanted to try on my shoes. She was a faithful companion.”
Smith visited Farrah at her place in Los Angeles on their most recent encounter. “She was in many discomforts and couldn’t sit still,” Smith remembers. “I was caressing her feet to help her feel better. That made her feel better. We must have spoken about our life, our children, and growing up in Texas for three hours. My final time with Farrah was the best since we valued our friendship.”
“What I remember about Farrah is that, as much as she was an eight-by-10 glossy, she was the friend who cheered me on, the kid who loved her parents, the girl down the street,” she adds.
“We shared the ups and downs of life, happiness, and despair,” Smith recalls, who is now focusing on a variety of business initiatives, including a new beauty care brand.
“I miss her every day,” the former Angel confesses. “A lot of folks have left recently, which is difficult. “I miss them, and it’s all right to miss them.”
