Farrah Fawcett’s Family Keeps The Icon’s Legacy Alive Through Memories Following Her Death (EXCLUSIVE)

Charlie’s Angels icon, Farrah Fawcett, lost her battle to cancer in 2009, and her family says they are still keeping her legacy alive through memories nine years later. 

Farrah achieved worldwide mega-fame on Charlie’s Angels, but in real life, close friends and family say she couldn’t have been more down-to-earth. “I loved going to her beach house and spending the weekend with her getting manicures and massages and reading fashion magazines,” her best friend, Alana Stewart, told Closer Weekly. “It was like having a slumber party.”

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The 10th anniversary of Farrah’s passing in June of 2009, then 62, after losing the battle to anal cancer is approaching quickly. Close pals like Alana, fellow Angel Jaclyn Smith, and Farrah’s Apostle co-star, Robert Duvall, are sharing their memories of the beloved actress for an upcoming A&E documentary. “We want to portray things about Farrah no one knew,” Alana expressed.

For example, Farrah loved to cook. “We always baked pies on Christmas Eve,” Alana recalled while reminiscing about her good friend.

“We used her mother’s recipes: pecan pie, coconut cream pie, chocolate pie, and cornbread stuffing. Her last Christmas Eve, she would not miss it, even though she was sick.”

Cooking was just one way Farrah showed love to her family. She was extremely close to her parents and doted on longtime partner, Ryan O’Neal and their oft-troubled son, Redmond. “She loved being part of a family,” Alana said. “Ryan was the love of her life and vice versa. They had their ups and downs, but they loved each other so much and were together until the end. He never left her side.”

Farrah had her flaws, of course, but she wasn’t the airhead she often seemed on screen. “She was the smartest businessperson I ever knew,” her former assistant Mike Pingel told Closer Weekly. “She was a pioneer as far as products and knowing what her image was worth.”

She was also a gifted visual artist and actress, earning awards and nominations for roles like the battered women in Extremities and The Burning Bed. “A lot of the movies she did were about women taking back their power,” said Mike. Had she lived, “She’d probably be at the forefront of the #MeToo movement.”

Her true gift for advocacy became clear after she was diagnosed with cancer and fearlessly chronicled her fight with the disease in the Emmy-nominated documentary Farrah’s Story. “She gave people courage, hope, and inspiration,” said Alana, who now runs the Farrah Fawcett Foundation for cancer research in her memory. “She [Farrah] said, ‘I’m almost glad I got cancer, because now I can make a difference.’”

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