Farrah Fawcett's Final Letter to Her 'Charlie's Angels' Costar Contained a Deeply Personal Reflection She Had Never Voiced Before

For decades, Farrah Fawcett was remembered as the glamorous "Charlie's Angels" icon. But shortly before her death, she put something deeply personal in writing — revealing a side of herself few had ever seen.

Fawcett's life changed dramatically after she became one of television's biggest stars in the 1970s. Her fame exploded with Charlie's Angels, but her friendship with her fellow Angels eventually became something much more intimate than a television partnership.

The three original stars — Fawcett, Kate Jackson and the actress who played Kelly Garrett — became unusually close while filming the hit series. They ate together in their trailers, shopped together on weekends and, as one of the actresses later recalled, had each other's backs like roommates in a college dorm.

That longtime friend, Jaclyn Smith, was also the only original Angel to remain on the show for all five seasons. Fawcett left after the first season, while Jackson departed after Season 3, according to Fox News.

The friendship endured long after Fawcett left the series in 1977. She wanted to prove herself as a serious actress, a decision her friends supported, and she continued to march to the beat of her own drum.

Smith has now opened up about those decades of friendship in her memoir, I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press and USA Today, Smith revisited her bond with Fawcett as Charlie's Angels marks its 50th anniversary.

Their Friendship Went Far Beyond the TV Set

Smith and Fawcett remained friends for roughly four decades, long after their time as television Angels had ended. "We were not just actresses working, but girlfriends, and it remained that way for 40 years," Smith previously recalled in an interview with People.

The relationship became particularly important when Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer. Smith said her husband, Brad Allen, helped Fawcett research treatment options, while the couple remained there for her "100 percent." Fawcett was remarkably open about the seriousness of her illness, even though it forced her to confront something she had never expected.

When she first told Smith about the diagnosis, she reportedly broke down and said, "I always thought I might get breast cancer or heart disease but never this," and started to cry. Smith said she never saw her cry after that moment.

Instead, Fawcett became known for confronting her illness publicly and using her experience to help others. She eventually inspired the creation of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation, which raised money for cancer research and education.

Smith had her own experience with cancer. According to Fox News, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and went into remission the following year after undergoing a lumpectomy and radiation treatment.

Afterward, Smith became an advocate for cancer research and participated in fundraising efforts with the Susan G. Komen Foundation. She also attended an event for the Farrah Fawcett Foundation in 2014, five years after Fawcett’s death.

The Visits That Became Precious Memories

As Fawcett’s condition worsened, the two women grew even closer. In the interview with People, Smith recalled one visit when Fawcett brought her a German chocolate cake she had made before Smith discovered her friend in her closet trying on a pair of shoes.

Fawcett’s legs were swollen from treatment, but she still wanted to try on Smith's shoes. To Smith, it was one more reminder that beneath all the fame and glamour was simply her girlfriend.

Their final visit was even more intimate. Speaking to the Detroit Free Press and USA Today, Smith recalled spending time with Fawcett at her Los Angeles apartment, where the actress was in pain and unable to stay still.

Smith began rubbing her friend’s feet to help her relax. According to the People interview, the two women talked for about three hours about their lives, their children, and growing up in Texas.

The Free Press and USA Today interview adds another small but strikingly ordinary detail to those final moments: Smith brought Pinkberry. She ultimately spent hours rubbing Fawcett’s feet, trying to make her friend comfortable. As People reported, Smith later said that the time she spent with Fawcett toward the end was the best because they appreciated their friendship.

Then came the goodbye. In the Free Press and USA Today interview, Smith recalled that when they shared what would be their final hug, she sensed something different between them. "When you're close to somebody it's all about the energy," she explained. "With a hug, you feel their energy, and you feel part of them."

Then Came the Letter – and a Confession She Had Never Shared

Fawcett also left Smith something else: a letter accompanied by a sculpture depicting a torso, which Smith believes was created by Fawcett. The letter is included in Smith’s memoir, I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie, published by Simon & Schuster.

And when Smith was asked what Fawcett had written during the interview with Free Press and USA Today, she made clear that this was not a story she had previously told publicly.

"It's a good question you asked me because I haven't shared this before," Smith said. What followed was the most revealing part of the letter. Fawcett, the woman who had spent much of her life projecting confidence and independence, wrote:

"I was never fearful of anything. But now fear is just around the corner."

The admission carried particular weight because, according to Smith, Fawcett had never been someone who seemed afraid. "She never feared anything in her life," Smith said.

The meaning behind the words was devastatingly simple: this was one battle Fawcett could not control. "In other words, there was no control on this one," Smith explained.

The Farrah Fawcett Behind the Icon

That realization left Smith watching her friend navigate an agonizing period in which uncertainty became part of everyday life. "You live in this limbo state of fear, and yet she was brave, and she handled it with hope and with a positive attitude and with humor. Farrah never lost her humor, but it was pretty devastating to see what she had to go through," Smith said.

Smith has spoken similarly about Fawcett’s final years before. Fox News reported that, in comments to an outlet in 2024, Smith said, "I think when I respected her most was at the end of her life," praising her for remaining positive and humorous despite the pain she endured.

For Smith, that final chapter revealed more about Fawcett than all the years of fame that came before it. "Farrah knew I was there for [her] in so many different ways toward the end of her life. And that's what really counts."

Fawcett died on June 25, 2009, at age 62. In the years since, her public image has remained closely tied to the glamour of the 1970s, but the memories shared by those closest to her have painted a much more personal portrait.

50 Years Later, Her Angel Legacy Lives On

As Charlie’s Angels reaches its 50th anniversary, Smith has reunited with Jackson and Cheryl Ladd to celebrate the series that changed their lives. Fawcett was never far from Smith's thoughts during those celebrations.

"Shelley [Hack] and Tanya [Roberts] are on my mind. But of course, there’s Farrah," Smith said. "I was closer to Farrah. She is very much a part of this with Kate and I because we loved her so much."

Smith has also reflected on why Charlie's Angels remains culturally significant half a century later. "It was three women chasing danger instead of being rescued from it. Independent, not defined by the man in their life, and it gave women permission to step out of the mold."

The show's impact was enormous. Fawcett's famous 1976 poster, meanwhile, became one of the defining images of the decade, with the red — technically burnt orange — swimsuit she wore for the shoot eventually entering the Smithsonian's collection.

According to the Washington Times, Fawcett's longtime companion Ryan O'Neal donated the swimsuit and other memorabilia to the Smithsonian in 2011. The collection also included her first-season Charlie’s Angels scripts, a 1977 Fawcett doll and a "Farrah's Glamour Center" styling kit.

The poster sold millions of copies and became the best-selling poster of all time, according to Smithsonian curator Dwight Bowers. Even so, Smith’s memories of Fawcett tend to focus less on the glamorous icon and more on the friend who made cake, tried on shoes, and let someone rub her feet when she was hurting.

And now, through Smith's memoir, one final letter has added an unexpectedly vulnerable chapter to Fawcett's story — revealing that even the woman who once seemed fearless had eventually found herself facing something she could not simply charm, outrun, or control.

Smith has said she misses Fawcett every day. "A lot of people are gone now, and that’s hard. I miss them, and it's okay to miss them." Meanwhile, recording the audiobook for her memoir proved emotional enough that Smith sometimes had to stop because she was crying. "It was difficult and exhausting. You think you're at a certain place and you go right back there."

Smith's memoir, I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie, is available wherever books are sold.