The Catholic Defender: The Farrah Fawcett story, her Catholic faith when she most needed it. Jesus is Lord!

Farrah Fawcett grew up as a Roman Catholic in Corpus Christi, Texas, and returned to her faith and prayer for strength during her final battle with cancer.

Born Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett on Feb. 2, 1947, in Corpus Christi, Fawcett was attending the University of Texas in Austin when a movie publicist saw photos of her after she was named one of the 10 most beautiful people on campus, according to an AP story. The publicist suggested she consider a career in Hollywood and she took him up on it.

 Born in 1947, Fawcett was raised in a devout Catholic household.

She attended St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church and its parish school for her early education before later graduating from W. B. Ray High School.

Sister Patrice Floyd remembers actress Farrah Fawcett as “a little first-grader with pigtails” at Christ the King School in Corpus Christ, Fawcett’s hometown.

A longtime educator, Sister Patrice, a Sister of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, is a former principal of several Catholic schools in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. She said the Fawcett family lived across the street from Christ the King.

After small parts in a couple of TV shows, she was cast on “Charlie’s Angels.” She remained with the show for just one year, but she became a pop icon in the 1970s.

After leaving the show she starred in a few films that were panned by critics, but her starring role in the 1984 TV movie “The Burning Bed” as a wife who is a victim of domestic abuse earned her an Emmy nomination.

Private Practice: While her religious upbringing rarely influenced her public Hollywood persona during the height of her fame, her relationship with God deepened profoundly after she was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006.

The Rosary In her deeply personal NBC documentary, Farrah's Story, she was openly shown finding comfort in prayer and holding the Rosary during difficult medical treatments. Friends noted that her faith left her feeling "fearless" as her health declined. 

Last Rites: Shortly before she passed away at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, on June 25, 2009, a Catholic priest visited her hospital room to administer the Last Rites (Anointing of the Sick).

Her private funeral service was held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.