Body Confidence

Farrah Fawcett

Her swimsuit poster broke records by selling 12 million copies in the seventies, but actress Farrah Fawcett agrees that for most young women, "whatever you have, you don't like." Farrah had "muscular legs" she thought were unattractive, even though men told her they were "great." She was aware that boys were drawn to her all through high school and college, "so when I moved from Texas to Hollywood to pursue an acting career and received a lot of attention, it wasn't extraordinary. I was used to it." She often wished she wouldn't be noticed. "When everyone would turn and look, I'd think, 'They're gonna see something wrong.'"

She knows that a time will come when people's eyes will go not to her but to the "next 22-year-old blonde. I'm still famous, so of course people turn and stare, but eventually it will be less and less." She hopes to make the transition "with dignity and grace." Even now she's not overly troubled about being 59, because in addition to acting, she paints, sculpts and enjoys her teenage son and extended family. Farrah says she still gets scrutinized by her mother, who used to ask, "Have you seen your hair from the back?" The last time her mother said this, Farrah told her, "Yo, Mom! I'm famous for it, okay? Hair—that's what I'm famous for. So you can't do that anymore."