Farrah Fawcett dead at 62

LOS ANGELES, June 25 (UPI) -- Actress Farrah Fawcett died in California Thursday following a three-year-battle with anal cancer, her publicist said. She was 62.

The news was reported by ABC, Usmagazine.com, TMZ.com and CNN.

People.com said Fawcett died at 12:28 p.m. EST at St. John's Health Center.

"She's gone. She now belongs to the ages," her longtime partner, actor Ryan O'Neal told People magazine. "She's now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night. I told her how very much I loved her. She's in a better place now."

Fawcett was best known for her role on the 1970s private eye television show "Charlie's Angels."

The Texas native and former model also starred in the celebrated TV movies "The Burning Bed," "Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story," "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story" and "Margaret Bourke-White," as well as the miniseries "Small Sacrifices." Her big-screen credits include "Extremities," "The Apostle" and "Dr. T and the Women." In recent years, the actress made guest appearances on series such as "Ally McBeal," "Spin City" and "The Guardian."

The poster of Fawcett wearing a red swimsuit sold millions of copies and helped make her a 1970s pop-culture icon. She retained her sex-symbol image for decades, posing for Playboy magazine at the age of 50.

She also was an advocate for domestic violence victims and fought for patients' privacy in hospitals.

More than 8.9 million viewers tuned in last month to watch "Farrah's Story," a video diary documenting her courageous battle against cancer, which ran as an NBC special.

The actress is survived by O'Neal and their 24-year-old son Redmond O'Neal.

She was previously married to actor Lee Majors.