Jaclyn Smith has opened up about one of the most painful periods of her life, revealing why she was unable to attend Farrah Fawcett’s funeral in 2009. The two actresses became close while starring together on Charlie’s Angels, and Smith remained by Fawcett’s side as her health declined during her battle with cancer.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the Jaclyn Smith-Farrah Fawcett friendship stretched well beyond their television years, which made Smith’s absence from the funeral especially difficult. As she explains in her memoir I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie, she had every intention of being there—until another family crisis forced her to make an immediate and heartbreaking decision.
Jaclyn Smith Was Already Facing a Family Emergency
Smith was in Houston at her mother’s hospital bedside when she learned that Fawcett had died in June 2009 at 62. Her mother, who was in her 90s, had been dealing with a number of health problems, including a broken neck and arthritis. Even so, she encouraged Smith to fly to Los Angeles for Fawcett’s funeral, and her doctor reassured Smith that it was safe for her to leave.
Smith followed that advice and boarded the flight. But after arriving in Los Angeles, she checked her messages and discovered that her mother had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. Instead of continuing to the funeral, Smith immediately got on another plane and returned to Houston. Her mother later required a respirator and remained in intensive care before dying in August 2009 at age 95. Smith has described that period as one of the most traumatic experiences of her life.
Their Friendship Continued Long After Charlie’s Angels
Before Fawcett’s death, Smith had tried to remain positive during visits even as she watched her longtime friend become increasingly weak. She wrote that Fawcett did not want conversations to revolve around her illness, so Smith made an effort to hide her own sadness and focus instead on supporting her.
Looking back, Smith remains grateful for the time they shared. The Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett bond began during one of television’s biggest pop-culture phenomena, but it ultimately grew into something far more personal. Smith has remembered Fawcett as a free spirit who embraced life without allowing convention to define her. Missing the funeral was never a sign of distance between them; it came down to an impossible family emergency that unfolded at the very moment she was trying to say goodbye to one friend while caring for her mother.