Farrah Fawcett, the model and actress whose poster adorned millions of teenage boys' bedroom walls, has died after a battle with cancer. She was 62.

She shot to fame as one of a trio of impossibly glamorous private detectives on TV's Charlie's Angels in the mid-1970s and became a pin-up for a generation.

Ms Fawcett died at St. John’s Heath Center in Santa Monica, California, where she had just returned for treatment for complications from rectal cancer, first diagnosed three years ago.

Her longtime partner, actor Ryan O'Neal, was at her bedside. Close family and friends, including Alana Stewart, had gathered to say goodbye, and the actress was read the last rites as it became clear that she would lose her very public battle with the disease which had spread through her body.

"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," Mr O'Neal said in a statement. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."

It was not clear if the planned wedding ceremony to the actor, revealed last week, had taken place. Mr O'Neal, 68, and Fawcett have been romantically involved off-and-on since 1982. The couple have a son together but had never married.

Last month he told People magazine that the cancer had spread to her liver and that her treatment had effectively ended. He said her trademark golden hair had dropped out.

“It’s a love story. I just don’t know how to play this one. I won’t know this world without her,” he said.

Fawcett, 62, had rectal cancer diagnosed three years ago and had surgery to remove a tumour but the cancer returned. Millions watched a documentary about her fight last month. Their son, Brandon, who is currently in jail on drug charges, was allowed out to see her.

Last month the actress said: “I’m holding on to the hope that there is some reason that I got cancer and there is something — that may not be very clear to me right now — that I will do.”

Farrah Fawcett started as a model for toiletries such as Ultra Brite toothpaste but was quickly picked up for TV shows and became Jill Munroe, the blonde Angel on the ABC detective drama produced by Aaron Spelling.

At the same time she became the breakout star of Charlie's Angels, encapsulated in a poster of her in a skimpy red swimsuit that sold a record 12 million copies. Charlie's Angels, which also starred Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, helped set a new trend in onscreen entertainment - "Jiggle TV".

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