In 2009, Farah Fawcett died at age 62 of cancer. Known for her roles in the Charlies Angels series and movie roles, Fawcett was a legendary sex symbol for many decades. Farah Fawcett was married to Lee Majors for over 10 years. After divorcing Majors, she entered a long-term romantic relationship with fellow actor Ryan ONeal. She and Ryan ONeal never married, but they had one child together, Redmond Fawcett ONeal. They were romantic partners from 1979 until 1997, and according to ONeal, she finally agreed to marry him only months before her death, but they were unable to get married because of her illness. After her death, her Will revealed she completely disinherited Ryan ONeal and left most of her assets to her son, Redmond. She also left some of her estate to her father, her nephew, and ex-boyfriend, Gregory Lawrence Lott.

Because Ryan ONeal was never legally married to Farah Fawcett, he cannot benefit through an elective share statute. According to some family members, Ryan ONeal lied to media about Farah agreeing to marry him shortly before her death. Had the two actually married, he could have received at least one-third of her estate.