Farrah Fawcett Foundation Celebrates 50 Years of Charlie’s Angels and Honors Marcia Cross at Fifth Annual Tex-Mex Fiesta Dallas

The Farrah Fawcett Foundation’s annual Tex-Mex Fiesta returned to Dallas for its fifth year to benefit Stand Up To Cancer and the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge. The event took place at Uptown’s The Rustic, which created a festive atmosphere to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fawcett’s iconic swimsuit poster and the TV series that skyrocketed her to stardom, Charlie’s Angels.

Fellow Angel Jaclyn Smith co-chaired the 2026 event, along with Fawcett’s friends Alana Stewart and Donna Mills. Stanley Korshak’s Chuck Steelman served as Event Chair, while Katy and Lawrence Bock were the Honorary Chairs.

Farrah Fawcett was born in Corpus Cristi and attended The University of Texas at Austin, but called Beverly Hills her adoptive home, PaperCity‘s Billy Fong noted in a recap of the 2022 event when the Foundation’s annual fundraiser moved from Los Angeles to Dallas. This marked the start of the Tex-Mex Fiesta bringing a bit of Hollywood to The Rustic each fall. Musical performers have ranged from Sheryl Crow to Wynonna Judd to Martina McBride.

At every benefit, the organization honors someone with the Angel Award, which recognizes individuals, advocates, or organizations for excellence in innovative cancer research, leadership, or inspiring survivorship. Past recipients at the Dallas event include Linda Gray, Katie Couric, Anne and Steve Stodghill, and Gene Jones. This year’s Angel Award went to Desperate Housewives star and anal cancer survivor Marcia Cross.

The evening kicked things off with margaritas and a mariachi band, followed by a Tex-Mex dinner, auction (featuring vacation packages to St. Barts and a private Fiji island, a sculpture by Farrah Fawcett, and a speaking role in a Christmas film), and awards program. Country music duo Big & Rich closed the night out with an electric performance.

The Farrah Fawcett Foundation funds research, prevention education, and advocacy for HPV-related cancers, with a particular focus on anal cancer (which Fawcett battled until she passed away in 2009), through an ongoing partnership with Stand Up To Cancer, a leader in cutting-edge and collaborative cancer research.

Earlier this year, the Foundation convened an Innovation Summit in Los Angeles, bringing together more than 20 leading researchers from institutions including Harvard, Yale, Brown, Vanderbilt, Emory, Northwestern, the University of California, MD Anderson, and the National Cancer Institute. Four research groups emerged from that summit to form a joint team, now developing a Foundation-funded clinical trial built around a novel vaccine approach and blood-based biomarkers for tracking treatment response.

The event also benefited the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, which provides free lodging in Dallas for cancer patients traveling for treatment, along with one caregiver, for the full course of care. The 50-suite facility offers roughly 18,000 free nights of stay a year along with meals, laundry, and community space, all at no cost to patients.

PC Seen: Laurie Harrison, Libby Hunt, Leisa Street, Morgan Fairchild, Perry Henderson, Myrna and Bob Schelgel, Sheree J. Wilson, Andrew Stevens, Cathy James, Charlene Tilton, Vince Morella, D’Andra Simmons, Dr. Lawrence Piro, and Greg Vaughan.