Ryan O'Neal Pays Touching Tribute to His Beloved Farrah Fawcett

Actor Ryan O'Neal has paid tribute to his longtime partner Farrah Fawcett, who lost her three-year battle with cancer on Thursday morning.

The Charlie's Angels star passed away at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California at 9.28am local time at the age of 62.

She had been re-admitted to the intensive care unit at the beginning of the week and a priest was summoned to her bedside on Wednesday to read the devout Catholic her last rites.

Fawcett was surrounded by just a handful of family and friends as she took her last breaths, including O'Neal, best pal Alana Stewart, hairdresser friend Mela Murphy and doctor Lawrence Piro.

In a statement confirming the tragic news, O'Neal says: "After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away. 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."

He reveals Fawcett was awake and aware of her surroundings shortly before her death, telling People.com, "She now belongs to the angels. 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.

"She was with her team when she passed... Her eyes were open, but she didn't say anything. But you could see in her eyes that she recognised us."

The actress' longtime friend Stewart insists Fawcett may no longer be with them in person, but her memory will live on, adding: "She will always be there as that angel on the shoulder of everyone who loved her."

And Fawcett's publicist Allen S. Miller is confident the star is in a better place now she has been put out of her misery.

He adds, "I am sorry to say our Farrah has passed to a better place and left the pain and confines of her bed behind. She is free to be the woman we all knew and loved. So Few have touched so many. You all keep Fighting the Fight."

Fawcett and O'Neal's son Redmond, 24, was not present at the time of her death - he is currently serving time in prison on drug charges - and the actress' 90-year-old father James failed to make it to her bedside in time from his home in Texas.

A funeral service is expected to be held at the downtown Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles in the next few days.