Mia Farrow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mia Farrow
Farrow in 2018
Born	Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow (1945-02-09) February 9, 1945 (age 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress activist
Years active	1959–present
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Frank Sinatra ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1968)​ André Previn ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 1979)​
Partner(s)	Woody Allen (1980–1992)
Children	14, including Soon-Yi, Moses & Ronan
Parents	John Farrow (father) Maureen O'Sullivan (mother)
Relatives	Patrick Villiers Farrow (brother) Prudence Farrow (sister) Tisa Farrow (sister)
Awards	Full list

Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( mə-REE-ə-_-dee-_-loordz; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress and activist. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera Peyton Place and gained further recognition for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra. An early film role, as Rosemary in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968), saw her nominated for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She went on to appear in several films throughout the 1970s, such as Follow Me! (1972), The Great Gatsby (1974), and Death on the Nile (1978). Her younger sister is Prudence Farrow.

Farrow was in a relationship with actor-director Woody Allen from 1980 to 1992 and appeared in thirteen of his fourteen films over that period. She received numerous critical accolades for her performances in several Allen films, including Golden Globe Award nominations for Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), and Alice (1990). She also acted in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), and Husbands and Wives (1992).

Since the 2000s, Farrow has made occasional appearances on television, including a recurring role on Third Watch (2001–2003). She has also had supporting parts in such films as The Omen (2006), Be Kind Rewind (2008), and Dark Horse (2011) as well as the Netflix series The Watcher (2022). Farrow is also known for her extensive work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She is involved in humanitarian activities in Darfur, Chad, and the Central African Republic. In 2008, Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world.

Early life and family

Farrow (far left) with her family, 1950

Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow was born February 9, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, the third child and eldest daughter of Australian film director John Farrow and his second wife, the Irish actress Maureen O'Sullivan. She is one of seven children.

Farrow was raised in Beverly Hills, California, in a strict Catholic household. She was described by her family as an eccentric and imaginative child, and would occasionally put on performances with "toy daggers and fake blood" for passing celebrity tour buses. Aged two, she made her film debut in a short documentary, Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday (1947). Farrow attended Catholic parochial schools in Los Angeles for her primary education. At nine years old, she contracted polio during an outbreak in Los Angeles County reportedly affecting 500 people. She was placed in an isolation ward for three weeks and later said the experience "marked the end of [her] childhood."

In 1958, the Farrow family temporarily relocated to Spain, where her father was filming John Paul Jones (1959). Farrow, then age 13, made a brief uncredited appearance in the film. In September 1958, Farrow and her sister Prudence were sent to attend a convent-operated boarding school in Surrey, England while her father completed post-production on John Paul Jones in London.

On October 28, 1958, Farrow's eldest brother Michael died in a plane crash near Pacoima, California while a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. After his burial, Farrow returned to boarding school in Surrey. Her family temporarily lived in the London Park Lane Hotel before renting a home in Chelsea.

When Farrow was 16, she returned with her family to the United States and continued her education at an all-girls Catholic school in Los Angeles, Marymount High School. (She was among its most famous alumnae.) Farrow subsequently studied at Bard College.

During this time, her parents were struggling financially, and her mother relocated to New York City to act in Broadway productions. Farrow's father remained in California, where he died the following year of a heart attack, when she was 17 years old.

The family was left with little money after her father's death, prompting Farrow to begin working to help support herself and her siblings. She initially found work as a fashion model. She began in theatre as a replacement in a New York stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

Career

1963–1969: Beginnings and breakthrough

Publicity photo for Guns at Batasi (1964)

Farrow screen-tested for the role of Liesl von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965), but did not get the part. The footage has been preserved, and appears on the fortieth Anniversary Edition DVD of The Sound of Music. She began her acting career in movies by appearing in supporting roles in several 1960s films, making her first credited appearance in Guns at Batasi (1964).

Farrow photographed in 1965

The same year, she achieved stardom on the successful primetime soap opera Peyton Place, playing naive, waif-like Allison MacKenzie. Farrow left the series in 1966 at the urging of Frank Sinatra, whom she married on July 19, 1966, when she was 21 and he was 50 years old. She subsequently appeared in her first featured role in the British spy film A Dandy in Aspic (1968).

Farrow's first leading film role was in the psychological horror film Rosemary's Baby (1968), which was a critical and commercial success. It is highly regarded as a classic of the horror genre, and named the second-best horror film of all time (after Psycho) by The Guardian in 2010. She won numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress, and became established as a leading actress. Film critic and author Stephen Farber described her performance as having an "electrifying impact... one of the rare instances of actor and character achieving a miraculous, almost mythical match". Film critic Roger Ebert called the film "brilliant", and noted, "A great deal of the credit for this achievement must go to Mia Farrow, as Rosemary."

Following Rosemary's Baby, Farrow was to be cast as Mattie in True Grit and was keen on the role. But, prior to filming she made Secret Ceremony in England with Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Mitchum. While filming, Mitchum told her that True Grit director Henry Hathaway had a reputation for being rude to actresses. Farrow asked producer Hal Wallis to replace Hathaway. Wallis refused; Farrow quit the role, which was then given to Kim Darby.

Secret Ceremony divided critics but has developed a devoted following. Farrow's other late 1960s films include John and Mary (1969) opposite Dustin Hoffman. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.

1970–1979: Theater work and mainstream success

Beginning in the early 1970s, Farrow appeared onstage in numerous classical plays in London, beginning with the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1971 production of Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher—in which she portrayed Joan of Arc—at the Royal Albert Hall. Farrow made history as the first American actress to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. The same year, she appeared in the British horror film See No Evil. Farrow also starred in the television film Goodbye, Raggedy Ann (1971), playing an unstable Hollywood starlet. In 1972, Farrow starred in the French black comedy film Dr. Popaul, opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo, and in Carol Reed's Follow Me!. Onstage, she starred as the lead in a 1972 stage production of Mary Rose, followed by the role of Irina in The Three Sisters, and a dual role in The House of Bernarda Alba (both 1973).

Farrow was cast as Daisy Buchanan in the 1974 Paramount Pictures film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, directed by Jack Clayton. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $25 million in the United States, while Variety deemed it "the most concerted attempt to probe the peculiar ethos of the Beautiful People of the 1920s." In 1975, Farrow was cast as the lead in a stage production of The Marrying of Ann Leete, followed by The Zykovs (1976), both of which were staged at the Aldwych Theatre. She again appeared at the Aldwych in the 1976 production of Ivanov, portraying Sasha. She also appeared onscreen, portraying Peter Pan in the television musical film Peter Pan (1976), and as a woman haunted by the ghost of a deceased girl in the horror film Full Circle (1977).

Farrow had a supporting role in Robert Altman's comedy A Wedding (1978), playing the mute daughter of a trucking company tycoon. The same year, she starred with Rock Hudson in the disaster film Avalanche, followed by the British Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile. In 1979, Farrow appeared on Broadway opposite Anthony Perkins in the play Romantic Comedy by Bernard Slade, and in the romance film Hurricane, opposite Jason Robards.

1980–1992: Collaborations with Woody Allen

Farrow in 1980

Beginning in the 1980s, Farrow had a decade-long relationship with director Woody Allen; they collaborated on many of his films.

For Broadway Danny Rose (1984), Farrow gained weight and adopted a thick Italian-American accent. Farrow gained critical notice for this role, and she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. Allen subsequently reflected that her performance was a "very, very brave thing for her to do," as the majority of her scenes required her to wear sunglasses that block view of her eyes. Farrow also voiced the title role in the animated film The Last Unicorn (1982). After Broadway Danny Rose, Farrow had a supporting role in Jeannot Szwarc's superhero film Supergirl (1984), playing Alura In-Ze, the mother of Supergirl. The film was considered a box office bomb, earning $13 million against its $35 million budget.

Farrow reunited with Allen for his The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), which follows a film character (portrayed by Jeff Daniels) who emerges from the screen and enters the real world. He falls in love with a waitress (Farrow). Farrow earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. Allen next cast Farrow as the lead in his drama Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), which follows a New York City family over a period of two years between two Thanksgivings. In the film, Farrow starred as the titular Hannah opposite Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest (who portray her sisters), and Michael Caine as her husband. Released in February 1986, Hannah and Her Sisters was a box-office hit, grossing $35 million in the United States during its original theatrical release. The film was praised by critic Roger Ebert, who felt it was Allen's best work to date. Farrow earned her third BAFTA nomination, again in the category of Best Leading Actress.

In 1987, Farrow appeared in two films directed by Allen: the comedy Radio Days and the drama September. While the latter earned praise from critics such as Roger Ebert, its screenplay and dialogue were criticized by Vincent Canby in The New York Times. He described it as "full of an earnest teen-age writer's superfluous words." In 1989, Farrow starred in a segment of Allen's anthology film New York Stories. She appeared in a supporting role in his film Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), portraying a producer who falls in love with a documentary filmmaker.

She was next cast by Allen in his fantasy film Alice (1990), marking the couple's 11th collaboration. In Alice, Farrow portrays the title character, an upper-class Manhattan woman who becomes enamored with a jazz musician. Her attraction results in feelings of Catholic guilt that manifest as physical ailments which she attempts to treat with herbal medicine. Vincent Canby praised her portrayal as career-defining, writing: "Miss Farrow gives a performance that sums up and then tops all of the performances that have preceded it." She was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, and won a National Board of Review award for Best Actress. The next year, Farrow appeared as a circus performer in Allen's black-and-white comedy Shadows and Fog.

Farrow had a lead role in Allen's drama Husbands and Wives (1992). Husbands and Wives marked Farrow's final collaboration with Allen.

1993–1999: Film and television; return to stage

Farrow at the 1998 Kennedy Center Honors

Citing the need to devote herself to raising her young children, Farrow worked less frequently during the 1990s. But she appeared in leading roles in several films, including the Irish film Widows' Peak (1994). She also appeared in the comedy Miami Rhapsody (1995), playing the mother of a single woman in her thirties (played by Sarah Jessica Parker).

That year Farrow also had a lead role in the film adaptation of Craig Lucas' Off-Broadway play Reckless (1995).

In 1997, Farrow published her autobiography, What Falls Away. She had a cameo appearance as herself in Howard Stern's biographical comedy, Private Parts. She appeared on television in the 1998 The Wonderful World of Disney segment Miracle at Midnight, a dramatization of the Rescue of the Danish Jews during the Holocaust. Will Joyner of The New York Times credited Farrow's performance in the segment as "crucial to the production's success." Farrow was next cast as a woman suffering Alzheimer's disease in the television film Forget Me Never. Critic Steven Linan of the Los Angeles Times praised Farrow, writing that she "convincingly conveys the fear and insecurity that accompany such a downward spiral." Her portrayal earned her her seventh Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, in the category of Miniseries or Television Film. Also in 1999, Farrow appeared in the comedy Coming Soon, playing the hippie mother of a high school student.

In November 1999, Farrow returned to Broadway portraying Honey in a staged reading of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, opposite Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Pryce, and Uta Hagen. Vincent Canby praised the production in The New York Times, writing that "as performed by Mr. Broderick and Ms. Farrow, Nick and Honey took on dimensions I have never seen before." The reading was subsequently staged in Los Angeles in the spring of 2000.

2000–present: Later film, television, and theater

During the 2000s, Farrow appeared on television. She began with a recurring role on the series Third Watch, in which she guest-starred in five episodes between 2000 and 2003. Farrow also appeared in the 2001 LGBT-themed television film A Girl Thing, opposite Kate Capshaw and Stockard Channing, followed by a lead in the Lifetime film The Secret Life of Zoey in 2002. She also appeared in a touring stage production of The Exonerated the same year, followed by the lead in Fran's Bed, staged at Connecticut's Long Wharf Theatre in the fall of 2003. She subsequently had a supporting part in the children's television film Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004).

Farrow at the 2012 Time 100

Farrow made her first feature film appearance in several years as Mrs. Baylock in the remake of The Omen (2006). Although the film received a lukewarm critical reception, Farrow's performance was widely praised. The Associated Press declared "thank heaven for Mia Farrow" and said her performance was "a rare instance of the new Omen improving on the old one." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer also praised her performance, describing it as "a truly delicious comeback role... Farrow [is] chillingly believable as a sweet-talking nanny from hell."

Farrow subsequently appeared as the mother of a Manhattan attorney (played by Amanda Peet) in the romantic comedy The Ex (2007), also starring opposite Jason Bateman and Zach Braff. The film was poorly received by critics, with several writing that the cast's talents were underserved by the material. Farrow next voiced Daisy Suchot in Luc Besson's animated fantasy film Arthur and the Invisibles (2007).

The following year, Farrow appeared in a supporting role opposite Danny Glover in Michel Gondry's comedy Be Kind Rewind (2008), playing the friend and patron of a video store operator in suburban New Jersey. She also provided voice narration for the documentary film As We Forgive (2008). In 2009, Farrow reprised her voice role as Daisy Suchot in Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard, and she also reprised it for Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (2010). She was subsequently cast in a supporting role in the comedy-drama Dark Horse, directed by Todd Solondz, in which she played the mother of a stunted 35-year-old man.

In September 2014, Farrow returned to Broadway in the play Love Letters. The play was well received by critics, with Charles Isherwood of The New York Times deeming Farrow's performance "utterly extraordinary...  as the flighty, unstable and writing-averse Melissa Gardner." In 2016, Farrow appeared with Faye Dunaway in an episode of the IFC mockumentary series Documentary Now!. In 2022 Farrow appeared in Ryan Murphy's Netflix series The Watcher. It was announced that Farrow would make her return to Broadway in the Jen Silverman play The Roommate starring opposite Patti LuPone at the Booth Theatre in August 2024.

Filmography

Selected credits:

Awards and nominations

Humanitarian activities

Farrow during a visit to the Central African Republic

Farrow became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2000 and is a high-profile advocate for human rights in Africa, particularly for children's rights. She has worked to raise funds and awareness for children in conflict-affected regions and to draw attention to the fight to eradicate polio. Farrow has received several awards for her humanitarian work including the Leon Sullivan International Service award, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award and the Marion Anderson Award. In 2006, Farrow and her son Ronan visited Berlin in order to participate in a charity auction of United Buddy Bears, which feature designs by artists representing 142 U.N. member states. In 2008, Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world.

She has traveled to Darfur several times for humanitarian efforts, first in 2004. Her third trip was in 2007, with a film crew engaged in making the documentary Darfur: On Our Watch. The same year, she co-founded the Olympic Dream for Darfur campaign, which drew attention to China's support for the government of Sudan. The campaign hoped to change China's policy by embarrassing it in the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing. In March 2007, China said it would urge Sudan to engage with the international community. The campaign persuaded Steven Spielberg to withdraw as an artistic adviser to the opening ceremony. During the Olympics, Farrow televised via the internet from a Sudanese refugee camp to highlight China's involvement in the region.

Farrow speaking to a European Union Force Chad soldier in Darfur, 2008

Later in 2007, Farrow offered to "trade her freedom" for the freedom of a humanitarian worker for the Sudan Liberation Army who was being treated in a UN hospital while under threat of arrest. She wanted to be taken captive in exchange for his being allowed to leave the country. Farrow is also a board member of the Washington, D.C. based non-profit Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG).

In 2009, Farrow narrated a documentary, As We Forgive, relating the struggle of many of the survivors of the Rwandan genocide. To show "solidarity with the people of Darfur" Farrow began a water-only fast on April 27, 2009. Farrow's goal was to fast for three weeks, but she called a halt after twelve days on the advice of her doctor. In August 2010, she testified in the trial against former Liberian President Charles Taylor in the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Farrow helped build The Darfur Archives, which document the cultural traditions of the tribes of Darfur. She has filmed some 40 hours of songs, dances, children's stories, farming methods and accounts of genocide in the region's refugee camps that make up the current archives. Since 2011, the Archives have been housed at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut. In 2013, Farrow criticized President Barack Obama for his lack of address regarding Sudanese genocide during a United Nations General Assembly. In February 2015, Farrow appeared in an episode of A Path Appears, a PBS documentary series from the creators of the Half the Sky movement. In the episode Farrow travels to Kibera, Kenya's largest slum, to share stories from organizations providing education to at-risk girls.

Farrow has also participated in environmental activism, in 2014 protesting against Chevron, accusing the oil company of environmental damage in the South American rainforest.

Personal life

Marriages and relationships

A pregnant Farrow with André Previn at Juilliard, 1969

Frank Sinatra

On July 19, 1966, she married singer Frank Sinatra at the Las Vegas home of Jack Entratter. Farrow was 21 years old; Sinatra 50. Sinatra wanted Farrow to give up her acting career, which she initially agreed to do. She accompanied Sinatra while he was shooting several films, but soon grew tired of doing nothing and signed on to star in Roman Polanski's horror film Rosemary's Baby.

Filming of Rosemary's Baby ran over its initial schedule, which angered Sinatra, who had cast Farrow in a role in his film The Detective (1968). After Farrow failed to report for filming, Sinatra cast Jacqueline Bisset in Farrow's role.

In November 1967, while Farrow was filming Rosemary's Baby, Sinatra's lawyer served her with divorce papers. Their divorce was finalized in August 1968.

Farrow later blamed the demise of the marriage on their age difference and said she was an "impossibly immature teenager" when she married Sinatra. The two remained friends until Sinatra's death.

André Previn

On September 10, 1970, Farrow married conductor and composer André Previn in London. She was 25, and he was 41.

Farrow had begun a relationship with Previn while he was still married to his second wife, songwriter Dory Previn. When Farrow became pregnant, Previn left Dory and filed for divorce. Farrow, with two stepdaughters Claudia Previn and Alicia Previn, gave birth to twin sons in February 1970, and Previn's divorce from Dory became final in July 1970.

Dory Previn later wrote a scathing song, titled "Beware of Young Girls", about the loss of her husband to Farrow.

Previn and Farrow divorced in 1979.

Woody Allen

In 1980, Farrow began a relationship with film director Woody Allen.

During their years together, Farrow starred in thirteen of Allen's films including, A Midsummer Night's ... Comedy (1982), Zelig (1983), Broadway Danny Rose (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Radio Days (1987), September (1987), Another Woman (1988), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Alice (1990), Shadows and Fog (1991), and her final film with Allen, Husbands and Wives (1992).

Several of her relatives made appearances in Allen's films, including her mother, Maureen O'Sullivan, in Hannah and Her Sisters.

Their relationship ended in 1992 when Allen's intimate relationship with Soon-Yi Previn, Farrow's 21-year-old adopted daughter, was publicized.

Children

Farrow's children
Matthew Previn (b. February 26, 1970)
Sascha Previn (b. February 26, 1970)
Lark Previn (adopted 1973; b. February 15, 1973; died December 25, 2008)
Fletcher Previn (b. March 14, 1974)
Summer "Daisy" Previn (adopted 1976; b. October 6, 1974)
Soon-Yi Previn (adopted 1977; b. c. October 8, 1970)
Moses Farrow (adopted 1980; b. January 27, 1978)
Dylan Farrow (adopted 1985; b. July 11, 1985)
Ronan Farrow (b. December 19, 1987)
Tam Farrow (adopted 1992; b. 1979; died 2000)
Isaiah Farrow (adopted 1992; b. February 3, 1992)
Thaddeus Farrow (adopted 1994; b. December 16, 1988; died September 21, 2016)
Kaeli-Shea "Quincy" Farrow (adopted 1994; b. January 19, 1994)
Frankie-Minh Farrow (adopted 1995; b. February 4, 1989)
indicates biological child

Farrow has fourteen children: four biological and ten adopted. She and former husband André Previn have three biological sons: twins Matthew and Sascha (born February 26, 1970), and Fletcher (born March 14, 1974). Sascha is a graduate of Fordham University, while Fletcher, a graduate of Connecticut College, became the chief information officer of IBM. Farrow and Previn adopted Vietnamese infants Lark Song Previn and Summer "Daisy" Song Previn, in 1973 and 1976, respectively, followed by the adoption of Soon-Yi from Korea in 1977. Soon-Yi's precise birth date is not known, but a bone scan estimated her age as from 5 to 7, at the time of her adoption. The Seoul Family Court established a Family Census Register (legal birth document) on her behalf on December 28, 1976, with a presumptive birth date of October 8, 1970.

In 1980, following her divorce from Previn, Farrow adopted Moses Farrow, a two-year-old Korean orphan with cerebral palsy. In 1985, Farrow adopted Dylan Farrow (born July 1985, adopted at two weeks old). Dylan was known as "Eliza" for some time and also as "Malone". In December 1991, a New York City court allowed Woody Allen to co-adopt Dylan and Moses.

With Allen, Farrow gave birth to her fourth and final biological child, son Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow (later known simply as Ronan Farrow), on December 19, 1987. In a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair, Farrow stated Ronan could "possibly" be the biological child of Frank Sinatra, with whom she claimed to have "never really split up." In a 2015 CBS Sunday Morning interview, Sinatra's daughter Nancy dismissed the idea that her father is also the biological father of Ronan Farrow, calling it "nonsense". She said that her children were affected by the rumor because they were being questioned about it. "I was kind of cranky with Mia for even saying 'possibly,'" she said. "I was cranky with her for saying that because she knew better, you know, she really did. But she was making a joke! And it was taken very serious and was just silly, stupid."

Between 1992 and 1995, Farrow adopted five more children: Tam Farrow; Kaeli-Shea Farrow, later known as Quincy Maureen Farrow; Frankie-Minh; Isaiah Justus; and Gabriel Wilk Farrow, later known as Thaddeus Wilk Farrow and named after Elliott Wilk, the judge who oversaw Farrow's 1993 legal battle with Allen.

Tam Farrow died in 2000 at the age of 21. Farrow's spokeswoman Judy Hofflund stated that she died of cardiac arrest.

Farrow has six biological granddaughters from her and Previn's sons (three by Matthew, one by Sascha, and two by Fletcher). She has nine grandchildren from her adopted children.

See also

In Spanish: Mia Farrow para niños In Spanish: Mia Farrow para niños