Childhood & Early Life
Mia Farrow was born María de Lourdes Villiers Farrow on 9th February, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Her father, John Farrow, was an Australian born writer-director and had English ancestry, while her mother, Maureen O'Sullivan, was a superstar in movies and had Scottish and English ancestry.The couple had seven children.
Farrow had two older brothers, Michael Damien and Patrick; one younger brother, John Charles, and three younger sisters - Prudence, Stephanie and Tisa.
Mia’s spent her childhood days in Beverly Hills, California. She was educated by nuns at a convent and grew up following Roman Catholic traditions.
During an outbreak of Polio in Los Angeles, nine-year-old Mia suffered from the disease, and she had to spend three weeks at an isolation ward.
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Career
Mia Farrow’s first film was a documentary ‘Unusual Occupations: Film Tot Holiday’ when she was just two years old in 1947. She also worked as a model prior to her acting career.
She auditioned for the role of Liesl von Trapp in the legendary musical ‘The Sound of Music’ but she was not selected.
In 1959, she played a small role in ‘John Paul Jones’. In early years of 1960s, Farrow continued working as a supporting actor in various films.
Farrow began a serious career in acting with theatre in ‘The Importance of Earnest’, a Broadway production in 1963.
She became famous for portraying the character ‘Allison MacKenzie’ in the 1964 soap opera ‘Peyton Place’ where she was seen for two years.
The first opportunity in a leading role came with the 1968 released horror film ‘Rosemary's Baby’. The film was appreciated by people and critics and is counted as a classic horror film till date. Mia Farrow’s performance as ‘Rosemary’ was widely acclaimed and she became recognised as a leading actress in the industry.
Soon after, Farrow planned to appear as Mattie in ‘True Grit’ directed by Henry Hathaway . While shooting for ‘Secret Ceremony’ with Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Mitchum in England, she heard about Hathaway being rude to actresses. Due to this, she asked producer Hal Wallis to opt for another director which Wallis did not agree to. Finally, the role was done by Kim Darby after Farrow quit.
Another film during 1960s featuring Farrow was ‘John and Mary’ in which she was cast opposite Dustin Hoffman.
Mia Farrow was seen in films like ‘See No Evil’ in 1971, ‘Docteur Popaul’ in 1972, ‘The Great Gatsby’ in 1974, ‘The Haunting of Julia’ in 1977 and Robert Altman's ‘A Wedding’ in 1978.
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She also started working in plays like ‘Mary Rose’, ‘Ivanov’ and ‘The Three Sisters’ in 1970s.
Farrow worked for some television films during 1970s like the famous ‘Peter Pan’ (musical version) in 1976, playing the lead role.
In the Broadway play ‘Romantic Comedy’, Farrow was cast opposite Anthony Perkins.
In 1980s and 1990s, Farrow appeared in most of Woody Allen’s films like ‘Zelig’,‘Broadway Danny Rose’, ‘The Purple Rose of Cairo’, ‘Hannah and Her Sisters’, ‘Radio Days’ and ‘Alice’.
In 1982, Farrow voiced for the animated film ‘The Last Unicorn’. She also narrated many of the tales in ‘Stories to Remember’.
Farrow was seen as Alura, the mother of Kara in the film ‘Supergirl’ in 1984.
In order to focus her time and attention towards her growing children, Farrow reduced the number of projects in 1990s and 2000s but she kept playing strong roles in films like ‘Widows' Peak’ in 1994, ‘Miami Rhapsody’ and ‘Reckless’, both in 1995.
In 1997, Mia Farrow launched her autobiography ‘What Falls Away’.
The role of Mrs. Baylock in the remake of the 2006 film ‘The Omen’brought Farrow a lot of critical appreciation.
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In 2007, she was seen in the films ‘The Ex’ and ‘Arthur and the Invisibles’. The former was a romantic comedy with Zach Braff, Jason Bateman and Amanda Peet while the latter was a trilogy of fantasy films in which Farrow was cast in the first part.
In the 2008 film ‘Be Kind Rewind’, directed by Michel Gondry, Farrow worked with Jack Black, MosDef and Danny Glover.
In 2011, she was a part of the film ‘Dark Horse’ directed by Todd Solondz.
The Broadway play ‘Love Letters’ saw Farrow’s comeback to theatre in September 2014.
In 2016, she was seen in an episode of the IFC mockumentary series Documentary Now!.
Humanitarian Work
Along with a successful career in acting, Mia Farrow has associated herself with many social causes and worked as an activist in many areas.
In 2000, she became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador working actively for human and child rights in Africa.
She has also worked for a polio eradication campaign by raising funds and spreading awareness especially in areas affected by conflicts.
The ‘Olympic Dream for Darfur’ campaign was co-founded by Farrow in 2007, highlighting China’s support for the government of Sudan. Through the campaign, Farrow wanted to bring change in China’s policy towards Sudan.
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Farrow was a frequent visitor to Darfur and a board member of the ‘Darfur Women Action Group’, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C.
In 2007, Farrow showed great heroism by offering to be taken for the freedom of a humanitarian worker for the Sudan Liberation Army.
She has played a major role in documenting the traditions and cultural practices, such as songs, dances, farming methods etc. of the Darfur tribe in ‘The Darfur Archives’.
Based on the struggle of the survivors at the Rwandan Genocide, the documentary ‘As We Forgive’ was made with Farrow narrating the story.
To express her empathy towards the people of Darfur, Farrow had even gone to the extent of fasting.
She showed her brave side again in August 2010 by testifying in the trial against Charles Taylor, the former Liberian President.
In the documentary ‘A Path Appears’, Farrow has been seen travelling to Kenya’s largest slum ‘Kibera’ to share information and stories about girl child education providing organisations.
Awards & Achievements
For her performance as Rosemary in the film ‘Rosemary's Baby’, Farrow was awarded with the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress, and nominated for several other awards. She was also nominated for the best actress category - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globe Awards for the film ‘John and Mary’.
She is first American actress to be a part of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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Farrow has also received many notable awards for her social and humanitarian contribution such as the ‘Leon Sullivan International Service’ award, the ‘Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award’ and also the ‘Marion Anderson Award’.
Mia Farrow’s best performances have come in ‘Rosemary's Baby’, ‘John and Mary’ and ‘The Omen’ among others. She has been nominated at various prestigious awards for her work in these films.
Family & Personal Life
Mia Farrow married singer, Frank Sinatra, on 19 July 1966, at the age of 21 while Sinatra was 51. Their marriage ended in a divorce in August 1968 but they remained friends afterwards.
Mia Farrow’s second marriage took place in London on 10th September, 1970 with composer André Previn. The couple divorced in 1979.
She began a relationship with director Woody Allen in 1979 which ended in 1992 due to Allen’s relationship with Farrow’s 21-year-old adopted daughter, Soon-Yi.
Farrow has four biological and seven adopted children. Her adopted children Tam, Lark, and Thaddeus have died.
Farrow and André Previn are the biological parents of Matthew and Sascha, the twins born on 26th February, 1970, and Fletcher, born on 14th March, 1974.
In 1973, André Previn and Farrow adopted Lark Song Previn and Summer Daisy Song Previn in 1976. Their next adopted child was Soon-Yi (1978).
Farrow adopted Dylan Farrow two weeks after the birth in 1985 when she was in a relationship with Woody Allen.
Farrow had a son, Allen Satchel O'Sullivan Farrow, also known as Ronan Farrow, with Woody on 19th December, 1987.
Farrow adopted five more children-Tam Farrow, Kaeli-Shea Farrow, Frankie-Minh, Isaiah Justus and Thaddeus Wilk Farrow between 1992 and 1995.
