Mia Farrow: A Deep Dive
Mia Farrow was the partner of Woody Allen for 12 years and the adoptive mother of Woody's partner Soon Yi Previn
Mia farrow is on my list because of connections to Woody Allen and being Soon Yi Previn’s adoptive mother.
Mia Farrow
Born: Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow, Los Angeles, California, United States - February 9, 1945
Spouse: André Previn (m. 1970-1979), Frank Sinatra (m. 1966-1968)
Relationship: Woody Allen (1980-1992)
Parents: John Farrow, Maureen O’Sullivan
Farrow is also known for her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is involved in various international humanitarian activities. In 2008, Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world.
Farrow was in a relationship with actor-director Woody Allen from 1980 to 1992 and appeared in thirteen of his films beginning with A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982). She received Golden Globe Award nominations for her roles in 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).
In 1992, Farrow publicly accused Allen of sexually abusing their adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow; Allen, who was not charged with a crime, has denied the allegation.
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). On stage, she returned to Broadway in the Jen Silverman play The Roommate (2025) for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Farrow is also known for her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is involved in various international humanitarian activities. In 2008, Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world.
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, with older brothers Michael Damien, Patrick, younger brother John Charles, and younger sisters Prudence, Stephanie, and Tisa. Her godparents were director George Cukor and columnist Louella Parsons.
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. Farrow’s father began drinking heavily, which strained the marriage. In her memoir, Farrow recalls witnessing violent arguments between her parents while visiting their Chelsea residence.
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 is 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. Farrow 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 before being cast as a replacement in a New York stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest.