Mia Farrow Biography

Actress. Born on February 9, 1945, in Los Angeles, California. The daughter of director John Farrow and actress Maureen O'Sullivan, Mia Farrow is best known for her roles in such films as Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Great Gatsby (1974), and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). 

Although she had a bit part in her father's film John Paul Jones (1959), Mia Farrow began to seriously pursue acting as a career in 1963 with her theatrical debut in an off-Broadway production of The Importance of Earnest. The next year, she became a television star, portraying Alison Mackenzie in the nighttime drama Peyton Place.

After two years on the show, Mia Farrow left to do movies. She has often portrayed vulnerable characters. In Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, Farrow starred as a woman who finds herself surrounded by Satanists and impregnated by the devil. For The Great Gatsby (1974), she played Daisy Buchanan opposite Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby.

In the 1980s, Mia Farrow began her collaboration with director Woody Allen both on and off-screen. She appeared in several of Allen's films, including The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and Husbands and Wives (1992).

A well-regarded, but underrated actress, Mia Farrow has received more attention for her personal life than her talents. She was married to Frank Sinatra from 1966 to 1968. Farrow later married Andre Previn in 1970; they have three children together as well as three daughters they adopted during their marriage. The couple divorced in 1979. She had one child with Allen, and Allen adopted two more children with her. The couple split in 1992 after Farrow discovered Allen's sexual relationship with her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi. Allen and Farrow have been estranged since Allen and Soon-Yi's marriage in 1997.

After the end of her relationship with Allen, Farrow engaged in a bitter custody battle with him. Besides her children with Previn and Allen, she has also adopted children on her own.

In 2000, her adopted daughter Tam Farrow died of a long protracted illness. In December of 2008, Farrow faced tragedy again when her adopted daughter, Lark Song Previn, died of undisclosed circumstances. On June 15, 2009, Farrow's brother, artist Patrick Farrow, was found dead in his New York art gallery. Suspicious circumstances surround his death, but police have not revealed details.

Mia Farrow continues to work in film and on television. Most recently she appeared in the remake of the horror classic The Omen (2006) as the evil nanny and guest starred on several episodes of the television drama Third Watch. Farrow also has a role in the upcoming comedy, The Ex (2007), with Zach Braff, Jason Bateman, and Amanda Peet. In 2008, she starred with Jack Black, Mos Def and Danny Glover in the film Be Kind Rewind.

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