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Engraved portrait of Mia Farrow
Film & Screen · 1960s

Mia Farrow

Still with us 1945–present

“A delicate, searching actress of the 1960s who became an enduring presence on screen and in advocacy.”

Maria de Lourdes Villiers FarrowReal Name
February 9, 1945, Los Angeles, CaliforniaBorn
Rosemary's Baby (1968)Breakthrough
Frank Sinatra, 1966-1968Marriage
Fourteen, many adoptedChildren
The Turning Point

In 1968, Farrow shed her television image to star as the terrified young mother in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. The horror classic made her an international film star and earned her BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.

Mia Farrow in 1964, during her Peyton Place era
Mia Farrow in 1964, during her Peyton Place era

Hollywood Lineage

Born in 1945 to director John Farrow and actress Maureen O'Sullivan, Mia Farrow grew up amid Hollywood royalty. A childhood bout of polio shaped her early sense of fragility and resilience.

Mia Farrow in a 1965 press photo
Mia Farrow in a 1965 press photo

From Television to Terror

After gaining fame on the prime-time soap Peyton Place and a headline-making marriage to Frank Sinatra, Farrow transformed her career with Rosemary's Baby in 1968. The film established her as a serious dramatic actress.

Muse and Activist

Through the 1980s she starred in thirteen Woody Allen films before their relationship ended in scandal. In later decades she devoted herself to humanitarian causes, serving as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and adopting a large family.

Career Timeline

  1. 1945Born Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow in Los Angeles
  2. 1964Cast as Allison MacKenzie on TV's Peyton Place
  3. 1966Marries Frank Sinatra; famously cuts her hair short
  4. 1968Stars in Rosemary's Baby; divorces Sinatra
  5. 1974Plays Daisy in The Great Gatsby
  6. 1982Begins long film collaboration with Woody Allen
  7. 1986Stars in Hannah and Her Sisters
  8. 1992Relationship with Woody Allen ends amid scandal
  9. 2000Returns to Broadway and TV work
  10. 2008Honored for humanitarian work as UNICEF ambassador
  11. 2024Continues acting and political activism

Biggest Hits

1968
Rosemary's BabyBreakthrough as the haunted young mother Rosemary Woodhouse
1964
Peyton PlaceTV role of Allison MacKenzie that launched her fame
1974
The Great GatsbyPlayed the alluring Daisy Buchanan
1985
The Purple Rose of CairoWhimsical Depression-era waitress for Woody Allen
1986
Hannah and Her SistersTitle role in Allen's acclaimed ensemble drama
1978
Death on the NileAgatha Christie mystery with an all-star cast
Did You Know
  • Her famous pixie haircut in Rosemary's Baby was styled by Vidal Sassoon in a publicized event during filming.
  • She is the daughter of director John Farrow and actress Maureen O'Sullivan, who played Jane in the Tarzan films.

The Moment You Remember

Her cropped hair and haunted gaze in <em>Rosemary's Baby</em> remain the image most tied to Farrow: a frail young woman slowly realizing the horror surrounding her. The film's chilling final scene fixed her among the memorable faces of late-1960s cinema.

Portrait: Andrew Lih · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

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