Mia Was Always Destined to Be a Star
In today's day and age, nepotism is a touchy subject. But growing up surrounded by glitz, glamor, and creativity is bound to inspire you - and it seems as though Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow was destined to be a star from the day she was born. After all, her father was a writer and director, her mother was an actress, and her godparents, with whom she had a close relationship, were both in the movie industry, too.
From a young age, Mia was intrigued by the movie world and dreamt of being a star herself - but she was also torn between her dreams and the devout Catholic beliefs upon which she and her six siblings were raised.
At 13, She Starred in Her First Movie
Although Mia Farrow was in her 20s when she truly made a name for herself in Hollywood, her acting career started young. At just two years old, she appeared in a short documentary and first stretched her acting legs, but she didn't know if she wanted to continue in the acting world. So, she tried to enjoy her youth as much as possible - until she contracted polio in 1954 and had to be stay in hospital for three weeks.
Mia called this period of quarantine as the "end of her childhood," and it wasn't long before she put her efforts into her career instead. And at 13 years old, her father cast her in his 1959 movie, John Paul Jones.
Before Her Movie Debut, She Was Sent to Boarding School
Although Mia's father could sense her star qualities, he didn't want her to become all-consumed with the movie industry. So, he sent Mia and her sister Prudence to England to attend a Catholic boarding school for a few years. During this time, Mia rebelled, but that all changed in October 1958 when the Farrow family learned the terrible news that Michael Farrow - Mia's brother - had died in a plane crash while serving in the Marine Corps Reserve.
The loss hit the family extremely hard, and John Farrow struggled the most. He turned to the bottle and put his work on hold, putting a huge financial and emotional strain on the family. So, Mia and Prudence had to come back to the U.S.
When Her Brother Died, Her Father Became a Different Person
Although Mia's mother hoped that having two of his daughters back in the U.S. would help John Farrow deal with his grief, nothing seemed to quell the pain in his heart. Instead of bringing them together, the death of Michael pushed them apart - and Mia later wrote in her memoir that her father became an angry and violent man, especially towards her mother. And four years after her brother's death, her father passed away too.
Although Mia's mother tried to maintain financial stability with her acting work, Maureen O'Sullivan hadn't been as successful as her husband. So, Mia felt as though she had to step up to the plate.
Mia Felt the Pressure to Provide for Her Family
Feeling the pressure to provide for her mother and siblings, Mia first decided to try her hand at modeling. While she never thought that she was beautiful, she knew that she was around the right height and knew that she had the charm to win over casting agents. But after a few modeling gigs, she realized that it wasn't really for her as she still felt herself being pulled towards acting.
And while the young 20-year-old had talent and a couple of acting credits to her name, fighting off the competition in Hollywood was hard. She even auditioned for The Sound of Music, but sadly didn't get the part.
She Finally Landed Her Big Break in 1964
During these early stages, Mia bagged a few minor parts here and there. However, that all changed in 1964 when she was finally given the break she needed to kickstart her Hollywood career. And after landing a role in the movie Guns at Batasi that year, she caught the attention of casting agents looking for a waif-like character for a new soap opera called Peyton Place. In fact, they loved her youthful looks and naivety.
After nailing the audition, Mia became a regular on the show. And over the course of two years, she starred in over 250 episodes of the show all while becoming a regular on the Hollywood scene.
Mia Quit Acting When She Married Frank Sinatra
As Peyton Place thrust Mia into the limelight, she bagged more and more acting gigs and became the belle of Hollywood. Everyone wanted to be friends with her, and everyone wanted to date her. But it was the famous crooner Frank Sinatra, who was 29 years older than her, who eventually won her over. In fact, the couple even got married in 1966 - but it was the fairytale ending that Mia hoped it would be.
Mia claimed that Frank didn't want her to act, so she had to quit the show, give up her acting career, and simply stand by his side instead. But, if anything, this just made her more famous.
After Two Years, Mia Grew Restless
Mia turned down acting roles for the next two years under Frank's orders. And while everyone wanted a slice of the beautiful young actress, she instead had to stay home and watch as her husband went from strength to strength. But after a while, she grew restless. There was only so long that she could sit at home and wait for her husband, so she decided to get back in the acting game.
Rosemary's Baby became an instant hit, and Mia grew extremely close to Roman Polanski and his wife, Sharon Tate, during this process. However, tragedy struck both Roman and Mia when Sharon died at the hands of the Manson Family.
For a While, Mia Trusted Polanski With Her Life
While working on Rosemary's Baby together, Mia Farrow became enamored with Roman Polanski and his ability to bring enticing horror movies to the big screen. They became great friends, and they worked extremely well together. In fact, Mia trusted Roman with her life. However, this almost worked against her when Roman asked Mia to walk out into the middle of the street and into a stream of heavy traffic during filming.
Although Roman told Mia that the cars would stop for her and her noticeable baby bump, that wasn't the case. Thankfully, the cars slammed on the breaks just in time to avoid her.
A Few Years Later, Roman Fled the U. S.
Mia had loved Roman for his creativity and his gumption, but her opinion of him changed overnight when she learned that Polanski was accused of illegal activity involving a 13-year-old girl. And while Polanski pleaded guilty to the charges, he hoped that a plea deal would let him off the hook and help him avoid jail time. However, he heard word that the judge on his case wouldn't accept his plea - so, he fled the U.S.
To this day, Roman Polanski is still regarded as an American fugitive - but that hasn't stopped him from continuing his career. But Mia's friendship with Roman isn't the only example of her putting her trust and time into the wrong people.
During Filming, Sinatra Handed Mia Divorce Papers
Like all movies, filming Rosemary's Baby wasn't a structured affair. Sometimes the shoot days ran over into the evenings, and sometimes Mia would head home much later than originally planned. As Frank was reluctant to allow his wife back onto the movie scene in the first place, this didn't sit well with him. He even tried to cast his wife in his own film, The Detective, but she just couldn't stick to the schedule due to prior commitments.
In the end, Frank hired another actress to fill the role and sent divorce papers to his wife on the film's set. And while Mia was upset, she later realized that she had been too young to be married anyway.
Mia Almost Quit Filming 'Rosemary's Baby'
While Rosemary's Baby became Mia Farrow's magnum opus, there was a time when she considered quitting. She could feel that her marriage was breaking apart, and she began to question whether it was all worth it. But movie executives from all sides of her convinced her to stay, telling her that she would win Oscars and become the most celebrated actress alive. However, this only became partly true when the film was released.
Although Mia's fame skyrocketed, she didn't receive a single Oscar nomination for her role as Rosemary. Instead, it seemed as though the executives told her what she wanted to hear in order to keep her.
She Almost Starred in a 'Die Hard' Prequel, Too
We already know that Frank Sinatra tried to cast his then-wife in his movie The Detective while she was in the middle of filming Rosemary's Baby. And while things didn't work out the way that he had hoped, the movie still went ahead and became a relative success. But what many people don't realize is that The Detective was actually an unofficial prequel to the hugely famous movie Die Hard, based on Roderick Thorpe's books.
And while we all know Bruce Willis stole the show in Die Hard, Hollywood execs were contractually obliged to ask Frank Sinatra to take on the lead in 1988. As he was 73 years old at the time, though, he turned it down.
After Her Divorce, Mia Went to India to Study Meditation
After Mia had never intended to get divorced, she knew that her marriage with Frank Sinatra wasn't going to last. And when the divorce papers were finalized in 1968, she decided to focus on herself, her career, and her own wellbeing. In 1970, that journey took her to India, where she traveled with her sister to study transcendental meditation. They studied under the esteemed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the leader of the movement.
Mia and her sister weren't alone, though. They also studied alongside The Beatles and The Beach Boys' Mike Love, and the group formed an unlikely friendship. John Lennon even wrote the song "Dear Prudence" about Mia's sister.
When She Returned Home, She Turned to the Stage
Mia's stint in India seemed to change her whole perspective on life and her intentions for her career. And a few months later, she became part of the famous Royal Shakespeare Company in London - becoming the first American actress to be accepted into the company. Up until that point, she had primarily worked on-screen, but something about being on stage in front of an audience made the actress light up.
But while Mia loved stage acting and appeared in many RSC productions, she didn't want to lose her on-screen credentials completely. So, she found a way to incorporate both into her career.
While in London, Mia Met André Previn
After the stress and strain of her first marriage, Mia knew that she wanted to find something better - but her next relationship started off on the wrong foot. While in London in 1969, she met conductor and composer André Previn. At the time, she was still only 25 years old, and he was 16 years her senior. To make matters even worse, he was married when they first started dating.
Despite his marriage status, the two continued their affair, and it wasn't long before Mia fell pregnant with twins. Upon the birth of their sons, André decided to leave his wife and marry Mia.
The Couple Welcomed Even More Children Together
André's ex-wife, singer Dory Previn, didn't take too kindly to the news of her husband's infidelities. In fact, she wrote the song "Beware of Young Girls" about Mia and alleged that the young actress did everything in her power to steal her husband away from her. But this didn't seem to affect Mia and her new husband. Over the next few years, the couple had another son before adopting three children - Lark Song Previn and Summer "Daisy" Song Previn, and Soon-Yi.
And while they lived life as the perfect family for a while, things took a turn in 1979 when cracks began to show in their marriage. Not only after, the couple decided to part ways.
Then, Mia Became the Famous Daisy
Although Mia's first husband didn't want her to work, her second husband was much more supportive of her acting dreams. And when she had the chance to work with Jack Clayton on the film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby in 1974, she knew that she couldn't turn it down. After all, countless actresses wanted the chance to star as the stunning heiress Daisy Buchanan - but Jack wanted her.
Although Mia's performance on-screen was celebrated, some criticized her lack of on-screen chemistry with her co-star Robert Redford. But this didn't seem to affect her confidence or love of acting.
She Kept Herself Booked and Busy During the 1970s
While still in the midst of her marriage to Previn, Mia remained booked and busy. She had become one of the most celebrated actresses of her time, largely because she wasn't being pigeonholed into certain genres. She worked on everything from horror movies to romances, and the '70s saw her work on movies such as Dr. Popaul, Full Circle, Death on the Nile, and Hurricane. Everyone seemed to love her.
And while her husband was largely supportive of her busy schedule, her work also took her away from him and their children - and this put a huge strain on their marriage.
Then, She Became Woody Allen's Muse
During her busy acting decade, Mia Farrow caught the attention of the infamous director Woody Allen. Known for basing his creative endeavors on various muses, he loved to focus on one actress and create movies around them - and by 1980, she became the latest muse to add to his list. However, their relationship wasn't just a director-actress relationship, as their connection grew over the course of their collaborations and they became a couple.
Just a short while into their relationship, Woody became a father figure to Mia's biological and adopted children - and they added their own kids to the brood, too. They had one biological child together and adopted children Moses and Dylan.
They Became a Hollywood Power Couple
Over the next few years, Mia Farrow and Woody Allen became a Hollywood power couple. With Mia as his muse, Woody released some of the best movies of his career. And with Woody championing her talent, Mia became even more famous. In fact, in the 1980s alone, they created nine movies together, including the incredibly popular and successful Hannah and Her Sisters, The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Their work didn't stop there, though, as the couple worked together on a further three films released in the early 1990s. But what many people didn't realize was that there was a lot happening behind the scenes, too.
Their Relationship Changed in 1992
In 1992, Mia Farrow and Woody Allen worked on their last project together. Ironically, this movie was Husbands and Wives - a movie that saw the couple act alongside each other as their marriage broke down after Woody Allen's character cheated on his wife. The movie was fraught with tension and underlying hatred for each other, and that might have had something to do with the accusations surrounding Woody and his adopted daughter, Dylan.
During this time, a babysitter for the couple informed Mia that she had seen Woody touching Dylan inappropriately - claims that the young Dylan corroborated. In 2014, Dylan publicly renewed the same claims as she had when she was younger.
Then, Woody Started Dating Their Adopted Daughter
However, things got even worse for Mia and Woody in January 1992 when the actress spotted something terrible in Woody's house. Located amongst piles of paper and belongings were intimate photographs of Soon-Yi, the daughter she adopted with her ex-husband. However, Woody had been like a father to her since she was just 10 years old. Of course, Mia couldn't believe her eyes and immediately confronted Woody about the photos.
It was at this point that Woody confirmed he'd been having a physical relationship with Soon-Yi for the past two weeks. At the time, Soon-Yi was 21 years old - and Mia ended things on the spot.
After That, Things Got Even Worse
As news of Woody Allen's affair with Mia's adopted daughter came to light, the world was taken aback. And while the reaction was generally negative, both Woody and Soon-Yi claimed that he had never been a father figure to her and that he had never seen her as his daughter. Plus, they claimed that they had not done anything illegal as Woody was not her official adopted father and never had been.
However, things got even worse for Woody that same year when he made an unscheduled visit to see Dylan at Mia's home. During this time, Woody and Dylan disappeared for 20 minutes, and staff noticed something off when Dylan returned.
Woody Has Always Denied the Allegations
On the day of the unscheduled visit, Dylan told Mia that Woody had touched and kissed her inappropriately without her consent. Staff in the home also corroborated Dylan's claims, and Mia was disgusted. She immediately informed their family paediatrician about the alleged events, and he informed the authorities of the matter. Mia wanted her ex-partner to be punished for what he had supposedly done to her daughter and their family as a whole.
And while Woody had been upfront about his desire to be with Soon-Yi, he vehemently denied touching Dylan inappropriately and always denied the claims made against him in that regard.
Woody Fought Back Against His Ex-Partner
Instead of simply denying the claims and leaving it there, Woody Allen decided to fight back against Mia Farrow. He claimed that Mia was forcing Dylan to make up lies about him and that she had done the same thing with her other children. So, he opted to sue his ex-partner for full custody of Satchel, Moses, and Dylan. This claim came as a tough blow to Mia, who just wanted to keep her children safe.
Around the same time, Woody publicly announced to the world that he was in love with Soon-Yi and that they were in an official relationship with each other. So, Mia knew that she had to do something drastic.
Mia Tried to Record Woody's Confession
In an effort to keep custody of her children and keep them away from Woody, Mia decided to try and catch him out in taped phone recordings. She called him up - without him knowing that she was taping him - and spoke to him about Dylan. She said things to him like, "Dylan's a baby. How could you do that to her? I've always been worried about you and Dylan."
She also claimed on the phone that Dylan could no longer sleep in her own bed as she was terrified he would come back. However, Woody didn't bite, but instead painted Mia out as the scorned woman trying to get her own-back.
She Also Tried (and Failed) to Keep Her Kids Away From Him
No matter how hard Mia tried to get him to confess, he just wouldn't take the bait. So, she had to try other means to keep her kids away from Woody. Not only did she try to gain full custody of her children, but she also asked the courts to revoke Woody's adoption of their daughter, Dylan. However, Woody was never charged with any crimes so she struggled to maintain her case.
This enraged Mia, and to this day, both Mia and Dylan have continued to claim that Woody was abusive towards the young girl. Satchel Farrow (who now goes by Ronan) has always supported his mother and sister, too.
Mia Later Adopted Even More Children
Eventually, after a few years of back and forth, Mia was given full custody of her daughter Dylan - which meant she could finally keep her away from Woody. But as Soon-Yi continued her relationship with Mia's ex, Mia struggled to maintain a relationship with her adopted daughter, and they quickly became estranged. Her adopted father, André Previn, also claimed that "she does not exist" when he learned of Soon-Yi's relationship.
Since then, however, Mia has adopted even more children - including Tam, Kaeli-Shea, Frankie-Minh, Isaiah Justus, and Gabriel Wilk. At her core, she wants to give these kids a better life.
She's Since Become a Keen Philanthropist
But adopting children from poverty-stricken areas of the world or from orphanages isn't the only way that Mia is changing the world. Since her early days in Hollywood, the actress has poured her heart into her philanthropic work. From human rights and health issues to environmental issues, she's campaigned against some of the biggest problems our world faces - and she's incredibly proud to call herself a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Alongside this, Mia is also a huge advocate for a polio cure after battling the disease herself when she was younger. Not only that, but one of her adopted children was left paralyzed from the waist down after contracting the disease.
Sadly, She's Lost Three of Her Children
As well as helping others, Mia has dedicated her life to raising her children. And while she's suffered heartbreak with the breakdown of marriages and relationships, nothing has come close to the heartbreak of losing children. In fact, Mia has lost three of her fourteen children since 2000, all in tragic circumstances. First up was Tam Farrow in 2000. Not only was she born blind, but she also died at just 21 years old of an accidental prescription overdose.
Eight years later, 35-year-old Lark died from an HIV-related illness. And eight years after that, 27-year-old Thaddeus took his own life, although it was originally thought that he'd passed away in a car crash.
However, Moses Has Claimed That Mia Was Abusive
Although the majority of Mia's children sided with her after their encounters with Woody Allen, two decided to side with Woody instead. The first, of course, was Soon-Yi. The second was Moses Farrow, who was originally adopted by Mia by herself but later co-adopted by Allen when he started dating his mother. In fact, Moses claimed in an explosive blog post in 2018 that it was actually Mia who was the abusive one in their family.
Moses alleged that Mia told Dylan to make up stories about Woody to turn them against him and even suggested that his siblings' deaths weren't accidental. This upset Mia, who stated that Woody Allen had "weaponized two of my children that he's turned against me."
Ronan Farrow Has Continued His Mother's Name
Despite all of the drama surrounding their family, some of the Farrow family have been able to use their struggles as their strength. This has been the case for Satchel Farrow - who now goes by the name Ronan. From a young age, Ronan proved that he was an extremely intelligent young boy, and he eventually skipped school to attend the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University. He later graduated college at just 15 years old.
Since then, he has become a celebrated investigative journalist and has been an integral piece of the puzzle in the case against Harvey Weinstein. This work also earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
However, It's Been Suggested That Woody Isn't His Father
As the only biological child conceived during Mia Farrow and Woody Allen's relationship, it's always been believed that Ronan is Woody's only biological child - even though he's since adopted two children with his wife, Soon-Yi. However, this was called into question in 2013 when Mia told Vanity Fair that she didn't 100% know who his father was as she continued to have physical relations with Frank Sinatra many years after their divorce.
Some have even claimed physical similarities between Ronan and Frank, but Frank's daughter Nancy has denied these claims and told the press that her father had undergone a vasectomy before Ronan was born.
To This Day, Mia Regrets Ever Dating Woody
With everything that has happened over the years, it's no wonder that Mia Farrow has retreated from the limelight somewhat over the years. She has spent more time on her philanthropic work than her acting work, and has tried to spend more time with her children and grandchildren. And while she's tried to move on from the horrors of her past, she has stated that she regrets ever meeting, working with, and dating Woody Allen.
She hasn't been able to escape her tough past completely, though, as the HBO docuseries Allen v. Farrow has brought much of it back to the surface in recent years.