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"I get it now; I didn't get it then. That life is about losing and about doing it as gracefully as possible... and enjoying everything in between."

Maria de Lourdes "Mia" Villiers Farrow (born February 9, 1945 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model.

The daughter of film director John Farrow and actress Maureen O'Sullivan, she first gained notice in The '60s for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera Peyton Place, her short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra, and her role as Rosemary Woodhouse in Roman Polański's Rosemary's Baby (1968). She went on to appear in several films throughout The '70s, such as The Great Gatsby (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978).

Farrow was in a relationship with actor-director Woody Allen from 1980 to 1992 and appeared in thirteen of his fourteen films during that period, from A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982) to Husbands and Wives (1992). Her later film roles include The Omen (2006), the part-animated, part-live action Arthur film series (2006–10), and Be Kind Rewind (2008).

Farrow is also known for her extensive work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, being involved in humanitarian activities in African countries.

Her son, Ronan Farrow (whose father, according to Mia's own comments, is either Woody Allen or Frank Sinatra), is notable for his journalism work on sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood, helping to kickstart the #MeToo movement. Mia's sister, Prudence Farrow, is also notable for being the subject of The Beatles' song "Dear Prudence" from The White Album.


Films with pages on TV Tropes:


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Tropes associated with her roles

  • Actor-Inspired Element: Her character in Hannah and Her Sisters was heavily inspired by her (albeit a bit romanticized). Many of Hannah's scenes were even filmed in her apartment.
  • Actor-Shared Background: Like her character in Rosemary's Baby, she was raised Catholic and considered becoming a nun.
  • Casting Gag: In The Omen (2006), she stars as the nanny to Damien (the Antichrist) when she had been mother to the devil's son in Rosemary's Baby. This wasn't actually intentional; Julia Stiles had starred in a play with Mia and suggested her for the role.
  • Celebrity Voice Actor: At the height of her It Girl popularity, she voices the eponymous character in The Last Unicorn.
  • Enforced Method Acting: A scene in Rosemary's Baby has Rosemary calling Donald Baumgart, an actor Guy replaced in a play after he fell blind. They had Tony Curtis provide the voice on the other end of the phone. Mia knew Tony but didn't know he would be on the call, so Rosemary's confusion during the scene comes from her trying to figure out who the voice was.
  • Fake Brit: She plays Englishwoman Jackie in Death on the Nile.
  • Hide Your Pregnancy: During The Great Gatsby (1974), so Jack Clayton utilised a lot of close-ups and flowing costumes.
  • Real-Life Relative:
    • Her film debut was John Paul Jones, the final film directed by her father John Farrow.
    • Four of her children also appear in Hannah and Her Sisters; Daisy Previn and Moses Farrow even playing her son and daughter. Soon-Yi and Fletcher Previn appear in the Thanksgiving scenes. And of course it was the only film she made with her mother Maureen O'Sullivan.
    • She starred with her sister Stephanie Farrow in Zelig and The Purple Rose of Cairo.
  • Real Life Writes the Hairstyle: Her iconic pixie haircut came about because she grew uncomfortable with people obsessing over her long hair on Peyton Place, and impulsively decided to chop it all off herself. She did this right in the middle of filming an episode, requiring the show to hurriedly make Alison getting a haircut as a plot point.
  • Star-Making Role: Peyton Place got the ball rolling but Rosemary's Baby really brought her to fame.
  • Stunt Casting: Producers of Rosemary's Baby chose her over more recognisable names like Tuesday Weld and Sharon Tate because the book hadn't reached its bestseller status, and Mia was known for being married to Frank Sinatra.
  • Throw It In!: Her death kiss to Julia Stiles in The Omen (2006) was improvised by her.
  • What Could Have Been:
    • She auditioned to play Liesl in The Sound of Music, which went to Charmian Carr.
    • She actually turned down the role of Mattie in True Grit. She regretted it and called it the biggest mistake she'd ever made in her career.
    • Ali MacGraw was going to play Daisy in The Great Gatsby (1974); Robert Evans had acquired the rights specifically so she could star (they were married at the time). While he worked on the script, she starred in The Getaway, fell in love with Steve McQueen, and they divorced. Natalie Wood was approached for Daisy beforehand, but refused to do a screen test.
    • She was apparently once set to star in a live action remake of The Last Unicorn, this time playing Molly Grue.

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