A successful actress, devoted mother and committed spokeswoman for children, Mia Farrow has done it all. Following her young life in 1940's Hollywood as the daughter of actress Maureen O'Sullivan and writer/director John Farrow, she went on to earn her own stellar list of credentials, acting in more than two dozen movies including such classics as Rosemary's Baby, The Great Gatsby, and Hannah and Her Sisters, along with her breakthrough television appearance in Peyton Place.

Less well-known than her acting career is her role as humanitarian and mother to 14 children, 10 of whom are adopted. As a child Mia overcame a battle with polio and now works with the United Nations on the eradication of the disease. Additionally, one of her adopted children is now paraplegic because of polio, so this focus has remained an issue near and dear to her heart.

Mia was the Head of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in the United States and for the past five years she has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In this time she has traveled to Nigeria, Angola (at the end of the 27 year war), and to the Darfur region of the Sudan, among many other hostile territories she has visited for the World Food Program.

Mia reflects on her ever-evolving life journey in the sincere and candid bestseller, What Falls Away. In what Newsweek calls "a simply elegant memoir," she presents a revealing and candid account of her personal struggles, her numerous professional successes, and her passionate and sincere commitment to the children of the world.

Mia has now devoted her life to humanitarian efforts and the care of a truly remarkable family. With the goal of helping those who are less fortunate, she brings an unending source of courage, hope and spiritual strength to her role as mother and activist.

NOTE: Bio is as it appeared in the Forum program from October 14, 2005.