Tisa Farrow, an actor and sister of Mia Farrow, died in her sleep on Jan. 10 in Rutland, Vermont. She was 72.
Her sister Mia shared the news in a post on Instagram, writing: “If there is a Heaven, undoubtedly my beautiful sister Tisa is being welcomed there. She was the best of us – I have never met a more generous and loving person. She loved life and never complained. Ever. She was a nurse for 27 years, a wonderful sister to Steffi, Prudence and me, a devoted mother to Jason, who died in Iraq, Bridget and little grandson Kylor – the lights of her life.”
Farrow was born Theresa Magdalena Farrow in Los Angeles to actor Maureen O’Sullivan and film director John Farrow and was the youngest of seven siblings. She was the subject of a New York Times profile in 1970, in which she discussed her family connections in the entertainment industry.
“None of the girls are alike—but we all like each other,” she told the Times. “Mia is the strongest. She has a very strong character and is unsinkable.”
As for herself, Farrow was keen to proclaim that being the youngest informed her identity. “Oh, I’m the baby,” she said. “Even when mom introduces me to people, she calls, ‘Baby, come here baby.’
Farrow got her acting start in the 1970 drama film “Homer,” in which she played Laurie Grainger, the girlfriend of high school graduate Homer (Don Scardino). She secured the role after the producer, Steve North, said that he wanted an actor who looked like her. When getting into acting, Farrow was adamant that she had “no advantages,” even given her family status. In fact, she said, it was more of an impediment.
“I spent a long time going around town trying out for commercials, and I didn’t get one. I would always run into some career woman who disliked me right away because she didn’t like my sister Mia,” she said to the Times.
After her role in “Homer,” Farrow went on to star in crime drama film “And Hope to Die” in 1972 and romantic drama “Some Call It Loving” in 1972. She later made appearances in a slew of other films around the 1970s such as 1976’s “Strange Shadows in an Empty Room,” 1978’s “Fingers” and 1979’s “Search and Destroy.” She also made a cameo appearance in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan” in 1979 as a party guest.
She is survived by her daughter, Bridget; her grandson, Kylor; and her siblings Mia, Prudence, Stephanie and John.