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Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra are two of the biggest names in Hollywood, so their marriage in the 1960s understandably caused quite a stir. Sinatra was an accomplished singer and Farrow was a starlet on the rise, and many were curious as to how their relationship came to be.

Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow exchange fond glances following their wedding on July 19, 1966, at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas | Bettmann via Getty Images
Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow exchange fond glances following their wedding on July 19, 1966, at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas | Bettmann via Getty Images

Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra’s careers in the 1960s

By the 1960s, Frank Sinatra had established himself as one of the most beloved singers in American history. In 1965, as he reached his 50th birthday and the apex of a career comeback, Billboard declared that he had reached the “peak of his eminence.”

Mia Farrow, meanwhile, was just getting her career off the ground. After working as a model for a few years as a teenager, she rose to prominence in the mid-1960s on the soap opera Peyton’s Place. At the time, she was poised to take Hollywood by storm.

The two stars began dating in what would become a whirlwind romance.

Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow | Bill Eppridge/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow | Bill Eppridge/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images

Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra were married for 2 years

Sinatra and Farrow got married in 1966, with Sinatra urging Farrow to quit her acting career and have him take care of her. It worked: Farrow stopped working on Peyton’s Place and took a step back from Hollywood in general.

The break didn’t last long, however. The two eventually split up in 1968, and Farrow never looked back.

That same year, Farrow starred in Rosemary’s Baby, her first major film which remains one of her most recognizable roles to this day. Farrow had become a star actor overnight, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work.

The movie "The Great Gatsby", directed by Jack Clayton, based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Seen here, Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan | CBS via Getty Images
The movie “The Great Gatsby”, directed by Jack Clayton, based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Seen here, Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan | CBS via Getty Images
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Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra’s age difference when they got married

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Farrow found career success after getting divorced from Frank Sinatra. When they tied the knot in 1966, Farrow was just 21 years old, while Sinatra was 50. With nearly 30 years between then, and with Sinatra trying to stifle Farrow’s growing flame, their marriage wasn’t totally built to last.

After they went their separate ways, Sinatra and Farrow enjoyed successful careers in the following decades. Sinatra took a brief hiatus in the early 1970s before emerging again with new music and a new, legendary image.

Farrow’s next big movie role came in 1974 when she starred opposite Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby. By the end of the 1970s, Farrow began dating filmmaker Woody Allen. Over the course of their twelve-year relationship, Farrow starred in over a dozen of his films, including The Purple Rose of Cairo, Zelig, Radio Days, and Alice.

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