Why Some Think Ronan Farrow’s Dad Was Frank Sinatra

Ronan Farrow is the biological son of Mia Farrow, but his paternity has long been a topic of speculation.

While Farrow’s longtime partner, Woody Allen,  was presumed to be the father of the blue-eyed baby at the time of the child’s birth in 1987, there have long been rumors that another powerful Hollywood icon was instead the baby’s daddy.

Ronan, who is now a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has even played along with the rumors.

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The Birth of Satchel Ronan Farrow Caused a Strain in Woody Allen’s Relationship With Mia Farrow

Satchel Ronan O’Sullivan Farrow was born on  December 19, 1987, and Allen was listed as the father, per the Los Angeles Times.

But during a custody dispute six years later, it was stated that Farrow and Allen’s relationship changed during the pregnancy and that the famous movie director was not involved with the child.

“Mr. Allen showed little or no interest in the pregnancy,” a court record stated, according to The Nation, “ It is not disputed that Ms. Farrow began to withdraw from Mr. Allen during the pregnancy and that afterwards she did not wish Satchel to become attached to Mr. Allen.”

A 1992 report by Vanity Fair revealed that Allen and his son were “allergic” to each other from the get-go. Farrow told friends that Allen was “disturbed” by the cesarean section she had and that he was turned off by how long the Farrow nursed the baby boy. The report also noted that Allen disliked Ronan’s constant crying and referred to him as  “the little bastard.”

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Mia Farrow Once Hinted That Her Ex-Husband Frank Sintra Could Be the Father of Her Son Ronan

Before she became involved with Allen, Mia Farrow was married to Frank Sinatra for two years, from 1966 to 1968. But the exes remained close until the singer’s death in 1998.

So close, in fact, that Farrow later told  Vanity Fair that they “never really split up.”

When asked if Sinatra could be Ronan’s biological father instead of her then-partner, Woody Allen, Farrow replied, “possibly.”

In 2013, Ronan added fuel to the fire with a cheeky tweet referencing his mother’s shocking admission.

“Listen, we’re all *possibly* Frank Sinatra’s son,” he tweeted,  according to The Wrap.

More recently, Ronan seemed annoyed by the speculation. In 2019, when he was promoting his book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and A Conspiracy to Protect Predators, he appeared on Bill Maher’s HBO talk show, Real Time With Bill Maher.

“Now, what do you think your father would think about what you’re doing now— if he were alive?” Maher asked Ronan, per Deadline.

Ronan caught Maher’s trick and noted that every time he is on his talk show, the host asks him about the possibility that Sintra is his father.

“You do own a mirror, don’t you?” Maher added.

Ronan dodged the topic and told Maher to “ask my mom” about Sinatra.

While Ronan does share Sintara’s blazing blue yes, the late singer’s daughter Tina Sinatra revealed her father had a vasectomy and could not have fathered Ronan, according to The Daily Mail.

And if a vasectomy wasn’t enough to stop Sinatra from fathering a child in March 1987, his post-surgery status probably was.

Author James Kaplan, who wrote the book Sinatra: The Chairman, told NPR that there was no way Sinatra fathered a child in that time frame. At the time of Farrow’s pregnancy, the “New York, New York” singer was incapacitated following major abdominal surgery and was recovering in Hawaii with his fourth wife, Barbara.

“He was not the father of Ronan Farrow,” Kaplan said, per Mercury News.

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Some People Think Marlon Brando Could be Ronan’s Father

Actor Marlon Brando has also been rumored to be Ronan’s father. Allen adored the actor —  once saying, “I’d trade everything to be Marlon Brando. I so envied his talent, so thrilling to me,” per Empire Online — but there has never been any evidence of an affair between Sinatra’s former movie rival and Farrow.

The speculation stems mainly from Ronan’s resemblance to the Oscar-winning actor, who passed away in 2004. On an online forum for Digital Spy, commenters have noted that Ronan looks just like Brando.

According to Farrow’s Vanity Fair interview, no DNA testing has ever been done to determine Ronan’s paternity.

But in a 2018 interview with Vulture, Allen said of Ronan, “In my opinion, he’s my child.”

“I think he is, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it,” Allen added.  “I paid for child support for him for his whole childhood, and I don’t think that’s very fair if he’s not mine.”

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