John Farrow

Birth Name: John Villiers Farrow

Date of Birth: 10 February, 1904

Place of Birth: Merrickville, New South Wales, Australia

Date of Death: 27 January, 1963

Place of Death: Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: English

John Farrow was an Australian and American director, writer, and producer. He is known for directing Wake Island (1942), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, and for writing the screenplay for Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), which won him an Academy Award.

John was the son of Lucy (Savage) and Joseph Farrow. With his wife, Irish-born actress Maureen O’Sullivan, he had seven children, including actress and activist Mia Farrow, sculptor Patrick Villiers Farrow, and actresses Stephanie Farrow and Tisa Farrow. He also had a daughter with his former wife, Felice Lewin. He was the grandfather of activist, journalist, and lawyer Ronan Farrow.

John’s paternal grandfather was James Farrow (the son of James Farrow and Elizabeth Spooner). John’s grandfather James was born in County Norfolk, England. John’s great-grandfather James was the son of May Farrow and Ann Beckett.

John’s paternal grandmother was Jane Maria Canham (the daughter of Charles Canham and Mary Ann High). Jane was from West Lynn, Norfolk, England. John’s great-grandmother Mary Ann was the daughter of Matthew High and Charlotte Taylor.

John’s maternal grandfather was George Savage (the son of George Savage and Susannah Makepeace). John’s grandfather George was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, to English parents, from Buckinghamshire, who had come to Australia in 1848 as farm laborers. John’s great-grandfather George was the son of William Savage and Hannah Randell. Susannah was the daughter of Thomas Makepeace and Sarah.

John’s maternal grandmother was Emily Piggott (the daughter of Ellis Piggott and Nancy Kirk). Emily was English, from Manchester, Lancashire.

A DNA test of John’s daughter Mia whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2019) stated that Mia’s genetic ancestry is:

*99.8% European
*0.1% North African
*0.1% East Asian

Sources: Genealogy of John Farrow – https://www.geni.com

Genealogy of John Farrow (through John’s daughter, Mia Farrow) – http://www.pbs.org