Survivor Stories: Dylan O'Sullivan Farrow

Photo credits: Vanity Fair

Dylan O’Sullivan Farrow, the adopted daughter of actress Mia Farrow, has spent much of her life living in the shadow of a highly publicized and deeply contentious family conflict that centered on allegations of abuse within her household. Born in 1985 and adopted as an infant, Dylan grew up during a period marked by instability, intense adult conflict, and prolonged legal battles that would later define her childhood narrative.

Mia Farrow’s long-term relationship with filmmaker Woody Allen was unconventional and, by the early 1990s, very fractured. Although Allen formally adopted Dylan in 1991, court records and expert testimony later described his relationship with her as unusually intense and emotionally inappropriate, even before allegations of abuse surfaced. Child psychologist Susan Coates, who worked with the family, warned that Allen’s focus on Dylan placed emotional demands on a young child that should never have been expected.

The family crisis reached a breaking point in 1992, after Farrow discovered Allen’s affair with her adopted adult daughter Soon-Yi Previn. This led to a period of extreme emotional volatility within the household. According to testimony, Farrow’s anger and distress were visible to the children, creating an environment professionals described as unsafe and chaotic. Dylan, then seven years old, became increasingly fearful and withdrawn.

In August of that year, Dylan reported that Allen had behaved inappropriately toward her during a visit to the family’s Connecticut home. Her statements triggered medical examinations, psychological evaluations, and investigations by both Connecticut authorities and the Yale-New Haven Hospital child abuse team. While some professionals questioned the consistency of Dylan’s accounts and ultimately concluded there was insufficient evidence to prosecute, a New York family court later found Allen’s behavior toward Dylan to be “grossly inappropriate” and ruled that protective measures were necessary.

Throughout this process, Dylan was repeatedly interviewed, examined, and recorded. Regardless of the conflicting conclusions reached by investigators, the prolonged scrutiny itself became a form of trauma. As courts debated custody and visitation, Dylan’s childhood unfolded under legal pressure, media attention, and adult conflict far beyond her control.

Years later, Dylan Farrow would publicly reaffirm her account, describing the long-term emotional toll of growing up amid denial, disbelief, and public skepticism. Her story remains a stark reminder that even when legal outcomes are ambiguous, the lived experience of a child in a fractured home can carry consequences that last for a lifetime.

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Jurisview Journal is a student-led blog that publishes biweekly articles about interesting criminal cases. Our aim is to shed light on cases that require justice or further exploration and provide input on controversial legal events. We also publish infographics to help victims or those who wish to educate themselves on legal issues. 

In this series, Survivor Stories, we explore and share the stories of survivors of violence and crime. Through this, we advocate for justice and more attention to victims such as the survivors we feature.