By Andrea Uhde
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Actress Mia Farrow, with 11-year-old son Isaiah, says responsibility is the most important thing to teach children. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

Mia Farrow is a famous actress, a mother of 13 and a survivor of polio, but she says she still has had trouble making her life meaningful.

"I tried all the usual routes of religion, relationships, work and children," she said, concluding that "it's the striving on a daily basis that makes us better than we are."

Sitting in a dressing room Thursday in the Aronoff Center before giving a lecture for the Smart Talk lecture series, she moved calmly and talked smoothly. One of her sons, Isaiah, 11, sat across from her, munching on fruits.

Her children are multiracial and have a variety of disabilities, including cerebral palsy and blindness. She doesn't enforce her philosophy on them, though she does stress that they should be responsible.

"People often ask me, 'What is the most important thing I could teach my children?'" she said. "If I boil it down to one word, it's responsibility."

Farrow, who was once married to Frank Sinatra, is known for her roles in Rosemary's Baby and The Great Gatsby. She also was in several Woody Allen movies, including The Purple Rose of Cairo and Hannah and Her Sisters. Farrow and Allen were together until Allen left her for her adopted daughter, Soon-Yi.

But the hard times are the meaningful times, Farrow said.

"The bulwarks of my life have been the tragedies of my life. What is nonessential is stripped away," and a person is measured by what's left, she said.

E-mail auhde@enquirer.com