Mia Farrow Remembers Bette Davis’s Hair Loss Warnings

NEW YORK, NY — Mia Farrow recently shared her memories of the late Hollywood legend Bette Davis during an interview with PEOPLE magazine published on June 5, 2025. Farrow, who is returning to Broadway for the first time since 1979, reflected on her time spent with Davis while in Spain.

During the interview, Farrow, now 80, recalled visiting Davis’s hotel room while she was filming with her father, director John Farrow. Davis would often be seen wearing a bonnet, a result of hair loss from wearing wigs. Farrow recounted, “She’d lost her hair from wearing wigs. So she said, ‘Don’t you wear wigs!’ It’s a tall order if you’re in showbiz. But I said, ‘Okay.’”

Davis was known for her bold choices, including famously shaving her head for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in the 1955 film The Virgin Queen. According to reports from that time, she also shaved her eyebrows for the part.

Farrow also discussed her relationship with Davis’s daughter, Barbara, known as “B.D.” She mentioned how Davis wanted to explore local villages and museums, while B.D. preferred to stay in. Farrow said, “I could barely not raise my hand to say, ‘Can I come?'”

Farrow first met Davis at the age of 12 and later worked with her in the 1978 film Death on the Nile. Davis passed away from breast cancer on October 8, 1989, eleven years after the film’s release.