The Only Actors Still Alive From The Cast Of Rosemary's Baby

Released in 1968, Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" is a psychological and supernatural horror movie that still ranks among the best in the genre, as it did in our list of 98 Best Horror Movies of All Time. The film tells the story of a young expectant mother who becomes increasingly unnerved by the strange neighbors in her apartment building. As terrifying tragedies and deadly incidents in the building unfold and quickly pile up, Rosemary soon realizes that there is a Satanic cult in the building. Worse still, these Satanists are convinced that Rosemary's unborn baby is actually the Antichrist, fathered by an underworld demon. 

One of the earliest horror movies to kick off the "demonic child" craze of the 1970s and '80s — which included hits like "The Exorcist," "The Omen,"  and "Children of the Corn" — the Polanski film was filled with subtext. Full of obvious social allegory, the film lays bare such taboo subjects as sexual assault, unwanted pregnancy, and abortion. The film was controversial, both for its dark themes and its disturbing subject matter. 

For a film made over half a decade ago, it should come as no surprise that much of the cast of "Rosemary's Baby" is no longer with us. Star John Cassavetes died at the age of 59 all the way back in 1989, while supporting actor Charles Grodin passed away in 2021, aged 86. But it may surprise one to learn that there are just two actors from this horror classic who are still around. 

Starring in the title role of "Rosemary's Baby" — as Rosemary, not the baby — was newcomer Mia Farrow in her third feature film, following a handful of smaller TV roles in '60s soap operas like "The Doctors" and "Peyton Place." At just 23 when the movie was released, Farrow was a bright up-and-comer and quickly became a star with her performance in "Rosemary's Baby," which earned her a BAFTA Award nomination. 

In the 1970s, Farrow headlined "The Great Gatsby" alongside Robert Redford, the disaster flick "Avalanche" with Rock Hudson, and Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile" as part of an ensemble that included Peter Ustinov, Angela Lansbury, and Bette Davis. Though she was married to iconic crooner Frank Sinatra in the 1960s, Farrow might be best known for her 1980s collaborations with her second husband, writer and director Woody Allen, who she collaborated with on classics such as "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors." Not long after, however, she was caught up in a scandal as Allen broke off their marriage to pursue a relationship with their adopted daughter Soon-Yi.

Another part of Farrow's extraordinary life was as an activist and philanthropist, working with UNICEF to help fight for human rights in Africa and other regions around the world. But she never stopped acting: In the early 2000s she had a brief stint on the hit firefighter drama "Third Watch," and while she did not return for the made-for-TV sequel to "Rosemary's Baby," she did return to the genre in 2006, taking a role in the remake of "The Omen." Most recently, Farrow played a key role in the streaming horror series "The Watcher."

In "Rosemary's Baby," actor Victoria Vetri played Terry, a troubled young woman who lives in Rosemary's building. Terry was rescued from the streets by the film's antagonists, Minnie and Roman Castevet, and meets her end via an apparent death by suicide early in the story.

Like "Rosemary's Baby" star Mia Farrow, Vetri had only made two films prior, but unlike Farrow, she didn't have a five-decade career afterward. That may have been because Vetri got her start as a model rather than as an actor, featuring in Playboy in 1967, and her on-screen career was mostly on television. In the 1960s, Vetri had roles in favorites like "The Man from U.N.C.L.E., "Hogan's Heroes," and "Batman" (where she played Florence of Arabia in the episode "I'll Be a Mummy's Uncle"), though she didn't have a role in a 1967 episode of "Star Trek" — and therefore one the few of that cast still alive — despite what some diehard fans claimed for a time. Following "Rosemary's Baby," Vetri starred in the b-movie and Hammer Films classic adventure "When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth," a spiritual threequel to "One Million B.C." and "Prehistoric Women."

While Vetri's career all but ended in the mid-1970s, she was at the center of controversy in 2010 after being arrested for the attempted murder of Bruce Rathgeb, her partner at the time. She purportedly shot Rathgeb from close range, sending him to the hospital with life-threatening injuries to his upper chest (per CBS News). Rathgeb survived the incident, and Vetri pled no contest to attempted voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to nine years in prison. She was released on early parole in 2018.