Date of Birth
27 December 1942,
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Birth Name
Charmian Farnon
Nickname
Charmy
Mini Biography
Charmian Carr was born Charmian Farnon on December 27, 1942. She got her name because supposedly her father liked the name after reading William Shakespear's Antony and Cleopatra. Charmian was the name of one of Cleopatra's maids. She was the second of three daughters. Her mother, Rita Oehmen, had been a vaudeville actress with her brother Eddy, and her father, Brian Farnon, was a musician. She remembers her childhood as very nice, because her older sister Sharon was always there to watch out for her and their younger sister Darleen. She moved from Chicago to California when she was 13 and her father left her mother a few years after that. The girls hardly saw their father after that.
She wanted to travel and to visit Europe, little knowing that a movie she would make would be partially shot in Europe. She worked as a doctor's assistant for awhile until a friend of her mother's asked her to audition for the part of Liesl Von Trapp in the movie The Sound of Music (1965). Her fictional family became part of her real family and she considers Nicholas Hammond (who played her brother Freidrich) her real brother. After she made the movie she spent much of the next several years promoting the movie around the world.
During a lull in the touring she met and married Jay Brent and became the mother of two girls. She continued acting for a while, but decided that she wanted to stay home and raise her children. After her children were grown she began a decorating company and met Michael Jackson who became one of her clients. Other clients included members of her Sound of Music family, including Heather Menzies and her husband Robert Urich and Ernest Lehman.
She got divorced from Jay in 1991. In the late 1990s, she wrote a book about her life and her experiences being Liesl called "Forever Liesl".
Spouse
| Jay Brent |
(May 1967 - 1991) (divorced) 2 children |
Trivia
Was working as a physician's assistant when she was cast in The Sound of Music (1965).
She and Brent have two daughters.
Sister of Darleen Carr and Shannon Farnon .
Sister-in-law of Jameson Parker.
Daughters: Jennifer (32) and Emily (28), as of April 2002.
Daughter of actress Rita Oehmen and composer Brian Farnon.
Niece of Dennis Farnon and Robert Farnon.
Director Robert Wise changed her last name to Carr because he thought 'Charmian Farnon' was too much of a mouthful. He handed her a list of one-syllable last names and told her to pick one. She liked three but ultimately chose Carr.
Distantly related to Heather Menzies who played her younger sister in The Sound of Music (1965).
Beat out Patty Duke, Mia Farrow and Sharon Tate for her role in The Sound of Music (1965).
Where Are They Now
Runs her business Charmian Carr Designs - among her clients is Michael Jackson, who gave her an interior-decorating job because he is a big fan of The Sound of Music (1965).
(March 2002) Lives in Encino,California where she runs her interior design business
Charmian Carr, who played the role ...
The Sound of Music's Charmian Carr ...
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