OCTOBER 11, 2013

How Can a DNA Paternity Test Determine if Frank Sinatra or Woody Allen is the Father of Ronan Farrow?

Mia Farrow revealed in a recent Vanity Fair article that her son, Ronan, may not be Woody Allen’s son after all, but rather he could be Frank Sinatra’s son. So, why not conduct a paternity test to find out? Well, it’s not that simple.

Celebrity paternity stories, and those from every walk of life, present themselves every day. Many wonder…
Why doesn’t Ronan simply test his DNA and solve the mystery?

Dr. Michael Baird, a leading DNA expert and Lab Director at DDC, says it’s not that simple.
“Our laboratory gets requests weekly from people wanting to test a single person or a single item to obtain a DNA profile in the hopes it will be the key to solving their mystery. The fact is, a DNA paternity test is a comparison. In order to establish a relationship between two people, we need the DNA from two people or more, and then in the laboratory we carefully compare the DNA profiles to confirm or deny a relationship,” says Dr. Baird. Dr. Baird said that the most popular request is from those thinking they have an article of clothes worn by Elvis Presley and want DDC to confirm or deny that it’s an authentic Elvis article. “Our DNA consultants explain that if a DNA profile can be optioned from Elvis, we would be happy to search for and potentially compare any found DNA on the article to Elvis’ profile.”

Ronan has not been involved in a paternity test to date most likely, but not because there hasn’t been speculation in the past. After the article was released on Wednesday Oct. 2, each side of the family has weighed in, and eventually a DNA paternity test will be the only sure way to resolve the matter.

According to Nancy Sinatra Jr., Ronan was treated like a member of the Sinatra family. However, the implication that Ronan could be the son of Sinatra implies infidelity since, at the time of Ronan’s conception and birth, Frank Sinatra was married to Nancy Sinatra. Mia Farrow, who still refers to Sinatra as the great love of her life, was married to Sinatra in July 1966, but the marriage lasted just 18 months. Farrow said, however, that “We never really split up.” Barbara Sinatra responded, “I can’t hardly believe that. It’s just a bunch of junk.”

So back to Ronan Farrow. There is a very simple way to resolve this question. The clearest way to find out if Ronan is the son of Frank Sinatra is to compare the DNA profiles of each. Knowing that Frank Sinatra is no longer alive, there are still avenues to compare Ronan’s profile to known direct relatives in the Sinatra family, in which case he could be “included” in the Sinatra family.
Or, there is the avenue of testing Ronan and Woody Allen, to potentially “exclude” Mr. Allen as the father. This does not automatically make Frank Sinatra the father, but if Mr. Allen is “included” as the father, it ends the speculation.

As will all paternity tests, there are two avenues for testing—one that produces a legal document, and one that produces an “informative” but not legal result. And there is a difference not only in the document that is produced at the end, but also in the way some labs perform the testing. Informative tests can be very cheap, and not handled with the same care and standards as legal tests which are produced in labs that are accredited and certified by organizations that inspect labs regularly for quality. DDC carries all accreditation and certifications, and their legal test results are seen by more clients than any other laboratory—over 1,000,000 to date.

How will this saga play out? It really depends upon how willing each person involved is to stepping forward to share their DNA. This can be done confidentially or it can play out in the press—it’s up to the people involved. But the only way Ronan will truly know who his father is would be to convince others to participate in the DNA testing.
Ronan Farrow recently tweeted lightheartedly “Listen, we’re all *possibly* Frank Sinatra’s son.”

What do you think?

About DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC)

DNA Diagnostic Center is the world leader in paternity and relationship testing. We serve healthcare professionals, government agencies, and individuals around the world to determine family relationships with trusted accuracy.

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