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Mia Sara got her big break in the entertainment industry in 1985 with a starring role in the Ridley Scott film, Legend. Since then, Sara has become a prolific performer with over 45 credits on her resume. While the bulk of Sara's fame came during the late '80s, Sara continues to book roles in high-profile projects like Mowgli (2017) and The Happytime Murders (2018). 

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First making her mark on the pop-culture landscape in Legend, Sara is probably most famous for her work in Ferris Bueller's Day Off as Sloane Peterson. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Sara went from being plagued by stage fright to working with some of the greatest names in the entertainment industry. Sara recalls of her childhood stage fright, "I was always 'foot-in-mouth-Mia'." 

Despite Mia Sara's career quieting down in recent years, she is still happily taking on work. Let's turn our attention to Sara's origins in order to see how she developed into the star that she is today.

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Raised By Brooklyn

Mia Sarapochiello was born in Brooklyn Heights, New York, on June 19, 1967. Mia Sarapochiello would shorten her name to Mia Sara in order to make it more palatable as a stage name. Sara is the daughter of Diana Sarapochiello and Jerome Sarapochiello. Her mother, Diana, had a successful career as both a photographer and a stylist while her father worked in the arts. Unfortunately, Jerome and Diana would split up shortly after Mia's sister, Cassi, was born. Both children were raised by their mother.

As a child, Sara attended St. Ann's School in Brooklyn. It was there that Sara ran into the occasional bout of bullying. Due to her quiet demeanor and her shy nature, Sara made one of the most unlikely burgeoning actors in the city. Still, Sara didn't let her own fear get in the way of her dreams. Sara would continue her pursuit of acting with all of her ability. Eventually, Sara would attain her breakthrough role in the 1985 film, Legend.

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Off of the stage, Mia Sara has had something of a fascinating love life. She would fall in love with Jason Connery, the son of Sean Connery, and the two would wed in 1996. Their relationship only lasted six years, but they did have a son together, Dashiell Quinn Connery. Sara would go on to perform in a film directed by Ben Henson, the eldest son of Jim Henson, titled  Jack and the Beanstalk (2001). Mia and Ben would fall in love, but they would hold off getting married until 2010. Ben and Sara have one child together, their daughter, Amelia Jane Henson. Ben and Sara are still married to this day.

Outside of her work on television, Sara is a proud mother who is fully committed to raising her growing family. Sara also became a flying fanatic after performing in the film, Timecop. Sara would undertake flight training in order to earn her flying license. 

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Icon of the 80s

While Mia Sara's work has tapered off in recent years, she'll always be remembered for her iconic run in the 1980s. Sara scored her breakthrough role in the Ridley Scott film, Legend (1985) alongside Tom Cruise, Tim Curry, and David Bennent. Sara would portray Princess Lili during the fairy-tale inspired project. Mia reportedly slaved away at the role for the duration of the eight-month shoot schedule, thus winning the respect of Ridley Scott and the rest of the production. Prior to the epic project, Sara had been a 16-year-old actress pursuing work in TV commercials. During this time, Mia worked with Roy London, a world-renowned acting coach.

With the success of Legend spurring on her stardom, Sara was suddenly a hot prospect in the industry. Sara would go from working with Ridley Scott to starring in, potentially, the most iconic comedy of all time, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) as Sloane Peterson.  Fans revered her chemistry with Matthew Broderick's Ferris and the comedy would become an instant classic.  At this point in time, Sara was pretty much picking her roles. Unfortunately, Sara would hit a rough patch with a string of mediocre releases, including Any Man's Death (1990) and A Climate for Killing (1991).

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Eventually, Sara would get out of her rut with a starring role in the 1994 sci-fi classic, Timecop as Melissa Walker. Timecop was a pulpy science fiction film directed by Peter Hyams and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. While the film was met with mixed reviews, it would reach cult-status after breaking $100 million in worldwide gross.  Mia Sara played the wife of Van Damme's character, Max Walker. Outside of Timecop, Sara would end up scoring a couple of prominent TV roles in the Land of Oz. She would appear in the 2002 TV pilot, Lost in Oz. While the pilot would not get picked up, the groundwork would be laid for Sara to come back to the franchise in the 2011 mini-series, The Witches of Oz. The series would score moderately high marks among fans and critics due to the excellent cast. Other performers in the show were Billy Boyd (Lord of the Rings), Lance Henriksen (Alien) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future).

It would be years before Sara would star in another major motion picture, yet she never quit being busy. Sara would appear in a string of television shows including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997) and Birds of Prey (2002–2003) as Harley Quinn. Sara's most recent major project was Mowgli, a live-action remake of the Disney classic, The Jungle Book. Sara graced the film with her voice for the character of Mahala, the infamous snake invented by author Rudyard Kipling. Sara was acclaimed for her voice-over work as she brought a new dimension to a relatively old character.

Now semi-retired, Sara makes the occasional appearance in films. Ostensibly a private person, Mia Sara doesn't let much get out with regard to her personal life. We do know that she enjoys spending time with her two Wheaton terriers as well as her family.