Charmian Carr, born Charmian Farnon on December 28, 1942, acquired her unique name due to her father's fascination with William Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra". The name Charmian originates from one of Cleopatra's maids, and she was the second of three daughters. Her mother, Rita Oehmen, was a vaudeville actress who performed alongside her brother Eddy, while her father, Brian Farnon, was a musician.
Charmian's childhood was characterized by her older sister Shannon Farnon's protective nature, as she looked out for her and their younger sister Darleen Carr. The family relocated from Chicago to California when Charmian was 13, and her father left her mother a few years later. The girls rarely saw their father after that.
Charmian's desire to travel and explore Europe was eventually fulfilled when she landed a role in the movie "The Sound of Music" (1965). Her fictional family, the Von Trapps, became an integral part of her real family, and she considers Nicholas Hammond, who played her brother Friedrich Von Trapp, her real brother.
Following the success of the movie, Charmian spent several years promoting it around the world. During a lull in her touring schedule, she met and married Jay Brent, with whom she had two daughters. Charmian continued acting for a while but eventually decided to focus on raising her children. After her children grew up, she started a decorating company and acquired clients such as Michael Jackson, Heather Menzies-Urich, and Ernest Lehman.
Charmian's marriage to Jay ended in divorce in 1991. In the late 1990s, she wrote a book about her life and experiences as Liesl, titled "Forever Liesl".
