Deana Grazia was born on October 7, 1957, in London, to film actress Eva Bartok and an unknown father at the time. Her birth received significant publicity due to the unusual circumstances surrounding her conception and birth. Eva Bartok was a major movie star who had been divorced from her fourth husband, actor Curd Jürgens, and had denied that he was the father of Deana.
Jürgens had undergone a surgery to fix lesions suffered in an accident when he was young, which made it impossible for him to have children. Bartok was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor in Los Angeles, which needed to be urgently removed to save her life. However, she refused to submit to the doctors' advice and flew to London for a second opinion.
Despite being told the same thing by doctors in London, Bartok decided to postpone the surgery and immersed herself in Subud's spiritual exercises, despite the risks. When everyone thought she was dying, Bartok gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Deana Grazia, and shortly after, the tumor miraculously disappeared, and she and her baby were in perfect health.
These remarkable events changed Bartok forever, and she became committed to Subud and its spiritual practices. She moved with her mother and baby to the Subud compound in Cilandak, Indonesia, where Deana was raised and educated.
In 1970, Bartok left her family behind and settled in Los Angeles, where she wrote articles and gave lectures on Subud. Deana later joined her mother in California and attended school at Marymount Junior High, graduating in 1972.
Deana returned to the public eye when she launched a short-lived career as a film actress in the early 1980s. Several years later, she became the center of media attention again when her mother revealed that Deana was fathered by Frank Sinatra. The reason behind Bartok's decision to keep this a secret for so long remains unclear.
Deana presently resides in Sydney, Australia, and has been described as an attractive divorcée with two children. Eva Bartok died in London in 1998.
