Christina Engelhardt is in the new episode of the docuseries 'Allen v. Farrow.' Learn five things about the former model who allegedly had a relationship with Woody Allen.
The second episode of the intense documentary series Allen v. Farrow features a new person allegedly connected to director Woody Allen. Thus far, Allen v. Farrow discussed the 1992 sexual abuse allegations levied against the filmmaker by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow. Now, Christina Engelhardt, 61, enters the picture. The former model and actress alleged she dated Allen when she was a teenager and he was in his 40s. Learn more about Christina below.
How Did Christina Engelhardt & Woody Allen Allegedly Meet?
On the February 28 episode of the Allen v. Farrow documentary series, Christina alleged that she was just 16 years old when she first met Allen around 1976. At the time, Christina was a young aspiring model living in New Jersey and looking for work in Manhattan. She claims she met Allen in October 1976 when their paths crossed at the restaurant Elaine’s in New York City. The teen “dropped a note on his table with her phone number,” according to a 2018 The Hollywood Reporter profile, which included an interview with the actress.
“Well, I was 16 when I met him but I’m going to stand by that 17 we developed a relationship,” alleged in Allen v. Farrow. “But I didn’t tell him what my age was… just wasn’t that I was holding back anything. He didn’t ask me, I didn’t ask him.” HollywoodLife has reached out to Woody Allen about Christina’s allegations, but we’ve yet to receive a response.
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Christina Alleged The Relationship Lasted Years
As Christina parsed through more details of her alleged romance with the filmmaker, she explained that the relationship allegedly lasted roughly five years. “And it wasn’t like it only happened once. It went on till I was 23,” she alleged. Christina further explained that she was completely enamored by Allen, as well. “You know I was very much in love with him. I thought he was magical.” The two allegedly met on a number of occasions at Allen’s New York City apartment overlooking Central Park, according to the same interview Christina gave to The Hollywood Reporter in 2018.
Christina Believes She Was The Inspiration For A Character In Allen’s Film ‘Manhattan’
In 1979, Allen’s film Manhattan debuted. The film followed Allen’s character, a divorcee who carries on a relationship with a teenage girl. In the movie, the teenage girl in question is played by Mariel Hemingway, who went on to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Decades after the film’s release, Christina believes that she was the inspiration for Mariel’s character.
“After I saw Manhattan – I’m the same age and there’s Mariel [Hemingway] looking like myself and I thought, oh my God, I’m his muse. I’m an inspiration,” she said in Allen v. Farrow. “And I even said, ‘Am I the muse?’ [Woody] goes, ‘Of course you’re my muse.’”
What Was Christina’s Career Like?
As a teenager and young adult, Christina was featured in catalogues and advertisements during her modeling career. “I felt I was the lucky one,” Christina said of the beginnings of her career. “That’s where I was coming from at that time of my life. You have to understand that, where I was at that age – I was in Seventeen magazine, Co-Ed magazine, and did all the advertising… I mean I had this sex appeal as a young girl.”
Along with her work as a model, Christina was also acted as muse to Italian director Federico Fellini, during his “late-life journeys in Rome and Tulum, Mexico,” according to THR. She also appeared in the film The Third Solution in 1988, starring Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham. One of her last acting roles came in 1999 with an appearance in the Jim Carrey film Man on the Moon, for which was uncredited, per IMDb.
Christina Is A Mother Of Two Daughters, & Her Past Has Shaped Her Relationship With Them
“I know it’s taken a toll on me,” Christina says of her past, specifically citing her alleged relationship with Woody Allen. “It’s taken a toll on how I’ve been in relationships, trust in relationships. And it’s made me a super vigilant mother,” she revealed in Allen v. Farrow. “I would not let my daughters go over to an older man’s home, no matter what.”
Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi Previn have denied the allegations made against him in HBO’s docuseries. “These documentarians had no interest in the truth,” the couple said in a statement to HL. “Instead, they spent years surreptitiously collaborating with the Farrows and their enablers to put together a hatchet job riddled with falsehoods. Woody and Soon-Yi were approached less than two months ago and given only a matter of days ‘to respond.’ Of course, they declined to do so.
“As has been known for decades, these allegations are categorically false. Multiple agencies investigated them at the time and found that, whatever Dylan Farrow may have been led to believe, absolutely no abuse had ever taken place. It is sadly unsurprising that the network to air this is HBO – which has a standing production deal and business relationship with Ronan Farrow. While this shoddy hit piece may gain attention, it does not change the facts.”
