Donna Mills is a veteran actress whose acting career spans five decades. She has proven her skills in the film industry and can now point to more than seventy credits. Donna began her career in the mid-1960s and became very popular in the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to her longstanding performance in the classic soap opera “Knots Landing”, for which she received several awards, including the Soap Opera Digest Award.
Although her role as Abby Cunningham in “Knots Landing” put her at the center of the action, Donna worked her way to the peak of her career through the wonderful and precise execution of her roles. She was honored by the members of Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters for her valuable contributions to the film industry for more than fifty years. She has also been honored with other awards such as the Daytime Emmy Awards and the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Awards. More about her illustrious career, achievements, and relationships can be found below.
What We Know About Donna Mills’ Acting Career
Like most actresses, Donna Mills began her professional acting career at the theater. She had her first acting role in a theatre production called “Come Blow Your Horn”. Later she moved to New York to play in another stage production called My Fair Lady. In 1966 happiness smiled on her when she got her first television role in The Secret Storm. She played the role of the Rocket in the soap opera for six months before she made her film debut in The Incident the following year.
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In the same year, she returned to the theatre to take on the role of Sultan of Bashir’s wife in Don’t Drink the Water, and from 1967 to 1970 she became a regular guest in the series Love Is a Many Splendored Thing. She continued to record roles in Love American Style, Play Misty for Me, The Good Life, Gunsmoke, Live Again, Die Again, Rolling Man before becoming known worldwide as Abby Cunningham.
She played Abby’s character in 236 episodes of the soap opera, including the comeback for the last episode in 1993 and the 1997 reunification mini-series, after she finished her role in 1989. For her outstanding performance in the soap opera, she received three “Digest” awards for outstanding villainy and a TV Land Award. After that Donna Mills continued to appear in both soap operas, movies, and television shows.
Her notable works include Bare Essence (1982), Alice in Wonderland (1985), Outback Bound (1988), The World’s Oldest Living Bridesmaid (1990), The Stepford Husbands (1996), A Very Cool Christmas (2004), Love is a Four-Letter Word (2007), Ladies of the House (2008), 12 Gifts of Christmas (2015), Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens (2016), and Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses (2019). She has also served as a producer of films such as My Name is Kate, The Runaway Father, In the Name of My Daughter, and The World’s Eldest Living Bridesmaid.
How Much is She Worth?
Donna Mills has established her presence in Hollywood through her impeccable acting talent, which she has displayed for many decades. Interestingly enough, the actress hasn’t lost any of her talents, as she has repeatedly cast roles in television series and films with which she has earned an enormous fortune. Even more, her illustrious career has been enriched by her role in blockbuster movies like Play Misty for Me, where she starred alongside Clint Eastwood.
The film was both critically and commercially successful, earning $10.6 million at the box office on a production budget of $950,000. Donna Mills also made impressive box office takings from the role of Priscilla in the biographical comedy-drama Joy, which was shot in 2015 and was also a box office success. After its theatrical release in December 2015, the film generated a total of $101.1 million on a $60 million budget.
Other successful television series in which the actress has appeared include Hawaii Five-O, The Six Million Dollar Man, CHiPs, Police Woman, General Hospital, The F. B. I, Fantasy Island, to name a few. Although her exact income from the classic soap opera “Knots Landing” is not yet known, Donna would have had to earn a lot of money with her regular roles for nine good years.
For this and even more, Donna Mills has achieved a hefty net worth of 9 million dollars, which will surely increase in the coming years, as she is still very active in the movie industry. Apart from movies, she has also made a fortune with her other entrepreneurial ventures, including her make-up line The Eyes Have It, and many others.
Is Donna Mills Married or Dating Anyone?
Over the years Donna Mills has enchanted her fellow actors with her breathtaking beauty. She’s been on many dates but has never been married. Since 2009 she is in a long-term relationship with actor and producer Larry Gillman. Larry is a New York City-born film producer, who was hired for his roles in The Texas Ranger, H. O. T. S., The Woman in Red, and The Terror Within II.
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The two have been together for a long time and currently live in Beverly Hills, California. Although the actress and Larry have not yet made it to the altar, they are in no hurry as they have no plans to take their relationship to the next level in the near future.
Prior to her relationship with Larry, Donna was in a love affair with actor Richard Holland, with whom she also spent a very long period of time (1981 to 2015). During their time together, they participated in various social events, including the 44th annual Golden Globe Awards in January 1987 and the Al Pacino stars in Oscar Wilde’s “Salome” in Los Angeles on April 27, 2006, but when their relationship turned sour, the couple decided to go their separate ways in 2015 after more than three decades of living together.
Does She Have a Daughter?
Donna Mills has been experiencing the joy of motherhood since 1994 when she welcomed little Chloe Mills into her life by becoming her adoptive mother. Since then, she has never failed to express her joy at having treated such a stunning girl like a daughter on her social media, especially on her birthdays.