Donna Mills

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Birthday:

11 December 1940, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Birth Name:

Donna Jean Miller

Height:

163 cm

Donna Mills was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was an oil executive and her mother was a dance instructor. Donna studied ballet throughout her teens. After spending a year studying drama at the University of Illinois, she made her way to New York, where she landed an understudy role in Woody Allen's play, "Don't Drink the Water". Her first television role was on the daytime soap opera The Secret Storm (1954). She made her film debut in 1967 in the hard-hitting drama The Incident (1967). In 1971, she co-starred in the popular thriller Play Misty for Me (1971). Throughout the seventies, Donna made frequent guest appearances on top-rated series and carved a niche for herself in made-for-TV movies. In 1980, she joined the cast of the primetime soap Knots Landing (1979) in the role of Abby Cunningham, which made her a household name and one of TV's biggest stars. After a successful nine-year tenure, Donna left the show to pursue other projects (she did return for the series finale in 1993). She continued to headline a range of television films, several of which she produced, often highlighting important social issues. Donna has long been a supporter of various political and human rights causes, including Easter Seals, Women in Film, and ECO (Earth Communications Office). Never married, she adopted a daughter in 1995. These days she divides her time between work and motherhood. Show less «

[Who created her character that became part of prime-time soap history]: Having created her and played her all this time, there's a great de...Show more »

[Who created her character that became part of prime-time soap history]: Having created her and played her all this time, there's a great deal of me in Abby, and a lot of her has crept into me. I think some of the ambition and some of the guts that she has as a character I've kind of taken on. She helped me in a lot of ways. Show less «

I played so many of those. That's the reason I like to play Abby. I got tired of playing the victim. You're constantly reacting to things th...Show more »

I played so many of those. That's the reason I like to play Abby. I got tired of playing the victim. You're constantly reacting to things that are happening to you rather than making things that are happening to you rather than making things happen. It's a more active role. Abby keeps things stirred up, and I like that. Show less «

[About Knots Landing (1979)]: People don't tune in Knots Landing to see our gowns and jewelry. By and large our acting is overlooked because...Show more »

[About Knots Landing (1979)]: People don't tune in Knots Landing to see our gowns and jewelry. By and large our acting is overlooked because of the machinations of the plot. I have to be on guard all the time to keep Abby fresh and interesting. Show less «

[Of the way Aussie people were very friendly]: I was really amazed that everybody in the town knew me. They have one television station and ...Show more »

[Of the way Aussie people were very friendly]: I was really amazed that everybody in the town knew me. They have one television station and Knots Landing (1979) was on it. Show less «

Comedy is what I want to do now.

[on Jane Wyman] Jane was an inspiration to all and had the most amazing spirit-American icon!