Donna Mills
Biography
Donna Mills is an American actress who started in daytime television in 1966 with a recurring part on The Secret Storm. That year she also acted on Broadway in Woody Allen's Don't Drink the Water, and her first film role came in The Incident (1967). After three years on Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, she played Tobie Williams opposite Clint Eastwood in the thriller Play Misty for Me (1971). She went on to lead the 1975 heist film Murph the Surf and many made-for-television movies. Her best-known part was Abby Cunningham, the scheming vixen she played on Knots Landing from 1980 to 1989, winning three Soap Opera Digest Awards for outstanding villainess. She later won a Daytime Emmy for General Hospital and appeared in Joy (2015), Nope (2022) and Origin (2023).
85years old
Turns 86 on December 11in 60 days
- Born Chicago
- Star sign: SagittariusThe sign runs November 22 to December 21
- Donna Jill Miller (birth name)Also credited as Donna Jean Miller
Movie Career
- Films
- 14
- Career span
- 56 years1967 to 2023
First and latest
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Early training
Donna Mills completed a single year of coursework at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign before leaving to pursue dancing, and she picked up stage experience in summer stock productions.
First role
Mills began her professional acting career in Chicago, where she appeared in a production of Come Blow Your Horn at the Drury Lane Theater.
Getting ready for a role
Mills's part in Play Misty for Me led to her being cast again and again as a damsel in distress over the following years.
Behind the camera
Mills co-produced several television movies under her company Donna Mills Productions, including The World's Oldest Living Bridesmaid and Runaway Father.
Donna Mills movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Worked with
Donna Mills made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Robert De Niro's page
Keith David's page
Martin Sheen's page
Clint Eastwood's page
Beau Bridges's page
Nick Offerman's page
All films by Jordan Peele
All films by David O. Russell
Awards
Seven awards and honors from 1986 to 2022, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 2015 | Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series | Knots Landing | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 2022 | Palm Springs International Film Festival | Won | |
| 2018 | Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival | Won | |
| 2007 | TV Land Award | Knots Landing | Won |
| 1989 | Soap Opera Digest Awards | Knots Landing | Won |
| 1988 | Soap Opera Digest Awards | Knots Landing | Won |
| 1986 | Soap Opera Digest Awards | Knots Landing | Won |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.