The legendary Donna Mills is 81 years old now. The actress is best known for playing the role of Abby Fairgate in the hit Dallas spin-off called Knots Landing.
Mills recently gave an interview where she talked about embracing motherhood in her 50s and leaving the limelight to raise her daughter Chloe.
Adoption In Her 50s
Donna Mills was very focused on her career and everything else was secondary. She said that “a certain point, I realized there was something missing — it was a child,” she says. “So I went after it. I adopted her when she was four days old.”
By the time she adopted Chloe, Mills was 54 years old, but she never felt the age difference when she was with other mothers in their 20s.
The actress also had some advice for women who wanted to be mothers. She advised them to defer parenthood to the later stages in life. She said that “If you want to give to your career, I say having a child later in life is better than having a child early.”
Career After Chloe
Mills went on to appear on television in guest roles after Knots Landing. But she ultimately decided to take a break to raise her daughter.
She said that although she did work for some of the first 18 years, she took most of it off. She stated “I did some movies for television and stuff like that, because I could take her wherever I went.”
However, when Chloe started going to school, things changed. Mills did not want to be the mother who gave off her kid to the nanny.
She said that she was not comfortable with the idea of being away for a month or two at a time and that is why she chose to stay back and raise Chloe.
Where is Donna Mills Now?
Her Daughter Chloe is all grown up now. The 27-year-old shares a healthy bond with her mother. Donna Mills said that the two of them meet once every week and “talk every day or text”.
With her child all grown up and independent, Donna Mills decided to come back to daytime television in 2014.
She was cast in the recurring guest role on the ABC show General Hospital. Even though she had spent so much time away from the camera, it all came back naturally to her.
For her role in General Hospital, Mills won the award for Outstanding Special Guest Performer In Drama Series in 2015. It was awarded at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Since then, Mills has continued acting.
In July, she will be seen in the sci-fi horror movie called Nope. Mills will star opposite Keke Palmer, Daniel Kuluuya and Steven Yeun.
She keeps a healthy routine to be fit and pretty for the cameras. Mills mentioned that she pretty much works out every day and eats “mostly proteins and vegetables”. She even grows her own vegetables like tomatoes, kale, etc.
Her advice for people for good skin is to stay out of the sun! She also advised against cosmetic enhancements. Talking about how someone had asked her about it, she said that she would not get it, ” I’d rather have lines than a duck bill,” she said.
