Donna Mills net worth: TV Icon's fortune explored as she opens up on reviving her career at 81 

TV icon Donna Mills recently opened up about restarting her career at the age of 81 during an interview with The Daily Beast. Speaking about her role in Jordan Peele’s new film Nope, the actress said that she hopes the project will mark a new beginning in her career:

“All I dreamed about when I wanted to be a dancer as a kid was the curtain opening and someone handing me a bouquet as I took my bow. I have had a wonderful career so far. I do not see myself retiring. I want to work for as long as possible.”

Mills mentioned that she initially decided to take an extended break from acting to focus on raising her adopted daughter Chloe:

“I left the business for 18 years to raise Chloe. I didn’t want to work when she was little, to be out of town for two months at a time.”

However, the actress said that she is now ready to embrace the future:

“I want to look to the future. I’m not done yet.”

Donna Mills also discussed her breakthrough role as Abby Cunningham in the popular TV soap Knots Landing and admitted that she would love to play the character again:

“I would give anything to play her again. I would do Knots Landing again in a nanosecond. Absolutely. The storyline I would love to play is Abby being homeless, then clawing her way back to the top to take over everything again. Oh, the eyeshadow would still be perfect.”

Furthermore, the actress opened up about her decision to rehire her old manager Larry Thompson, who worked with Mills when she skyrocketed to fame in 1980s:

“The reason I rehired Larry was because I wanted to bring an awareness of me back as an actor who was working again. I don’t want to stop. Not at all. I seriously love acting. I love creating a character and creating a role.”

Donna Mills also shared her plans for getting back under the spotlight with the opportunities available for women of her age:

“Now I'm trying to get back to a 'network' level, whatever 'network TV' means these days. There are a lot of opportunities for women of my age. As Larry says, 'We have to get you back into the conversation.' That's what we're attempting to do now—so people think about me when they're casting.”

The Emmy Award winner further stated that her career has given her “more fulfilment” than she could have imagined, but mentioned that she does not “want to be living in the past.” She is currently “living in the present” while “looking to the future.”

---

Exploring Donna Mills’ career and fortune in 2022

Donna Mills has an approximate net worth of $9 million (Image via Getty Images)

Donna Mills is one of the most popular American TV actresses of all time along with being a producer. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she has an approximate net worth of $9 million.

The majority of her fortune comes from her acting career spanning several decades. Mills made her acting debut in the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm in 1966 and went on to appear in shows like Love is a Many Splendored Thing and The Good Life.

She also made her film debut in 1967 with a role in The Incident and even bagged a part in the 1971 movie Play Misty for Me. Meanwhile, Mills also continued to work onstage and appeared on Broadway, playing the Sultan of Bashir's wife in Woody Allen's comedy Don't Drink the Water.

Donna Mills made her primetime TV debut in an episode of Lancer in 1970 and took part in TV shows such as The Love Boat, Hawaii Five-O, The Six Million Dollar Man, The F.B.I., Quincy, M.E., CHiPs, Police Woman, and Fantasy Island, among others.

The actress signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1972 and was also seen in films like Night of Terror, Haunts of the Very Rich, and Rolling Man that same year. Donna Mills’ breakout role came after she was cast as a series regular in Knots Landing.

Her portrayal of Abby Cunningham earned her worldwide fame and many more career opportunities. She earned a fortune while appearing in more than 200 episodes of the show over the course of almost nine years.

However, Mills decided to quit the soap opera in 1989 and announced a temporary hiatus from acting. Following the announcement, the actress started focusing on TV movies in the 1990s and appeared in False Arrest, The President’s Child, The Stepford Husbands, Moonlight Becomes You, and Remember.

Some of her earnings also came from her work as a co-producer for films like The World's Oldest Living Bridesmaid, Runaway Father, In My Daughter's Name, and My Name Is Kate.

Between 1995 and 1997, Donna Mills also secured a role in Melrose Place. She continued to appear in other films and TV shows throughout the 2000s. Some of her most memorable roles from the time include movies like Love is a Four-Letter Word and Ladies of the House.

Donna Mills made guest appearances on shows like Cold Case, Nip/Tuck, and GCB, and proceeded to become a guest judge of RuPaul’s Drag U in 2012. She then returned to soap opera with General Hospital in 2014, which later earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series.

She continued to accept small roles in films like Joy, Deadly Revenge, When Life Keeps Getting in the Way, and Sharknado: The 4th Awakens. She also appeared in Alfred Uhry’s acclaimed 2017 play, Driving Miss Daisy.

The actress bagged a leading role in the 2018 show Hilton Head Island and appeared in the 2019 comedy series Mood Swings. Her career continued to flourish as she starred in independent films like Best Mom, Turnover, and A Beauty & the Beast Christmas prior to the pandemic, and ultimately earned a role in Jordan Peele’s Nope.

Despite her hiatus, Donna Mills remains a prominent figure in Hollywood and has successfully retained a million-dollar net worth over the years.