'' (1967)
1960s–1970s Mills began her acting career on television playing a nightclub singer named Rocket on the Manhattan-based
CBS daytime soap opera,
The Secret Storm in 1966. She later appeared on Broadway in
Woody Allen's comedy ''
Don't Drink the Water'' as the Sultan of Bashir's wife. Following this, she made her big screen debut in the neo noir crime-thriller film,
The Incident (1967), co-starring alongside
Martin Sheen,
Beau Bridges,
Ed McMahon and
Thelma Ritter. The film received positive reviews from critics and was successful in a box office. In the fall of 1967, Mills gained a regular role as ex-nun
Laura Donnelly on the new CBS daytime soap opera,
Love is a Many Splendored Thing. She left the series in 1970 and relocated to the West Coast, thereupon making her primetime TV debut in an episode of the Western series,
Lancer. '' (1975) In 1971, Mills starred alongside
Clint Eastwood and
Jessica Walter in the psychological thriller film
Play Misty for Me, directed by Eastwood for
Universal Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a financial success for the studio. During 1971–72, she starred in the short-lived sitcom
The Good Life with
Larry Hagman, who later guest-starred on
Knots Landing as
J. R. Ewing from the show's sister series
Dallas. She starred in
Haunts of the Very Rich,
Rolling Man and
Night of Terror in 1972, was lead actress in
The Bait (1973),
Live Again, Die Again (1974),
Beyond the Bermuda Triangle (1975),
Curse of the Black Widow,
The Hunted Lady and
Woman on the Run in 1977,
Bunco (1978), and co-starred in
Who Is the Black Dahlia? (1975), ''
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby (1976), Smash-Up on Interstate 5 (1976), Fire! (1977), Superdome (1978) and Hanging by a Thread'' (1979). In 1975, she starred as the eponymous character's suicidal girlfriend in the
American International Pictures heist film
Murph the Surf opposite
Don Stroud and
Robert Conrad, based on a real jewel burglary involving surfer
Jack Roland Murphy. In an era when TV was considered inferior to feature films, many had questioned Mills' decision to focus less on the latter medium. As the actress retrospectively explained to
Soap Opera Digest in 1996, "if I had gotten some big [movie] roles, it would probably be all over by now. Movie careers don't last all that long, generally. But my television career has been terrific, so I can't say that I'm disappointed at all."
1980s: Knots Landing In 1980, Mills landed her most prominent role — that of scheming, manipulative vixen
Abby Cunningham on the long-running primetime soap opera
Knots Landing. According to series creator
David Jacobs, Abby was not planned when the show began. He knew that he wanted a female J.R. Ewing-esque character. However, he had a different sense of the character and who would wind up in the role. With Mills' reputation of playing the victim, he initially did not choose her for the part. In 1989, Mills announced her intention to leave the long-running nighttime soap after nine years as Abby. According to Mills, she wanted to take a break from acting for a while, and from Abby, as well. In an interview with
The Cedartown Standard, Mills explained: "I'm tired of the show. It's been too long. I'm not particularly happy with the way they've been writing Abby lately. She's too soft. I'd like Abby to get back to her old self." For this role, she won the
Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villainess on three occasions, in 1986, 1988, and 1989, as well as a 1986 nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role on a Prime Time Serial. During her time in
Knots Landing, Mills also appeared in a number of other projects. In 1982, she starred alongside
Genie Francis and
Linda Evans in the CBS two-part miniseries
Bare Essence, and in 1985 appeared in the CBS musical film
Alice in Wonderland. She played the leading roles in the made-for-television movies ''He's Not Your Son
(1984), Intimate Encounters
(1986), Outback Bound (1988) and The Lady Forgets
(1989). She also guest-starred in the television sitcoms The John Larroquette Show, Dream On, High Society and Rude Awakening''. After few years in semi-retirement, Mills continued to appear on television in movies and guest roles. In 2004, she starred as
Mrs. Claus opposite
George Hamilton in the Holiday comedy film
A Very Cool Christmas. In 2005, she reunited with the
Knots Landing cast for the nonfiction special,
Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again, in which the stars reminisced about the show. In the mid-to-late-2000s, Mills appeared in various television movies such as
Love Is A Four Letter Word in 2007 and
Ladies of the House alongside
Florence Henderson and
Pam Grier in 2008, as well as guest appearances in series such as
Cold Case (in a provocative role as a woman who seduces her grandson) and
Nip/Tuck (guest-starring with fellow
Knots Landing star
Joan Van Ark).
2010s–present In 2012, she made a guest appearance in the ABC comedy series,
GCB as Bitsy Lourd,
Annie Potts' character nemesis and appeared as a guest judge on the reality series ''
RuPaul's Drag U. The following year, she starred in the thriller film Deadly Revenge
produced by MarVista Entertainment, and played a psychologist in the independent comedy-drama When Life Keeps Getting In The Way''. In 2014, Mills made her return to daytime soap operas, for the first time since 1970. She was cast in a major recurring guest-starring role on ABC's
General Hospital. She debuted in mid-March and stayed to May. Later that same year, she returned for another multiple-episode arc. At the
42nd Daytime Emmy Awards, Mills won Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series for her performance in
General Hospital, in a three-way tie with
Fred Willard and
Ray Wise. In August 2018, Mills returned for another multiple-episode arc. About her experience on soap she later said: “I loved everyone at General Hospital. I became good friends with Laura Wright (Carly), and [executive producer] Frank Valentini is just a doll. But the way they shoot soaps now is so hard. You might be shooting scenes for two or more episodes a day, and there’s no time to rehearse. It just wasn’t a very satisfying experience for me, as an actor.” In 2015, Mills starred in the
POP reality series
Queens of Drama about a group of former stars who now produce a new primetime serial drama to star in. The ladies were required to work together in front of and behind the cameras as they developed, pitched, and produced their steamy series with the hopes of landing a pilot deal by the end of the season. Mills had a role in
David O. Russell's film
Joy, which was released in December 2015. Also in 2015, she starred in the holiday comedy-drama,
12 Gifts of Christmas for the
Hallmark Channel. In 2017, Mills was cast in the lead role of Daisy Werthan in the Colony Theatre's production of
Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play,
Driving Miss Daisy. Also that year, she played a leading role in the
Pure Flix streaming drama series,
Hilton Head Island. In 2019, she starred alongside
Dyan Cannon and
Crystal Hunt in the Pure Flix comedy series
Mood Swings. She also starred in the independent films
Best Mom (2018),
Turnover (2019), and
A Beauty & the Beast Christmas (2019). In 2022, Mills appeared in
Jordan Peele's horror film
Nope and received the
Palm Springs International Film Festival Women In Film and Television's Above And Beyond Award. She also starred in the thriller film
Abused alongside
James Russo,
Taryn Manning and
Angie Stone. Later that year, she was cast in the Lifetime limited series, ''
V.C. Andrews' Dawn as wicked grandmother Lillian Cutler. The series premiered in July 2023 due mixed reviews but her performance was praised. In January 2023, she guest starred in the ABC crime series, The Rookie: Feds'' making her first prime-time television series appearance in ten years. In 2023, Mills was cast in the
Ava DuVernay' biographical drama film
Origin based upon
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by
Isabel Wilkerson. It had its world premiere at the
80th Venice International Film Festival on September 6, 2023. Later in 2023, Mills starred alongside
Loni Anderson,
Morgan Fairchild,
Linda Gray and her
Knots Landing co-star
Nicollette Sheridan in the Lifetime Christmas comedy film, ''
Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas''. In 2025, Mills reunited with
KL co-stars
Michele Lee and
Joan Van Ark for the episodic podcast ''We're Knot Done Yet,'' available on streaming platforms such as Podbean, YouTube and
Spotify. ==Personal life==