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 «