Long-time actress Donna Mills is a favorite American household name. So when, at 54 years of age, she announced that she was putting her career indefinitely on hold in order to become a mom, many were shocked.
But what others might think or how they might judge is, of course, absolutely irrelevant when making personal life decisions. Despite being middle-aged, Mills knew something was missing from her life and decided to move forward with becoming a full-time mom to a beautiful little girl she named Chloe.
You can’t always decide the pace of your life or when the most important events might happen. For me, it was when I was 39 and met the man of my dreams. For Mills, it would happen even later: first with newfound love for her sweet daughter, then, when she met and fell in love with the man of her dreams: Larry Gilman.
Rocky Relationships
The talented actress launched her career in 1966 on television with a six-month stint on the CBS daytime soap opera The Secret Storm, as character Rocket.
Her acting career continued to boom with her role as the scheming, manipulative vixen Abby Cunningham on the long-running primetime soap opera Knots Landing, as well as a major recurring guest-starring role in the popular soap opera General Hospital.
But things were not always so successful in her private and romantic life. In her earlier years, Mills was in several relationships, many turbulent and none very successful.
She dated movie producer Allen Adler as well as the actor Vic Vallario. But perhaps the most well known and turbulent relationship of all was her 20 year union with Richard Holland.
The Holland Saga
Rock guitarist Richard Holland was previously married to musician Chaka Khan with whom he shares a son, Damian. The musician turned advert executive and most recently writer-producer has dabbled in a variety of careers.
Dissimilar on many levels, Mills and Holland made a somewhat odd couple. Mills considered herself an active, high-energy and motivated go-getter, unlike Holland who has reportedly been labeled as rather laid back and even lazy.
Indeed, Holland himself has confessed that he was not as motivated as Mills and could tolerate months of doing not very much and feeling rather apathetic, before finding the motivation to dive into something new.
The actress has reportedly admitted that she was “aware” that there was a general public dislike for Holland and that some perceived that he was a gold-digger, simply using her for her money.
Mills was during this time not only a hard-working and highly dedicated actress – she found the time to care for Holland’s son Damian. She made sure, for example, that he had his own room and space at her home whenever he would stay over when his mother was on a career tour or he was spending time with his father and Mills over the holidays.
All in all, the couple has described their 20 year relationship as “turbulent.” It was relatively unstable, inconsistent and they were often off-and-on over the course of their two decades together.
The actress has admitted that Holland was the first man to move in with her as he was the first man she was willing to sacrifice her her time, privacy and space for. In fact, when Holland moved into the star’s $1.5 million home, she even accepted that they redecorate to suit both their tastes.
Despite the actress’ clear devotion to her relationship with Holland, the two never started a family of their own nor had a child together.
Mills attributes this decision to the fact that she was thriving in her career and felt she would not be able to properly focus on both her career and family life simultaneously. She was also, at the time, not in a hurry to have children of her own but maintained that she was open to the prospect of starting a family later in her life.
Late Motherhood
Things indeed moved in that direction rather late in the Soap Opera Digest award winner’s life. In 1994, at age 54 and at the height of her acting career, Mills finally decided it was time for her to have her own child.
“I was very concentrated on my career, but at a certain point, I realized there was something missing — it was a child,” she said. “So I went after it. I adopted her when she was four days old.”
Some criticized Mill’s decision to adopt Chloe, saying she was too old to be a mother and that it would be difficult for her to care for and chase a young child at her age.
But Mill’s motherly instincts were in full swing and she was determined – and not at an un-heavy cost. Fully switching to a mother role meant she would have to put her acting career on hold. She was unwilling to put Chloe through the instability and changes that come with working in the entertainment industry.
Mills knew that if she kept working, it would mean that she would have to move around for work and consequently, Chloe would have to change schools frequently. The long working hours often required in the entertainment industry would also mean that young Chloe would likely have to be left with a nanny. But Mills wanted to ensure that she would be consistently and actively involved in her child’s life.
The TV star thus took an 18 years hiatus from work to fully focus on raising her daughter Chloe.
Today, the 82-year-old describes her relationship with Chloe as unbreakable. While 28-year-old Chloe is herself now rather busy with her own career and private life, they mother-daughter duo make sure to always find time to reunite and continue to share precious moments together.
Mill’s advice? Focusing on your career in your younger days allows you the opportunity to enjoy motherhood later in your life. Indeed, the actress, whose net worth is estimated at $9 million, believes that having children later in life is the way to go in order to build a thriving career early on and be able to give your child everything – even if later.
Today, at age 27, Chloe is a social media influencer with over 14.5k followers on Instagram, as well as model. She is also a member of the popular California-based arts, politics and media club Soho House and dating musician Bailey Joshua.
Finding Love
Despite her difficult relationship with Holland, Mills continued to believe in love. But it wasn’t until 2001 that the popular actress met and began a relationship with her soul mate, actor and producer Larry Gilman. Two decades later, the couple is still going strong.
Like Mills, Gilman has had a successful career, from his role in the television series Texas Rangers between 1980 to 1981, to his role in the feature film Secrets, to his role in the popular CBS war comedy-drama television series, M*A*S*H.
Native of New York, Mills describes 72-year-old Gilman as a devoted and caring partner who shows his love through his tangible actions.
For instance, in 2015, 14 years into their relationship, he gifted Mills her very own vineyard in Brentwood, LA.
As can be expected, Mills was thrilled.
“Larry planted a vineyard for me last year. He’s really such a good guy,” Mills expressed at the time.
Mills and Gilman have since thoroughly enjoyed bountiful harvests and good wine from their vineyard, and also plan to market and sell their wine, “Ethereal.”
The couple is indeed living their best life. With such a supportive partner and lovely daughter, Mills proves that it’s never too late in life to find complete joy.
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