Donna Mills is best known for her role as the conniving Abby Cunningham on prime-time soap Knots Landing in the 1980s. The Chicago-born blonde beauty, 83, began her formidable career in TV on daytime soaps like The Secret Storm and Love is a Many Splendored Thing, but her talents weren’t limited to the small screen — Donna also appeared in major studio films including Play Misty for Me with Clint Eastwood and The Incident with Martin Sheen.
Under a 1972 contract with Universal, the mom of one would go on to appear in a multitude of memorable TV series, including Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, The Six Million Dollar Man, CHiPs, Fantasy Island, and more. In the 80s, Donna was the recipient of several Soap Opera Digest Awards for her work on Knots Landing, and in 2015 she took home a coveted Daytime Emmy Award for a guest appearance on General Hospital.
Over the past 23 years, the prolific actress has been supported behind the scenes by longtime love Larry Gilman. Find out more about Donna’s relationship with Larry and her previous romances below.
Larry Gilman
Donna and actor/producer Larry have never tied the knot, though their relationship has lasted years longer than many Hollywood marriages. The couple began dating in 2001, and it appears they have a thriving relationship, living in Brentwood, California. In a 2015 interview, Donna revealed the romantic gift he once gave her. “Larry planted a vineyard for me last year,” she told Closer at the time. “He’s really such a good guy.”
Donna once shared how finding love later in life had brought her joy and peace. “I met Larry Gilman at age 60. I lucked out,” Donna told AARP magazine in 2022. “Before him, I kind of went for the bad boys. But when I met him, I just knew I was going for the not-bad boy.”
She also opened up about one of the “few” fights they’ve ever had — and it was over their vineyard. “We have a big hill behind our house,” she told the publication. “Larry wanted to build a vineyard up there. And I was just like, no, you’re crazy, the vines will dislodge the hill. I was worried. It was one of the few fights we ever had. He didn’t listen to me, and it’s good he didn’t. The vines solidified the hill, and now we have our own commercial vineyard. And it is just beautiful.”
Previous partners
Donna hasn’t disclosed exactly what she meant by “bad boys.” But before Larry, she famously dated Chaka Khan‘s ex-husband Richard Holland for nearly two decades, starting back in 1979. Per PEOPLE in 1986, the former on-again off-again couple called their relationship “turbulent.” That year, Richard had apparently moved into her home, with the actress noting at the time, “I never met a man who was worth giving up my privacy for before.”
Richard admitted to their inherent differences — which may have accounted for the ultimate demise of the relationship after two decades. “I’m not as driven as Donna,” he explained of moving in with her. “I could go for three months without moving.” Donna, for her part, defended Richard when rumors emerged he was dating her for her lavish lifestyle. “Some people treat Richard like he was nothing,” she said, per the outlet. “They hand him my umbrella and expect him to run off and put it away. I’ve taken to telling them where they can put it.” Still, by 1999 they’d gone their separate ways.
During their relationship, Donna adopted a newborn daughter, Chloe Mills, in 1994. Per PEOPLE, prior to Richard, she also dated actor Vic Vallaro and movie exec Allen Adler. Per The Toronto Star, she also briefly dated her Intimate Encounters co-star Clayton Norcross during an “off” time during her years dating Richard Holland.