Hayley Mills

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Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress and singer. A daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her performance in the British crime drama film Tiger Bay (1959), the Academy Juvenile Award for Disney's Pollyanna (1960) and Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress in 1961.

During her early career, Mills appeared in six films for Walt Disney, including her dual role as twins Susan and Sharon in the Disney film The Parent Trap (1961). Her performance in Whistle Down the Wind (a 1961 adaptation of the novel written by her mother) received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress and she was voted the biggest star in Britain for 1961.

In the late 1960s, Mills began performing in theatrical plays, making her stage debut in a 1969 West End revival of Peter Pan. She also played in more mature roles. For her success with Disney, Mills received the Disney Legend Award. She has continued to make films and TV appearances during adulthood, including a starring role in the UK television mini-series The Flame Trees of Thika in 1981, the title role in Disney's television series Good Morning, Miss Bliss in 1988, and as Caroline, a main character in Wild at Heart (2007–2012) on ITV in the UK. She published her memoirs, Forever Young, in 2021.

Early life and education

Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills was born on 18 April 1946,<ref name=encyc/> in Marylebone, London, to British actor Sir John Mills and actress Mary Hayley Bell.<ref name="bell">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=encyc>Template:Cite web</ref> Her sister is actress Juliet Mills and her brother writer and producer Jonathan Mills.<ref name=encyc/>

Child actress

Mills was 12 when she was cast by J. Lee Thompson, who was initially looking for a boy to play the lead role, in Tiger Bay (1959) which co-starred her father. The movie was popular at the box office in Britain.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=bfi>Template:Cite web</ref>

Disney

Bill Anderson, one of Walt Disney's producers, saw Tiger Bay and suggested that Mills be given the lead role in Pollyanna (1960).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The role of the orphaned "glad girl" who moves in with her aunt catapulted her to stardom in the United States and earned her a special Academy Award of Juvenile Oscar, the last person to win the accolade. Because she could not be present to receive the trophy, Annette Funicello accepted it on her behalf.<ref name=Oscars>Template:Cite web</ref> Disney subsequently cast Mills as twins Sharon and Susan who reunite their divorced parents in The Parent Trap (1961). In the film, she sings "Let's Get Together" as a duet with herself. The song was a hit around the world, reaching number 8 in the US.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mills received an offer to make a film in Britain for Bryan Forbes, Whistle Down the Wind (1961), based on a novel by her mother Mary Hayley Bell, about some children who believe an escaped convict is Jesus. It was a hit at the British box office and she was voted the biggest star in Britain for 1961.<ref name="Forbes">Forbes, Bryan (1993). A Divided Life, Mandarin. p. 29</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Mills was offered the title role in Lolita by Stanley Kubrick, but her father turned it down. "I wish I had done it", she said in 1962. "It was a smashing film."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mills returned to Disney for an adventure film, In Search of the Castaways (1962), based on a novel by Jules Verne. It was another popular success, and she was voted the fifth biggest star in the country for the next two years.<ref>"Most Popular Films Of 1963." Times [London, England] 3 January 1964: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 11 July 2012.</ref>

In 1963, Disney announced plans to film an adaptation of Dodie Smith's novel I Capture the Castle, with Mills in the role of Cassandra.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Disney ended up dropping the project, while still retaining film rights to the book, when the novelist and the selected screenwriter Sally Benson did not get along; Mills grew too old for the part before the project could be revived.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her fourth movie for Disney did less well than her previous Disney films, but was still successful: Summer Magic (1963), a musical adaptation of the novel Mother Carey's Chickens. Ross Hunter hired her for a British-American production The Chalk Garden (1964), playing a girl who torments governess Deborah Kerr. Back at Disney she was in a film about jewel thieves, The Moon-Spinners (1964), getting her first on screen kiss from Peter McEnery.<ref>"The Day Hayley got in a Hearse", Photoplay, August 1964</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mills had a change of pace with Sky West and Crooked (1965), set in the world of gypsies, written by her mother and directed by her father,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but it was not commercially successful.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In contrast, her last film with Disney, the comedy That Darn Cat! (also 1965), did very well at the box office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hayley Mills, 1960

During her six-year run at Disney, Mills was arguably the most popular child actress of the era. Critics noted that America's favourite child star was, in fact, quite British and very ladylike. The success of "Let's Get Together" (which hit No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, No. 17 in Britain, No. 1 in Mexico, and No. 29 in Canada<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) also led to the release of a record album on Disney's Buena Vista label, Let's Get Together with Hayley Mills, which also included another hit song, "Johnny Jingo" (Billboard No. 21, 1962; Canada No. 19<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>). In 1962, British exhibitors voted her the most popular film actress in the country.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A third single, "Castaway", reached No. 14 in Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In Forever Young: A Memoir,<ref name="Reference2021_1">Template:Citation</ref> among other topics, she reveals high points from her early career, as well as struggles with self-esteem<ref name="Reference2021_2">Template:Citation</ref> and an eating disorder. Describing how she turned down roles that "undermined the Disney image" such as Doctor Doolittle and Stanley Kubrick's Lolita, she wrote that "I think by being under contract to Walt Disney, as much as I really appreciated the opportunity it gave me, [and] the career it gave me, quite frankly, it hampered me from getting more different kinds of roles and eventually it also influenced how I felt about myself. I wasn't sure what I was capable of."<ref name="Reference2021_3">Template:Citation</ref> Ultimately, at age 20, she turned down a new Disney contract. She felt her character castings led to her "repeating herself" with the studio.<ref name="Reference2021_3"/> She also detailed, how at age 21, she lost most of her Disney fortune to a 90% tax rate implemented by the Inland Revenue in England. Her appeal to regain her funds was eventually shot down, with Mills admitting that at that time, she was worried about going the path of Judy Garland and becoming a "studio asset".<ref name="Reference2021_3"/>

Post-Disney film career

Following her departure from Disney, Mills continued her film career with a series of diverse roles. For Universal Pictures, she starred alongside her father, John Mills, in The Truth About Spring (1965), which also featured Disney regular James MacArthur. While the film achieved modest success, her next role in The Trouble with Angels (1966) proved to be a major box office hit. In the film, directed by Ida Lupino, Mills portrayed a mischievous student at a Catholic boarding school opposite Rosalind Russell.

That same year, she provided the voice of the Little Mermaid in the Rankin/Bass animated feature The Daydreamer (1966). Mills subsequently starred in The Family Way (1966), directed by Roy Boulting. The film, which explored the challenges of a newlywed couple, was noted for its mature themes and featured a musical score by Paul McCartney with arrangements by Beatles producer George Martin. During the production, Mills began a romantic relationship with Boulting; the two married in 1971.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1967, Mills appeared in Pretty Polly, a romantic drama set in Singapore, opposite Indian film star Shashi Kapoor. She next starred in the psychological thriller Twisted Nerve (1968), reuniting with The Family Way co-star Hywel Bennett. The controversial film, directed by Boulting, attracted attention for its unsettling themes. She followed this with the romantic comedy Take a Girl Like You (1970), co-starring Oliver Reed, and made her West End stage debut in a 1970 production of The Wild Duck.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mills continued her collaboration with Boulting in Mr. Forbush and the Penguins (1971), stepping into the lead female role after the original actress was replaced during production.<ref>Bryan Forbes, A Divided Life, Mandarin Paperbacks, 1993 p 221-222</ref> In 1972, she again starred opposite Bennett in Endless Night, a mystery-thriller based on the novel by Agatha Christie, featuring Britt Ekland, George Sanders, and Per Oscarsson. Throughout the mid-1970s, Mills took on roles in several British and international productions, including What Changed Charley Farthing? (1974),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Deadly Strangers, and The Kingfisher Caper (both 1975), the latter co-written by Boulting.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Following The Kingfisher Caper, Mills significantly reduced her feature film work but continued to act in occasional roles over the ensuing decades. She appeared as Miss Quinton in the television adaptation Appointment with Death (1988), and as Sally Ryan in the horror anthology film After Midnight (1990). In 1994, she contributed her voice to the animated feature A Troll in Central Park, portraying the character Hillary.

In the 2000s, Mills took part in independent productions, including 2BPerfectlyHonest (2004), in which she played Terri, and the short film Stricken (2005), where she portrayed Hildy. She later appeared in the family adventure Mandie and the Cherokee Treasure (2010) as Mary Elizabeth Taft, adapted from the Mandie book series, and in the drama Foster (also known as Angel in the House, 2011) as Mrs. Lange.

Mills continued to appear sporadically in film thereafter. In 2021, she played Celia Towers in the time-travel drama Last Train to Christmas, and in 2023, she portrayed Karen Walters in Arthur’s Whisky.

In 2024, Mills appeared in a major American theatrical release in a supporting role as FBI profiler Dr. Josephine Grant in M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller Trap. Her casting in the film was highlighted by Shyamalan and in media coverage as a notable and unexpected return for the actress. Trap marked Mills's first major role in a mainstream American film in nearly 60 years, following her performance in The Trouble with Angels (1966).<ref name="THR-Trap">Template:Cite web</ref>

Mills's post-Disney career was marked by a conscious shift toward more adult and diverse roles. As one critic observed, "She was a movie star for about a decade... a genuine, old-school, above-the-title movie star: listed in box-office polls, the focus of a carefully-protected public image, signatory to a long-term contract with a studio who would try to craft vehicles for her. In fact, you could make an argument that Hayley Mills was one of the last stars for whom that last factor applied, at least in English-speaking cinema".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Television resurgence and reception

In 1981, Mills returned to acting with a starring role in the UK television mini-series The Flame Trees of Thika, based on Elspeth Huxley's memoir of her childhood in East Africa. The series was well received, prompting her to accept more acting roles.Template:Citation needed She then returned to America and made two appearances on The Love Boat in 1985, and an episode of Murder, She Wrote in 1986.Template:Citation needed

Always welcomed at Disney, Mills narrated an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney, sparking renewed interest in her Disney work. In 1985, she was originally considered to voice Princess Eilonwy in Disney's animated feature film The Black Cauldron, but was later replaced by the veteran British voice actress Susan Sheridan. Later, she reprised her roles as twins Sharon and Susan for a trio of Parent Trap television films: The Parent Trap II, Parent Trap III, and Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon. She also starred as the title character in the Disney Channel-produced television series Good Morning, Miss Bliss in 1987. The show was cancelled after 13 episodes and the rights were acquired by NBC, which reformatted Good Morning, Miss Bliss into Saved by the Bell without any further involvement from Mills. In recognition of her work with The Walt Disney Company, she was awarded the Disney Legends award in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mills recalled her childhood in the 2000 documentary film Sir John Mills' Moving Memories, which was directed by Marcus Dillistone and produced by her brother Jonathan.Template:Citation needed In 2005 she appeared in the acclaimed short film, Stricken, written and directed by Jayce Bartok.Template:Citation needed From 2007 to 2012, she appeared as Caroline in the ITV1 African vet drama Wild at Heart; her sister Juliet Mills was a guest star in the drama, which was the first time they had appeared on screen together.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2010, Mills appeared in Mandie and the Cherokee Treasure, based on one of the popular Mandie novels of Lois Gladys Leppard. In 2011, she starred in the film Foster alongside Toni Collette. Mills guest-starred in episodes of Midsomer Murders and Moving On in 2014.Template:Citation needed In 2019, she had a role in the television series Pitching In set at a holiday park in Wales. In 2021, Mills played Michael Sheen's mother in the film Last Train to Christmas, and in 2022 she had a recurring role in the television thriller series Compulsion.Template:Citation needed

In February 2023 she appeared in the fifth series of the ITV crime drama Unforgotten as Lady Emma Hume.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2023, Mills appeared in an episode of The Wheel of Time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Stage career

Mills made her stage debut in a 1969 West End revival of Peter Pan.<ref>'Hayley's flying high', Daily Mirror, 24 December 1969, p.20</ref><ref>Alan Gordon, 'Hayley Mills to take over as Peter Pan', Daily Mirror, 14 October 1969, p.7</ref>

In 1991 she appeared as Anna Leonowens in the Australian production of The King and I.Template:Citation needed In 1997, Mills starred in the U.S. national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I.<ref name =king>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2000 she made her Off-Broadway debut in Sir Noël Coward's Suite in Two Keys, opposite American actress Judith Ivey, for which she won a Theatre World Award.Template:Citation needed In 2001, Mills starred as Desiree Armfeldt in a production of "A Little Night Music" in Seattle, Washington. It was a co-production with the city's A Contemporary Theatre and the Fifth Avenue Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 2007, for their annual birthday celebration of "The Master", The Noël Coward Society invited Mills as the guest celebrity to lay flowers in front of Coward's statue at New York's Gershwin Theatre, thereby commemorating the anniversary of the 108th birthday of Coward.Template:Citation needed

In 2012 she starred as Ursula Widdington in the stage production of Ladies in Lavender at the Royal & Derngate Theatre, before embarking on a national UK tour.Template:Citation needed In 2015, she toured Australia with sister Juliet Mills and Juliet's husband Maxwell Caulfield in the comedy Legends! by James Kirkwood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mills starred in the 2018 Off-Broadway run of Isobel Mahon's Party Face at City Center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Mills and Firdous Bamji in 1997

In 1966, while filming The Family Way, 20-year-old Mills met 53-year-old director Roy Boulting. The two were married in 1971 and owned a flat in London's Chelsea and Cobstone Windmill in Ibstone, Buckinghamshire, which was later sold.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Their son, Crispian Mills, is the lead singer and guitarist for the raga rock band Kula Shaker. The couple divorced in 1977.<ref name=odnb>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>

Mills had a second son, Jason Lawson, born in July 1976,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> during a relationship with actor Leigh Lawson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She and Lawson split up in the early 1980s.<ref name="People"/>

In the 1980s, following her breakup with Lawson, Mills developed an interest in a number of Eastern religions.<ref name="People"/> She wrote the preface to the book The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking, published in 1984,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> although she was not a member of Hare Krishna.<ref name="People">Foege, Alec. "Pollyanna at 50", People, 7 April 1997.</ref> In 1988, Mills co-edited, with Marcus Maclaine, My God: Letters from the Famous on God and the Life Hereafter (Pelham Books, 1988).<ref name=encyc/>

Mills's partner since 1997 and as of 2023 is actor/writer Firdous Bamji, who is 20 years her junior. They met when touring playing the lead roles in The King and I.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Exp bc">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name =king/>

Health

In April 2008, Mills was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery and started, but quickly abandoned, chemotherapy after only three sessions because of the severity of the side effects. She credits her survival to the alternative treatments she used. She told Good Housekeeping magazine in January 2012 that she had fully recovered.<ref name="Exp bc"/>

Memoir

Mills published a memoir about her life and career, Forever Young: A Memoir, in September 2021.<ref name="Reference2021_1"/>

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1947 So Well Remembered Infant Uncredited
1959 Tiger Bay Gillie Evans BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles
1960 Pollyanna Pollyanna Whittier Academy Juvenile Award note: Mills's miniature Oscar was later lost or stolen; the Academy rectified this by privately presenting Mills with a full-size Oscar replacement in 2023.
1961 Template:Sortname Susan Evers / Sharon McKendrick
Whistle Down the Wind Kathy Bostock
1962 In Search of the Castaways Mary Grant
1963 Summer Magic Nancy Carey
1964 Template:Sortname Laurel
Template:Sortname Nikky Ferris
1965 Template:Sortname Spring Tyler Alternative titles: The Pirates of Spring Cove and Miss Jude
That Darn Cat! Patricia "Patti" Randall
Sky West and Crooked Brydie White Alternative title: Gypsy Girl
1966 Template:Sortname Mary Clancy
Template:Sortname The Little Mermaid Voice role
Template:Sortname Jenny Fitton
1967 Africa: Texas Style Blonde Girl at Airport Cameo
Pretty Polly Polly Barlow Alternative title: A Matter of Innocence
1968 Twisted Nerve Susan Harper
1970 Take a Girl Like You Jenny Bunn
1971 Mr. Forbush and the Penguins Tara St. John Luke Alternative title: Cry of the Penguins
1972 Endless Night Fenella 'Ellie' Thomsen
1974 What Changed Charley Farthing? Jenny Alternative title: The Bananas Boat
1975 Deadly Strangers Belle Adams
Template:Sortname Tracey Van Der Byl Alternative title: Diamond Hunters and Diamond Lust
1988 Appointment with Death Miss Quinton
1990 After Midnight Sally Ryan
1994 A Troll in Central Park Hillary Voice role
2004 2BPerfectlyHonest Terri
2005 Stricken Hildy Short film
2010 Mandie and the Cherokee Treasure Mary Elizabeth Taft
2011 Foster Mrs Lange Alternative title: Angel in the House
2021 Last Train to Christmas Celia Towers
2024 Arthur's Whisky Karen Walters
Trap Dr. Josephine Grant

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1967 The Prisoner Magazine Model Episode: "Hammer into Anvil"
1974 Thriller Samantha Miller Episode: "Only a Scream Away"
1979–1985 The Love Boat Cheryl Tyson/Leila Stanhope/Dianne Tipton 4 episodes
1981 The Flame Trees of Thika Tilly Grant Miniseries (7 episodes)
1983 Tales of the Unexpected Claire Hawksworth Episode: "A Sad Loss"
1986 The Parent Trap II Susan Carey / Sharon Ferris Television film
Murder, She Wrote Cynthia Tate Episode: "Unfinished Business"
Amazing Stories Joan Simmons Episode: "The Greibble"
1987–1989 Good Morning, Miss Bliss Miss Carrie Bliss 14 episodes
1989 Parent Trap III Susan Evers / Sharon Grand Television film
Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon Susan Wyatt / Sharon Grand Television film
1990 Back Home Mrs Peggy Dickinson Television film
2007–2012 Wild at Heart Caroline Du Plessis 39 episodes
2014 Midsomer Murders Lizzy Thornfield Episode: "Wild Harvest"
Moving On Madge Episode: "Madge"
2019 Pitching In Iona 4 episodes
2022 Compulsion Connie 2 episodes
2023 Unforgotten Lady Emma Hume 6 episodes
The Wheel of Time Gitara Moroso Episode: "Daes Dae'Mar"
2024 Death in Paradise Nancy Martin Episode: "Your Number's Up"

Theatre

Template:BLP sources section

Year Title Role Notes
1969 Peter Pan Peter Pan
1970 Three Sisters Irina
1970 Template:Sortname Hedvig
1972 Trelawny of the 'Wells' Rose Trelawny
1975 Template:Sortname Alison
1977 Rebecca Mrs De Winter
1978 My Fat Friend
1978 Hush And Hide Laura Crozier
1979 Template:Sortname Gwendolina
1980 Template:Sortname
1982 Tally's Folly Sally
1983 Dial M for Murder Margot Wendice
1983 Secretary Bird Liz Walford
1985 Toys in the Attic Carrie
1991 Template:Sortname
1991 Template:Sortname Anna
1992 Fallen Angels
1994 Template:Sortname
1994 Hamlet Gertrude
1994 Template:Sortname Countess of Chell
1995 Dead Guilty Margaret
1996 Brief Encounter Laura Jesson
1997–1998 Template:Sortname Anna
2000 Suite in Two Keys
2001 A Little Night Music<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Desiree National tour
2001 Sister Mozart
2001 Vagina Monologues
2003 Humble Boy Flora
2003 Wait Until Dark Suzy Hendrix
2005 The Bird Sanctuary
2005 Two Can Play Mary
2012 Ladies in Lavender Ursula
2015 Cinderella<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Fairy Godmother Pantomime; at the Richmond Theatre, London
2015 Legends!<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Leatrice Monsee With Juliet Mills
2018 Party Face<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Carmel
2022–2023 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Evelyn Greenslade

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Work Result
1959 Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury<ref name="PRIZES">Template:Cite web</ref> Tiger Bay Template:Won
1961 BAFTA Awards Best British Actress<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pollyanna Template:Nom
1961 Laurel Awards Top Female New PersonalityTemplate:Citation needed Template:Won
1961 Academy Award Juvenile Award<ref name=Oscars/> Pollyanna Template:Won
1961 Golden Globe Award New Star of the Year – Actress<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Won
1962 Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture Actress – Musical/Comedy<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Parent Trap Template:Nom
1962 BAFTA Awards Best British Actress<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Whistle Down the Wind Template:Nom
1964 Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture Actress – Musical/ComedyTemplate:Broken anchor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Summer Magic Template:Nom

Let's Get Together with Hayley Mills

Template:Infobox album

Let's Get Together with Hayley Mills, released in 1962, was Mills' only solo album. It had the million-selling song "Let's Get Together" and "Johnny Jingo".

Side one
  1. "Jeepers Creepers" – 1:37
  2. "Green and Yellow Basket" – 1:59
  3. "Sentimental Sunday" – 2:04
  4. "Ding Ding Ding" – 2:18
  5. "Side by Side" – 1:36
  6. "Cranberry Bog" – 1:50
Side two
  1. "Little Boy" – 2:19
  2. "Cobbler Cobbler" – 2:14
  3. "Johnny Jingo" – 1:38
  4. "Pollyanna Song" – 1:57
  5. "Jimmie Bean" – 1:53
  6. "Let's Get Together" – 1:29

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References

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Further reading

  • Mills, Hayley. Forever Young: A Memoir. Grand Central Publishing, 2021. Template:ISBN.
  • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914–1985. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., p. 158.

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