Actress Donna Mills is one of those women who are gifted with exceptional beauty. No matter how many years pass by, they still look as gorgeous as ever.
Her looks, along with her talent, helped Mills become a household name. From the moment she landed a role on the CBS daytime soap opera The Secret Storm in 1966, it was obvious she was meant for great things. As all eyes were on her, her career skyrocketed with the iconic role of scheming, manipulative vixen Abby Cunningham on the long-running primetime soap opera Knots Landing and a major recurring guest-starring role in the popular soap opera General Hospital.
At the same time as her career blossomed, Mills was also trying to find love. Eventually, she started a relationship with guitarist Richard Holland, the ex-husband of singer Chaka Khan with whom he had a son, Damian. Many believed that Mills and Holland made a somewhat odd couple as their personalities were very different. She perceived herself as an active and motivated go-getter, while Holland rarely found motivation to do things. Those close to him always described him as laid back.
The public even believed that he was with her for her money and the comfort she provided for him. Shortly after they started a relationship, Holland settled with Mills in her $1.5 million mansion where she prepared a room for his son who visited them and sometimes stayed with them over the weekends.
The two stayed together and she always considered their relationship “turbulent.” During the 20 years they were going on and off, they never started a family or had a child on their own.
Mills was way too busy building her career and never felt like something was missing in her life, until she reached 54 and decided she wanted to become a mother. Many criticized her decision, saying it was late for her to embark on such a journey as parenthood, but Mills was determined to have a child. In 1994, at the height of her acting career, Mills adopted daughter Chloe, who was just four days old.
The role of a mother was so fitting to Mills that she made a shocking decision to put her career on hold and focus on raising her baby girl.
Even today, 28 years after Chloe entered her life, their mother-daughter bond is as strong as ever.
Chloe is a celebrity in her own right. She is an influencer and a model, as well as a member of the popular California-based arts, politics and media club Soho House. She’s dating musician Bailey Joshua.
Just like her daughter, Mills found love herself. Although her relationship with Holland was an unstable one, the Knots Landing star never lost hope of falling in love again. For the last 20 years, she’s been together with another Hollywood star, actor and producer Larry Gilman, whom she describes as her soul mate.
He is best known for his roles in the television series Texas Rangers between 1980 to 1981, the feature film Secrets, and the popular CBS war comedy-drama television series, M*A*S*H.
In 2015, he surprised her with a vineyard.
Recently, Mills posed alongside two other stars of her kind, Linda Gray and Joan Collins. The three 80s lead women appeared radiant and glowing, leaving their fans in awe.
It’s safe to say that the three actresses defy age.
The trio had come together for a magazine shoot, as was evident from Mills’ caption, which read:
“What a delight working with these lovely ladies. Thank you Hello Magazine @hellomag for a terrific story in your latest issue.”
Mills was dressed in a sparkling pink outfit, while Collins stunned in a gorgeous black dress and Gray opted for a shimmery gray and silver attire.
As expected, the post attracted the attention of many who dubbed the three ladies “icons,” “soap queens,” and “legends.”
“Dallas, Dynasty & Knots Landing in one frame. These Iconic ladies made those shows!” a fan wrote.
Ron Howard calls wife ‘good luck charm,’ shares secret to 49-year marriage
“Remember how we always said, ‘You can do it if you want, but you don’t have to?’ Well if you start this, you can’t quit’,” said Howard, recalling a conversation he had with his parents decades before. “You don’t have to do other parts on other shows, if you don’t want, but you’d have to keep doing this one.”
Explaining that he understood the message his parents were delivering, Howard adds, “I think it was pretty clear at that point that I was enjoying it, and I was good at it.”
Actually, he was great at it, and he was about to reach a level of stratospheric stardom.
Howard’s ‘Happy Days’
While starring in The Andy Griffith Show, Howard also appeared on the big screen in 1962’s The Music Man, a musical film that was a huge commercial success.
A natural talent, he then starred in 1973’s American Graffiti, which also starred Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss and Cindy Williams, whom he would work alongside in the future.
It was in 1974 when he was cast as Richie Cunningham in a new series created by Garry Marshall called Happy Days, which appeared on TV screens in homes across the world from 1974 to 1984.
The TV show spawned a few popular spin-offs like Laverne & Shirley, starring Williams and Marshall’s sister Penny, and Mork & Mindy with Robin Williams as Mork, the favorite Orkan.
High school sweetheart
It was in 1970 – before he won a Golden Globe for his performance as the innocent teenager on Happy Days – that Howard met the high school sweetheart, Cheryl Alley, whom he would marry in 1975.
“I met her, and there was never anybody else,” Speaking with People, the director of the Da Vinci Code continued, “She’s unbelievably supportive and always has been. Our compatibility has endured through all kinds of experiences.”
After 50 years of shared experiences, Howard, who earned an Oscar for directing A Beautiful Mind, commemorated the 50th anniversary of his first date with Cheryl on Instagram.
“Nov 1 1970 Cheryl & I went on our 1st date,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself wearing socks with images of Cheryl’s face. “We went to see a re-release of Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad Mad Mad World and then got some pizza at now defunct Barnone’s in Toluca Lake. Quite a start, right?”
He also shared their plans that day, “We’ll be driving in the same ‘70 VW Bug I picked Cheryl up in 5 decades ago. It runs great. So do we.”
His ‘good luck charm’
Cheryl made several cameos in Howard’s projects and even played herself on the TV comedy series Arrested Development, produced and narrated by Howard.
Speaking with the Television Academy, Ron called Cheryl his “good luck charm,” and explained that is why she appears in every film he makes.
“At a certain point, I became very superstitious about making sure that she appears, that she’s at least identifiable in one frame,” he said. “They don’t have to be big cameos, but she’s gotta be in there.”
In addition to bringing her husband some luck, Cheryl is also a published author who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in screenwriting.
The power couple are grandparents to six children and the parents of four, daughter Bryce, twins Paige and Jocelyn and son Reed.
Bryce – a recognizable actor – is known for roles in movies like Jurassic World and The Help, while Paige made her feature film debut in the 2009 movie Adventureland. Since she’s appeared in films The Employer and Collection.
Reed is a professional golfer and Paige’s twin sister Jocelyn is very private.
The secret to longevity
Nearing their 49th anniversary on June 7, the Emmy Award-winning producer shares that “communication” is the secret to their enduring love.
“People say, ‘How’d you do it?’ There’s no technique,” Howard tells People. “There’s no tactic, other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways. Beyond that, there’s an element of luck because people either grow together or they don’t and I don’t think you can force that.”
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