‘Knots Landing’ star Donna Mills swears by this daily routine at 85
The longtime Hollywood actress tells Fox News Digital how she keeps her body moving with a demanding fitness regimen.
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Donna Mills is keeping fans on their toes at 85, from launching an OnlyFans account to revealing the intense fitness routine she credits with keeping her active.
The former ballerina, best known for playing the scheming Abby Cunningham on “Knots Landing,” revealed to Fox News Digital the demanding fitness routine she credits with keeping her moving — including 100 sit-ups, 50 leg lifts, up to an hour on the bike and, sometimes, tennis five days a week.
And while Mills has long been disciplined about her health — including cutting out sugar — there is one indulgence she refuses to completely give up.
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American actress Donna Mills as she performs barre exercises in her home dance studio, Beverly Hills, California, March 18, 1983.(Bob Riha, Jr./
“I’m a Doritos addict,” Mills confessed.
The actress revealed that nacho cheese is her flavor of choice, showing that even her disciplined wellness routine leaves room for a guilty pleasure.
“I mean, it’s not good for you. It’s not. You know, I know I shouldn’t do it,” Mills admitted.
Still, she said the popular snack has followed her throughout her decades-long career.
“Different sets that I’ve been on… for some reason, they know — they always got a bag of Doritos in the trailer for me… it’s really funny. But I’ve never lost that. I don’t eat them as much as I used to. But they’re still a treat.”
Mills as she performs exercises in her home dance studio, March 18, 1983
When it comes to exercise, Mills’ routine is considerably more demanding.
“I started out as a dancer, so a ballerina. I mean, I was on pointe, the whole thing,” she said.
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Mills said her early training instilled a work ethic that has stuck with her throughout her life.
“So that gave me a discipline that most people don’t have because ballet is very hard,” she explained.
Mills starred in the TV soap opera series “Knots Landing,” in June 1980
To this day, she still incorporates elements of her early training into her workouts.
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“I do 100 sit-ups a day, 50 leg lifts, lots of stretching. I have a ballet barre in my little gym.”
Her rigorous routine doesn’t stop there.
“And ride the bike for about 45 minutes or an hour,” she continued.
She also stays active on the court whenever she can.
“I play tennis five times a week sometimes. And so that’s very, very important.”
The Hollywood actress takes a similarly disciplined approach to her diet, saying a book she read years ago influenced her decision to cut back on sweets.
“I’ve always been anti-sugar,” she said. “I read a book a long time ago called ‘Sugar Blues’ that really talked about the sugar industry and everything, and I have stayed away from it ever since.”
Donna Mills stays active at 85 with daily sit-ups and tennis several times a week.(Photo by Tim P. Whitby)
Still, Mills isn’t pretending her lifestyle is effortless.
“It’s a lot of stuff. You got to work at it.”
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Her fitness routine comes as Mills enters what she describes as an entirely new chapter of her life.
The actress launched an OnlyFans account at 85, embracing a platform she initially knew nothing about.
Mills has already seen major interest in her new venture, with Creators Inc. telling her she’s doing “incredibly well” and bringing in “many six figures” early on.
But money isn’t the only draw. Mills said fans are hungry for a behind-the-scenes look at her life — something she said wasn’t possible during her TV heyday.
“They want to know me. They want to know what I do during the day when I’m home. They want to see my home. They want to know much more about my personal life than we ever experienced back in the ’80s and the ’90s that, you know, the fans were cut off from.”
Now, they’re “invited in” — potentially even to Mills’ vineyard.
Her OnlyFans audience has already made some unusual requests, including one involving barefoot grape-stomping.
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“I am going to do it,” Mills replied.
The decision also gave the Hollywood actress a chance to share never-before-seen photographs from a Playboy shoot that she says did not result in a promised cover.
Mills said she agreed to the shoot only after making it clear she would not pose nude.
“I said I would do the photo shoot for Playboy if they were okay with the fact that I wasn’t going to show anything,” she recalled.
But she said the photographer continued pushing her boundaries throughout the three-day shoot. Mills insisted the photos didn’t need nudity to make an impression.
“They’re very sexy,” she exclaimed.
The “Knots Landing” star keeps fit with 100 daily sit-ups and frequent tennis as she turns up the heat on OnlyFans.(Maureen Donaldson / Michael Ochs Archives / ; Unique Nicole /
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Now, she’s bringing those images and her personality directly to fans.
“I think what the page will be, will be spicy. That’s kind of always been my thing, to be a little spicy,” Mills said. “I think they’ll react to that, they’ll like that, and also it’s my chance to communicate with them through the videos and things like that and talk to them.”
For Mills, the point isn’t simply launching a provocative new platform. It’s proving that getting older doesn’t mean life gets smaller.
“When I kind of looked at it a few years ago and said, ‘What do I want to do with this portion of my life, this chapter in my life?’ I said, ‘I’d like to be an inspiration,'” she emphasized.
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“I’d like to show people, and particularly women, that it doesn’t have to be over. It’s just a new chapter. It’s not the end… It’s just something you can enjoy. You should enjoy. It’s part of your life.”
After playing one of television’s most famously ambitious villains, Mills already knows exactly how Abby Cunningham would react to her latest move.
“She would say, ‘Go, girl!’ Without a doubt,” Mills said. “Are you kidding? Abby would be all for it. She was for anything that was going to move her forward, that was going to be to her advantage. So, she would be dead on for this. She would love this.”
