Juliet Maryon Mills (born 21 November 1941) is an English-American actress. She is the daughter of actor Sir

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

and Mary Hayley Bell and the eldest of three siblings; her younger siblings are actress

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The 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 ...

and director Jonathan Mills. Mills began her career as a child actress and was nominated at age 18 for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for her stage performance in ''

Five Finger Exercise ''Five Finger Exercise'' is a 1962 American drama film made by Columbia Pictures, directed by Daniel Mann and produced by Frederick Brisson from a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, based on the play by Peter Shaffer. The film ...

'' in 1960. She progressed to film work and then to television, playing the lead role on the sitcom '' Nanny and the Professor'' in the early 1970s. She received

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nominations for her work in this series and for her role in the film ''

Avanti! ''Avanti!'' is a 1972 American/Italian international co-production comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on Samuel A. Taylor's play, w ...

'' in 1972. She won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for her performance in the television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

QB VII ''QB VII'' by Leon Uris is a dramatic courtroom novel published in 1970. The four-part novel highlights the events leading to a libel trial in the United Kingdom. The novel was Uris's second consecutive #1 ''New York Times'' Best Seller and thi ...

'' (1974). In 1983, Mills joined The Mirror Theater Ltd's Mirror Repertory Company, performing in repertory productions such as ''Rain'', ''Paradise Lost'', ''Inheritors'' and ''The Hasty Heart'' throughout their seasons. From 1999 until 2008, she had a role on the daytime drama series '' Passions'',''Soapography'', "Juliet Mills and Greg Vaughn" for which she was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

Early life

Mills was born on 21 November 1941 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1941), though her parents, actor Sir

and playwright Mary Hayley Bell, soon moved the family to the country to be away from the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

bombing raids. She is the elder sister of actress

and director Jonathan Mills. Because of her parents' fame, Mills grew up surrounded by famous actors, including

Rex Harrison Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison (5 March 1908 – 2 June 1990) was an English actor. Harrison began his career on the stage in 1924. He made his West End debut in 1936 appearing in the Terence Rattigan play ''French Without Tears'', in what ...

, David Niven and

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

. She recalled her childhood in the 2000 documentary film '' Sir John Mills' Moving Memories'', written by her brother. Her godmother was actress

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gon ...

, and her godfather was playwright

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

. She attended the

Elmhurst Ballet School Elmhurst Ballet School is an independent school for professional classical ballet in the United Kingdom. It takes students aged 11–19 years who intend to pursue a career in professional classical ballet. Elmhurst provides a full academic day i ...

, in

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

, Surrey.''Who's Who in the Theatre'', 17th ed. Gale Research, 1981

Career

As a child, Mills appeared as an extra in various films, including a role as Freda's 11-week-old baby in the 1942 film ''

In Which We Serve ''In Which We Serve'' is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David Lean. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information (United Kingdom), Ministry of Information. The scree ...

'', starring her father. Her first major role came in 1958, when she was 16, in the Peter Shaffer play ''

'', as "Pamela Harrington". The show ran one year in London, and then moved to the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. In 1960, Mills was nominated for a

as "Best Featured Actress" for her performance as Pamela. Her role as a stowaway dressed as a man, but daughter of a ship's gunner, in episode 2 of "Sir Francis Drake" was one of her first TV appearances (1961) and was echoed by an almost identical role in the 1964 film ''

Carry on Jack ''Carry On Jack'' is a 1964 British comedy film, the eighth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Most of the usual ''Carry On'' team are missing from this film: only Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey appear throughout, wi ...

''.

Nanny and the Professor Juliet Mills 1970

In the 1960s, she would act both in films and on television, including the film, '' The Rare Breed'' with

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

and

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural ...

, and on television series such as ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'', ''Ben Casey'' and ''12 O'Clock High''. The 1970s saw her working mostly in television, although she has stated that the highlight of her film career was the film ''

'' (1972), directed by

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...

, in which she starred with

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...

, and for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1973. In 1974 Mills starred in the Italian horror film '' Beyond the Door'' alongside fellow English actor Richard Johnson playing the role of Jessica Barrett a woman who becomes demonically possessed after an unplanned pregnancy. The movie was a major success making over $15 million at the box office though the producers were sued by

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

due to similarities to ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

''. Mills also appeared in a two-part 1978 episode of the TV series '' The Love Boat'' playing Barbara Danver, wife of Alan Danver, played by

Dan Rowan Daniel Hale Rowan (July 22, 1922 – September 22, 1987) was an American actor and comedian. He was featured in the television show ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'', wherein he played straight man to Dick Martin and won the 1969 Emmy for Outstandin ...

, one half of the comedy duo

Rowan & Martin ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...

. She is perhaps best known for starring on the American television series '' Nanny and the Professor'', which was called an American version of ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

''. She played Phoebe Figalilly, a nanny with magical powers. Mills has stated that she herself believes in magic, witches and fairies: "There's a lot more, you know, in the aether and around us ... We have guides, and we have angels taking care of us ... I believe in

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

, in a big way." She was again nominated for another Golden Globe Award in 1971 for the same role. Despite strong ratings, the series ran only two seasons, in 1970 and 1971. When it moved from a timeslot near '' The Partridge Family'' and '' The Brady Bunch'', two hugely successful sitcoms, to a different night of the week, ratings fell eventually leading to its cancellation. In 1974, she won an

for "Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Special" for her performance in the

adaptation of ''

''. During the 1974–75 television season, she also had a recurring role as Dr. Claire Hanley on NBC's '' Born Free''. In 1980, Mills returned to the stage, starring in ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

'', with

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (né Maxwell P.J. Newby; born 23 November 1959) is a British-American film, stage, and television actor and singer. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), '' Electric Dreams'' (1984), '' The Boys Next Door'' (1985), ''The Su ...

. The two actors hit it off, and the younger Caulfield became her third husband, leading Mills to withdraw from acting for a time. She was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in 1992, when she was surprised by Michael Aspel during the curtain call of the play

Fallen Angels (play) ''Fallen Angels'' is a comedy by the English playwright Noël Coward. It opened at the Globe Theatre, London (now called the Gielgud Theatre) on 21 April 1925 and ran until 29 August. The central theme of two wives admitting to premarital sex an ...

at the Richmond Theatre. In 1999, she was cast on the daytime drama '' Passions'' as Tabitha Lenox, a witch who was burned at the stake in the 17th century. Initially, the character wished harm on other people, but in a June 2007 episode, the character was declared a "good witch." Mills was nominated for her first

for "Outstanding Lead Actress" for the role. The series ended in August 2008. In 2009, Mills joined the cast the ITV drama '' Wild at Heart'', playing "Georgina", the sister of a character played in the previous series by her real-life sister Hayley. She also guest-starred in two episodes of '' Hot in Cleveland'' as Philipa Scroggs, the mother of Joy (played by Jane Leeves).

Personal life

Mills has been married three times. The first time was from 1961 to 1964, to Russell Alquist, Jr., with whom she had a son, Sean. Her second marriage was from 1975 to 1980 to Michael Miklenda, with whom she had a second child, a daughter, Melissa. While married to Miklenda, Mills appeared on '' Tattletales'', and claimed she did not agree with women's liberation because the theatre does not discriminate. In 1980, Mills married

, 18 years her junior. Mills said of the age difference, "Everybody is always interested in the fact that I am married to someone who is a lot younger than I am ... There are no rules, and that's what I believe, because age doesn't really matter. If you meet someone that you're really close to, someone that you love, stick with that." Mills became a naturalised United States citizen on 10 October 1975.(No. 10116847), US District Court, Los Angeles, California, Petition #364323

Theatre credits

Filmography

Film

Television

Other

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Juliet 1941 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 20th-century English actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London American film actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses English child actresses English female dancers English film actresses English soap opera actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Emmy Award winners Primetime Emmy Award winners Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners People educated at the Elmhurst School for Dance People with acquired American citizenship