Before Lindsay Lohan faked being a twin and having a British accent in The Parent Trap, Hayley Mills did it first. In 1961, Mills played twn sisters Susan and Sharon in the first version of the film. From there, she went on to star in two more sequels of the film.
The Academy Award winner appeared in six films for Walt Disney and became a "Disney Darling." Since The Parent Trap, Mills went on to star in numerous shows, movies and theater productions, for which she was nominated for and won several awards for including Golden Globes and BAFTAs.
Hayley Mills' last acting credit was in 2019, but she is not a household name today. Recently, Mills released a new memoir titled "Forever Young," which recounted her time as an actress, living in America and how life is now. Here's how Hayley Mills, former child star, went from Disney Darling to losing her entire fortune.
11 Early Life/Child Star
Hayley Mills is the daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell. Mills was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films. Her mother was also an actress and a playwright. Her sister, Julie, was an ascending actress and her brother, Jonathan got into directing, so Hayley had the entertainment business flowing through her veins.
Her first role was in Tiger Bay with her father in 1959. This role was successful and had Mills winning her first award- a BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles. After this role, Bill Anderson, a Walt Disney producer, saw her work in the film and sought her out, creating a new life for her at Disney.
10 'The Parent Trap'
The Parent Trap may be the 75-year-old's most famous role and skyrocketed her into fame. In 1961, she started the role which would spark many spin-offs and sequels (with and without her). It was one of the most successful films of that year, grossing $25.1 million at the box office and reached number 8 on the US Top 10 list. In an interview with FOX News, Mills stated that, "The whole film was a fantastic experience."
9 Hayley Mills' Time With Disney
Before The Parent Trap, Mills' first role with Disney was Pollyanna. This role catapulted her to stardom in the U.S. and won her a special Academy Award. She was the last person to win the Juvenile Oscar. Other Disney roles she stared in include In Search of the Castaways in 1962, Summer Magic in 1963, The Moon Spinners in 1964 and That Darn Cat! in 1965.
During that time she starred in other films with her parents and was offered the role in Lolita but turned it down. However, she later wished she had done it. Mills was arguably the most popular child actress of that time. As she grew up, Mills moved away from Disney and got cast in more grown-up films.
8 Hayley Mills' Post-Disney Career
Moving away from Disney and childish roles, Mills stared in The Truth About Spring for Universal, alongside her father. It was mildly popular. In 1966, she starred in The Trouble With Angels, which was a huge hit. The same year she provided the voice for The Little Mermaid in The Daydreamer.
Also in 1966, the former actress starred in the critically acclaimed film, The Family Way, again with her father and Hywel Bennett. Here is where she met the director of the film, Roy Boulting, with whom she started a romantic relationship with.
She then went on to star in Pretty Polly and made another film with Boulting, a thriller called Twisted Nerve. Then in 1971, they joined forces again for Mr. Forbush and the Penguins. Then she went on to star in a few more films and in 1975 after filming The Kingfisher Caper, she dropped out of the film industry for a few years.
7 Roy Boulting And Relationships
After meeting Boulting in 1966 at a business lunch, he and Hayly Mills started dating. They eventually moved in together then got married five year later. It was very controversial because he was 33 years older than her. She was no longer Disney's reigning teen angel. They had one son together, Crispian, and eventually later divorced in 1977. Talking with FOX News about their relationship, Mills said, "I think I was just trying to become independent. I needed an older, older man, I think, to help me make sense of my life. I was on my own. I left Disney and I wanted to be independent of my parents. But all these things, I think, were subconscious reasons. The reason that it happened to me, ultimately, is that I fell in love with a remarkable man. That was it."
Mills had two other partners after Boulting and had another son with actor Leigh Lawson. Currently, Mills' partner is actor and writer Firdous Bamji, whom she started dating in 1997. He is 20 years her junior.
6 Stage Career
Besides lighting up the screen in film and television, Mills also dabbled in theater. Her first stage performance was in 1969 in Peter Pan, where she played the boy who never grew up. She continued to star in many plays and musicals throughout her career including The Importance of Being Earnest, The King And I (twice), Hamlet and more. Her latest stage credit was 2018. Mills has done many national tours and off-Broadway shows and even earned a Theatre World Award.
5 TV Resurgence
About a decade after taking a break from the entertainment business, Mills returned to acting in the UK TV mini-series The Flame Trees of Thika. This role was well received and encouraged her to continue TV acting. She later made two appearances on The Love Boat. Mills was welcomed back by Disney and narrated an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney, which then caused her to get more roles with the company again. She reprised her her role as Sharon and Susan for The Parent Trap II, The Parent Trap III and Parent Trap: Hawaiian Honeymoon. In 1998, she was awarded the Disney Legends Award. Mills went on to star in many other TV roles.
4 Hayley Mills' Later Career And Life
Hayley Mills has continued to act but has remained out of the spotlight. She had gone on to write and edit books before releasing her own. The former actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. She had surgery and chemotherapy but quit it shortly after because of severe side effects. Although her last film credit was in 2011, Mills still took the stage in 2018 Party Face and was a part of the main cast of the show, Pitching In.
3 Her Memoir, 'Forever Young'
When asked by FOX News on why she chose to release the memoir now, she said that she has children and grandchildren that she wants to tell her stories too. She wants everyone to know that she "knew and loved" Walt Disney. According to the description on the Barnes & Noble website, "Forever Young" talks about "personal memories from her storied childhood, growing up in a famous acting family and becoming a Disney child star, trying to grow up in a world that wanted her to stay forever young." Autographed copies are available for $30.
2 How Hayley Mills Lost Her Entire Fortune
Despite starring in numerous roles as a child, Hayley Mills found herself nearly penniless at the age of 21, in which she recounted in her memoir. She bought a French Villa shortly after her 18th birthday, but the British Revenue Service heavily taxed her earnings by 91 percent, leaving her with almost nothing, after almost a decade of hard work. "I felt the blood drain from my face," she said.
She was later told the high tax rate was meant to help the Inland Revenue Service rebuild England after WWII. She was advised to sue her lawyer or father but chose to do neither. Mills submitted a tax appeal but the judge rules against her. She appealed the ruling and lost again. Ultimately, the Master of the Rolls ruled that the money belonged to her.
Unfortunately, two year later, the House of Lords appealed the ruling and shot it down for good. She wound up losing up to 2 million pounds, which would be about $17 million today.
1 Her Feelings On It
She told The Los Angeles Times, "I never saw it. I knew it was there and one day I would have it, but it was just sort of a dream, and then one day the dream was gone. Occasionally, I think: It would have been nice if I had the freedom to say no." In her book she wrote that she mourned the lost of the freedom the money would have given her, but not the money itself.