Donna Mills, 85, Says One Mindset Has Kept Her Feeling Young

More than 40 years ago, Donna Mills debuted on the primetime soap Knot’s Landing, playing villainous Abby Ewing. Mills, 85, is still acting and co-hosting a podcast, and she is open about how she continues to feel young.

During an appearance on the Really Famous podcast, Mills said she loves acting and is still actively looking for roles. She acknowledged, however, that there are people who question whether, at her age, she can still remember lines or handle the work involved.

“The roles are hard to come by at this age,” Mills admitted.

Mills said she’s told her manager, “I’m as ambitious as I was when I started out.” She believes that ambition keeps her alive, and feels it’s important to continuously strive for something.

As for staying in good shape, Mills explained, “I work out almost every day. I play tennis a lot. I started out as a dancer, so I know how essential [movement] is, and I know what it means for your body.”

Mills noted that despite being 85, she hasn’t needed medical procedures such as knee or hip replacements, as many of her peers have.

She credits that to the fact that she never stopped working out. “My advice is to just keep doing it always, and then your body will respond the way it should.

Feeling young takes more than just movement, Mills admitted.

She believes, “It’s your attitude toward yourself, really. Your attitude of, ‘I want to be happy. I want to do things that make me feel good. I want to do things that make me happy.'”

Mills values movement and attitude for staying young, but she admitted that it still takes hard work. “You can’t just decide, ‘Oh, I’m going to look good,’ you know? I didn’t wake up looking like this.”

In an April Instagram post, where Mills responded to a critic who said she wears too much makeup, the Knot’s Landing star said, “Sorry, not sorry. I like the way I look. This is my style, and style doesn’t have an expiration date.”