Juliet Maryon Mills (born 21 November 1941) is an English and American actress. The daughter of actor Sir John Mills and older sister of actress Hayley Mills, she began her career as a child actress and was nominated at age 18 for a Tony Award for her stage performance in Five Finger Exercise 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 nominations for her work in this series and for her role in the film Avanti! in 1972. She won an Emmy Award for her performance in the television miniseries QB VII.
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 starred as Tabitha Lenox on the television soap opera Passions,Soapography, "Juliet Mills and Greg Vaughn" for which she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award.
Early life
Mills was born on 21 November 1941 in London during World War II, though her parents, the actor John Mills and playwright Mary Hayley Bell, soon moved the family to the country to be away from the Luftwaffe bombing raids. She is the elder sister of the actress Hayley Mills and director Jonathan Mills.
Because of her parents' careers, Mills grew up surrounded by famous actors, including Rex Harrison, David Niven and Marlon Brando. She recalled her childhood in the 2000 documentary film Sir John Mills' Moving Memories, written by her brother. Her godmother was actress Vivien Leigh, and her godfather was playwright Noël Coward. She attended the Elmhurst Ballet School, in Camberley, 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 credited role as Freda's 11-week-old baby in the 1942 film In Which We Serve, starring her father. In 1955, aged 14, while boarding at Elmhurst Ballet School, she appeared in a starring role as Alice in a London stage production of Alice Through the Looking Glass at the Chelsea Palace Theatre.
Her first major film role came in 1958, when she was 16, as Pamela Harrington in the Peter Shaffer play Five Finger Exercise. The show ran one year in London, and then moved to the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. In 1960, Mills was nominated for a Tony Award as "Best Featured Actress" for her performance as Pamela.
In 1961, Mills appeared as a stowaway, dressed as a man but the daughter of a ship's gunner, in episode 2 of Sir Francis Drake. This was one of her first TV appearances, and was echoed by an almost identical role in the 1964 film Carry On Jack.Sir Francis Drake, episode 2, 1961
In the 1960s, Mills would appear both in films and on television. She had a role in the film, The Rare Breed with James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara, and on television series such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ben Casey and 12 O'Clock High. She has stated that the highlight of her film career was Avanti! (1972), directed by Billy Wilder, in which she starred opposite Jack Lemmon and for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1973. In 1974, Mills starred alongside fellow English actor Richard Johnson in the Italian horror film Beyond the Door, 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 due to similarities to The Exorcist. 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.
In 1969, Mills was cast in the American television series Nanny and the Professor, which premiered on ABC in January, 1970. Mills played Phoebe Figalilly, a nanny with seemingly magical powers, reminiscent of Mary Poppins. 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, in a big way." She was again nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1971 for the same role. Despite strong ratings, the series ran only for two seasons, in 1970 and 1971. After the show was moved from a timeslot near The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch, two highly successful sitcoms, to a different night of the week, ratings fell eventually leading to its cancellation.
In 1974, Mills won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Special" for her performance in the miniseries adaptation of QB VII. 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, with Maxwell Caulfield, who became her third husband.
Mills was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1992, when she was surprised by Michael Aspel during the curtain call of the play Fallen Angels at the Richmond Theatre.
In 1999, Mills 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 Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Lead Actress" for the role.
Passions 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. Her second marriage was from 1975 to 1980 to Michael Miklenda, with whom she had a daughter.
In 1980, Mills married Maxwell Caulfield, 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 an American citizen on October 10, 1975.(No. 10116847), US District Court, Los Angeles, California, Petition #364323Certificate of Naturalization as a United States Citizen #10116847, filed U.S. District Court, Los Angeles, California (date: 10 October 1975), ancestry.com.
Stage credits Year Title RoleTheatre1955Alice Through the Looking GlassAliceChelsea Palace Theatre1958Five Finger ExercisePamela HarringtonComedy Theatre1960Peter PanWendy DarlingScala Theatre1962The Glad and Sorry SeasonKittyPiccadilly Theatre1963A Midsummer Night's DreamTitaniaRoyal Shakespeare Company1964The Knack ...and How to Get It1964–65Alfie!GildaMorosco Theatre1966Lady Windermere's FanPhoenix Theatre1969She Stoops to ConquerKate HardcastleGarrick Theatre1976The MousetrapU.S. tour1979Wait Until DarkSusy HendrixAlcazar Theatre1980The Elephant ManFanny KembleRoyal Poinsiana PlayhouseThe HeiressCatherine SloperNottingham Playhouse1983RainThe Mirror Theater1983–84Paradise LostPearl Gordon1984Inheritors 1985The Hasty Heart 1991Dangerous ObsessionSally DriscollCape Cod Playhouse1992–93Fallen AngelsUK Tour1995The Cherry OrchardCanadian tourThe Moliere ComediesTime of My LifeLaura StrattonWilliamstown Theatre Festival1996It Could Be Any One of UsJocelyn PolegateThe Old Laundry Theatre, Bowness-on-Windermere1997Blithe SpiritRuthLauren K. Woods Theatre1998Dial M for MurderCape Cod Playhouse1999Double DoublePhilippaUK Tour2010Bedroom FarceDeliaUK Tour2015Legends!Sylvia GlennAustralian Tour2019The Lady VanishesMiss FroyUK Tour2022Darker ShoresMrs HinchcliffeUK Tour
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1942In Which We ServeFreda's Baby1944Tawny PipitBaby Girl1947So Well RememberedYoung JulieThe October ManChild on Bus1949Little Polly1961No My Darling DaughterTansy Carr1962Twice Round the DaffodilsCatty1963Nurse on WheelsJoanna Jones1964Carry On JackSally1966Hilary PriceThe Wrong BoxWoman on TrainUncredited1969Oh! What a Lovely WarNurse1972Avanti!Pamela Piggott1973Jonathan Livingston SeagullMarina (voice)1974Beyond the DoorJessica Barrett1976Estefanía1992Waxwork II: Lost in TimeThe Defense Lawyer1999Winnie2014Lucky StiffMiss ThorsbySome Kind of BeautifulJoan2018Running for GraceGrandmother 20237000 MilesSharonMetalocalypse: Army of the DoomstarWhale (voice)The PrimevalsClaire CollierFilmed in 1994PoolmanMrs. Van Patterson
Television Year Title Role Notes1962ITV Television PlayhouseCarolEpisode: "The Morning After"Man of the WorldCarlaEpisode: "The Mindreader"1963It Happened Like ThisJoanEpisode: "Three of a Kind"1965EvaEpisode: "The Adriatic Express Affair"1966Ben CaseyJoan LloydEpisode: "Pull the Wool Over Your Eyes, Here Comes the Cold Wind of Truth"PaulaEpisode: "The Imposter"12 O'Clock HighSydney Vivyan, Helen Conboy Episode: "The Slaughter Pen" and "Siren Voices"Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler TheatreMary LewisEpisode: "Time of Flight"1967The Revenue MenJill LaceyEpisode: "Borderline"Coronet BlueMargaret CrowellEpisode: "Man Running"1968Sherlock HolmesGrace DunbarEpisode: "Thor Bridge"1969The Morecambe & Wise ShowHerself (guest star)Her father, Sir John Mills, guest starred in a later series.1970–71Nanny and the ProfessorPhoebe FigalillyLead role (54 episodes) 1971Alias Smith and JonesJulia FinneyEpisode: "The Man Who Murdered Himself"Stage 2Kate HardcastleEpisode: "She Stoops to Conquer"1973The ABC Afternoon PlaybreakSusan MoroniEpisode: "Alone with Terror"1974Born FreeDr. Claire HanleyEpisodes: "Pilot", "The Flying Doctor of Kenya"Harry OMargaret BallingerEpisode: "Ballinger's Choice"1974–75Match Game 74Herself (celebrity panelist)Multiple episodes1975Marcus Welby, M.D.Louise CarpenterEpisode: "Public Secrets"Hawaii Five-OLady Sybil DanbyEpisode: "Termination with Extreme Prejudice"The Wide World of MysteryIsobelEpisode: "Demon, Demon"Matt HelmCaroline JeffriesEpisode: "Death Rods"1976Ellery QueenFlorence AmesEpisode: "The Adventure of the Hardhearted Huckster"1977Wonder WomanQueen KathrynEpisode: "The Queen and the Thief"1978SwitchAlicia AldenEpisode: "Coronado Circle"Police WomanAmy HollisEpisode: "Sixth Sense"1978–84Fantasy IslandVarious4 episodesThe Love Boat8 episodes1980Hart to HartKate MatthewsEpisode: "Downhill to Death"1984DynastyRosalind BedfordEpisodes: "The Secret", "That Holiday Spirit"1985All My ChildrenJudge Edith Hogan1985HotelGrace Cauldwell Episode: "Fallen Idols"1987Murder, She WroteAnnette PirageEpisode: "Witness for the Defense"1987HotelJoanne BentleyEpisode: "Pitfalls"1988The Law & Harry McGrawIsobel McKechnieEpisode: "Maginnis for the People"1990MonstersCara RaymondEpisode: "Outpost"1992ColumboEileen HackerEpisode: "No Time to Die"1998Air AmericaHelen VendlerEpisode: "The Hit"1999–2008PassionsTabitha LenoxMain role (990 episodes) 2009Wild at HeartGeorginaRecurring role (8 episodes)2010–15Hot in ClevelandPhilipa4 episodes2014From Here on OUTDottie CooperRegular (6 episodes)2017Time After TimeMrs. NelsenEpisode: "Pilot"Jeff & Some AliensJessica (voice)Episode: "Jeff & Some Love Simulations"Andi MackMillieEpisode: "Mama"2021TV TherapyNannyEpisode: "Nanny"2022Big Mouth Rita St. Swithens Voice; Episode: "Vagina Shame"2023–24Grey's Anatomy Maxine Anderson 6 episodes2023Human Resources Rita St. Swithens (voice) Episode: "On the Daughterfront"2024Ark: The Animated SeriesChava (voice)2025LootLady Olivia TottenhamEpisode: "Lady Molly"
TV films, miniseries, and specials