Biographie

At the age of 16, she was offered the title role in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962) but her parents decided against it because they feared that the film's steamy subject matter might taint her wholesome image. The part went to Sue Lyon instead. In later years, Mills admitted that she regretted not taking the part.

Of the Oscar-winning father-daughter pairs, she and her father are one of two pairs (the other is Jane Fonda/Henry Fonda) where the daughter won an Academy award before the father did.

In the movie L'Espion aux pattes de velours (1965), her habit of biting her nails precluded her from using her own hands in close-ups. A studio worker, Tricia Blain, who just happened to be hanging around the set watching the filming was selected to serve as a double in those shots that required close-ups of the actress' hands.

Daughter of playwright Mary Hayley Bell and actor John Mills.

She and her sister Juliet Mills attended Elmhurst Ballet School. She was seen in a dance display by an agent resulting in her stage debut in "Alice in Wonderland".