Given the prompt states “the source outlet’s summary said: Despite the oddity of the request, the soap star revealed that she will fulfill it,” but my research shows Mills was actually more non-committal, I need to write the article based on what the actual coverage states—that Mills received the request and responded with a mix of amusement and openness to possibilities, but was not definitively confirming she would do it.
‘Knots Landing’ icon Donna Mills, 85, revealed on Entertainment Tonight this week that a fan asked her to make content of herself stomping the grapes at her vineyard.
Donna Mills, one of the best known television stars of the 1980s thanks to her role as Abby Cunningham on the CBS primetime soap “Knots Landing,” is throwing fans a surprise by joining OnlyFans at 85 years old.
“I’ve always appreciated the incredible support and encouragement I’ve received from my fans over the years. Social media has been a wonderful way to stay connected, but I’m excited to join OnlyFans because it offers the opportunity for a more personal and direct connection,” Mills said in a statement to Variety.
The soap opera actress had never heard of the risqué creator platform until they approached her to join, and her agents told her that the platform hosts more “adults-only” content, but Mills still wanted to hear the team out.
“What they said was, ‘You don’t have to do nakedness,'” she explained this week on Entertainment Tonight.
“‘You do it the way you want to do it.'”
Mills has something many OnlyFans creators don’t: a working vineyard.
The hillside vineyard now known as Mandeville Vineyards is located at Mills’ home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
Mills said that one fan asked for her to take content of her stomping the grapes, and when Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier asked “So they want to see your feet?” she replied.
“There are a lot of people out there who are turned on by toes, I guess,” she said.
The request fits a pattern seen across OnlyFans, where foot and fetish content commands premium pricing.
When TMZ asked Mills directly “how far she’ll go” on the platform and if she will do more than just showing her followers her day-to-day routine, she told the outlet, “If they do, they have to let me know. Then I’ll have to make a decision whether I want to do that or not, but I don’t want to give them that if that’s not what they really want.”
The actor will be “sharing moments from my daily life, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and engaging with fans in a more meaningful way” on her new OnlyFans account, adding: “It’s simply another platform to spend quality time with the people who’ve supported me throughout my career while staying true to who I am.”
“This is not about changing who she is. It is about giving her longtime fans more access to the personality, style and behind-the-scenes moments they already love,” said Andy Bachman, CEO Creators INC, noting that Mills told him, “YOLO — let’s do it.”
Mills previously made headlines for refusing to play by age-related rules.
Mills made headlines earlier this year for clapping back at criticism claiming she puts too much effort into her appearance, and on April 5th, she posted an Instagram video directly responding to a comment reading: “You wear too much makeup for your age.”
Mills noted that “style does not have an expiration date.”
The response went viral with widespread fan support.
The Knots Landing actress said that OnlyFans approached her about joining the platform, and when asked about sharing explicit photos on the platform, she said, “Who knows? Don’t we just go along with what life brings?”
When pressed on the subject, Mills said, “I’m gonna have to think about it,” though she remains open to the possibility of baring all for her OnlyFans subscribers.
“My first answer would be, ‘Oh no, I won’t do that.’ But then my second answer is, ‘I don’t know!'” she added.
“I don’t wanna do anything that’s salacious, you know what I mean?” she said.
Mills emphasized restraint and authenticity in her approach.
“I don’t wanna do that. That isn’t my personality,” she said.
In an interview with Variety published July 30, she said, “Honey, I’ve been in this business over 50 years … I’ve seen every trend come and go. When something new comes along that lets me talk directly to the people who’ve stuck with me since ‘Knots Landing,’ why wouldn’t I jump in?”
“My fans are going to see the real me: the good hair days, the bad hair days, and everything in between.”
In the viral moment that preceded her OnlyFans announcement, Mills clapped back at a social media critic in April with poise and humor, refusing to apologize for her appearance at 85.
When a commenter told the Knots Landing star she wears “too much makeup for your age,” Mills turned it into a sharp, confident rebuttal in an Instagram Reel on April 5 responding to the remark.
Mills said with a laugh while pointing at the critical remark that was displayed above her, “Oh, this comment. I guess I didn’t get the memo.”
The video ignited widespread praise from fans who appreciated her refusal to accept age-based expectations.
Beyond her beauty routine, Mills leads a bold, independent life with partner Larry Gilman, cultivating a vineyard in her backyard, and the actress, who starred on Knots Landing as Abby Cunningham from 1980 to 1989, has built a life that reflects the same bold independent streak.
She and her partner of over two decades started Mandeville Vineyards—a crop of grapes located in her backyard in Los Angeles to make wine, and Mills said planting the vineyard from the ground up was “very fulfilling.”
Mills continues to work in entertainment while managing her vineyard operations.