General Hospital alumna Donna Mills, who played the diabolical Madeline Reeves, is forever known as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on Knots Landing. Today, she's celebrating another trip around the sun, as December 11 is her birthday! General Hospital, Happy Birthday, Donna Mills View this post on Instagram Instagram Post"Looking back…So many little moments that shaped me. Unexpected joys. Beautiful surprises," Mills posted. "Lessons I didn’t know I needed.🌿 I’m still here. 🔥 I’m still going. And I’m excited for everything ahead. 🎂 Feeling grateful today." Born in Chicago, Illinois, Mills began her TV career with a recurring role on The Secret Storm as Rocket, a nightclub singer. She appeared on Broadway in the Woody Allen comedy, Don't Drink the Water. The big screen came calling next when Mills appeared in The Incident. Next, there was a three-year stint on the soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing as Laura. One of her more well-known roles is that of Tobie Williams, who was the girlfriend of Clint Eastwood's character in the 1971 thriller, Play Misty for Me. Mills played more than her share of damsels in distress, but when she saw the part of Abby on Knots Landing, she knew it was a great opportunity to break the mold. Debuting in 1980 in Season 2, Abby pulled up onto Seaview Circle in her station wagon, and life was never the same on Knots Landing. Before General Hospital, there was this brilliant move View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAbby and Gary (Ted Shackelford) fell in love, and he left his wife, Valene (Joan Van Ark) for Abby. One of the show's most dramatic storylines occurred when Abby made an off-the-cuff remark to shady lawyer Scott Easton (Jack Bannon), who arranged for Val's twins to be kidnapped and presumed dead, so that Abby could hang onto Gary's fortune. (He was the father of little Bobby and Betsy.)Mills was adamant with the Knots Landing producers and writers that Abby not be directly culpable for what happened to Val, and they clearly agreed, as Abby only found out what had happened after the fact. Abby cleverly found the twins and brought Val to them just as Gary, Karen (Michele Lee), Mack (Kevin Dobson), and Ben (Doug Sheehan; ex-Joe Kelly, General Hospital) had tracked them down. Greg Sumner (William Devane) congratulated Abby on her move, calling her brilliant. Asked how much Gary knew about what had really happened, Abby shot back, "How much do you think Gary knows?" Mills exited Knots in 1989, but returned for both the show's finale in 1993 and for the 1997 reunion movie, Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-sac. In 2015, Mills teamed up with a handful of soap stars, including Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda, General Hospital), Crystal Hunt (ex-Lizzie, Guiding Light), Chrystee Pharris (ex-Simone, Passions), Lindsay Hartley (ex-Theresa, Passions), and Hunter Tylo (ex-Taylor, The Bold and the Beautiful) for a reality series titled Queens of Drama, which aired on Pop TV. Joan Collins (ex-Alexis, Dynasty) also appeared on the show. Mills has a podcast with fellow Knots Landing co-stars Lee and Van Ark, titled We're Knot Done Yet. Mills adopted a baby daughter, Chloe, in 1994. In 2015, Mills won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series for her role as GH's Madeline. Soap Central wishes Mills a happy birthday! Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.