Actress and icon Donna Mills is 83 years old and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The Knots Landing star shared a video on her Instagram of herself wearing a red sweater and black pants, going through a workout routine with personal trainer and fitness influencer Elise Joan. “@elisejoanfitness got together with @thedonnamills to bring you even more modifications for some of our favorite BODi LAVA moves! 🔥 You can use a sturdy chair on a stable surface for support!” reads the caption on the post. Mills is a fitness inspiration at any age—here’s how she stays strong and beautiful.
Mills works out at home, and plays tennis five times a week. “Well, I’ve started out as a dancer, so I have discipline,” she told Fox News. “I work out [almost] every day. You know, that’s important. It’s important to keep it all moving. I do usually a Peloton bike for about half an hour. Then I stretch a lot. Then I do some weights.”
Mills is strict about her diet, sticking to protein and vegetables for the most part. “During the soap opera years, I never ate pasta, sugar, bread, ice cream, cookies or any of that kind of stuff. I would have maybe half a glass of wine,” she told AARP. “Now I eat, but I’m still careful. I’m not a vegetarian, but I grow, pick and eat a lot of vegetables,” she shared with the outlet.”
Mills says you are never too old to work out. “I’ve never stopped exercising just because I’m getting older,” she told Fox News. “I think a lot of people tend to have the mindset of, ‘I’m too old now. I don’t need to do that anymore.’ But I think it’s the opposite. You have to keep moving. I think it’s so important to sweat every day.
Mills is still friends with her Knot’s Landing co-stars. “I’ve kept up with a lot of people, including ones I used to work with,” she told AARP. “Joan Van Ark and Michele Lee are still dear friends 40 years after we starred in Knots Landing. Sometimes we even do “An Evening With the Ladies of Knots Landing’ together for the fans. Some show up wearing that dramatic eye makeup like my character, Abby!”
Mills is disciplined about her workout regimen, admitting it’s not always easy with arthritis pains. “There are days when it can be difficult because I have to be at the set at seven o’clock in the morning,” she told Fox News. “But I think the key is carving out that time each day when you can just sweat. I think that’s really important. Your body will just kind of atrophy if you don’t keep using it.”