Childhood Fame and a Vanishing Fortune
The star was meant to inherit money from a trust holding her childhood earnings. Yet by the time she reached it, almost nothing remained. Despite a long, thriving career, she admitted she wouldn’t have succeeded in acting if she hadn’t started young.
As a child star, she endured crushing pressure. Desperate to satisfy adults who wanted her to stay small and childlike, she forced herself to vomit — a struggle that later led to bulimia.
Even after such hardship, life threw her more challenges. Diagnosed with cancer on her birthday, she fought back. Now, at 79, she remains active in her acting career.
A Family Steeped in Creativity
Her acting journey began at home, surrounded by a family in the arts. At just 12, she stepped into the film world, appearing alongside her famous father in 1959’s Tiger Bay.
Though still a child, she embraced acting naturally. With her sister and father in film and a mother who became a writer, creativity pulsed through the household. Her mother even wrote the novel that inspired Whistle Down the Wind, filmed when the actress was 14. To stay grounded, she limited herself to just two films a year.
Stardom and the Weight of Expectations
Beloved roles in Pollyanna and The Parent Trap made her iconic. Her Pollyanna performance earned her a Juvenile Oscar — the last recipient of the award. She joined the ranks of Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, and Mickey Rooney.
However, success came with a cost. Each role demanded proof she could deliver. “You have to prove what you can do again and again,” she explained. Transitioning to adult roles felt uncertain. Audiences loved the child she no longer was.
The actress on the set of “Whistle Down the Wind,” 1961 | Source: Getty Images
Fame’s Lonely Toll
Fame set her apart from her peers. “I always felt a bit on the outside of other girls,” she confessed. The pressure to stay perfect intensified. Desperate not to let adults down, she began vomiting after meals to appear smaller, developing bulimia.
A columnist once remarked she looked “seven pounds thinner,” weighing just 112 pounds. The young star admitted, “I’m trying to shrink my stomach to peanut size.”
Breaking Free and Facing Disappointment
As adulthood neared, she craved change. At 20, she broke free from Disney, reclaiming her independence. Yet disappointment soon followed.
At 21, she gained access to the trust fund holding her childhood earnings. But the account had been drained — a staggering 91% tax imposed by the British government after the war wiped it out.
She fought the outcome for years, but by 1975, the appeal was permanently denied. “I never saw it,” she said. Reflecting on the loss, she admitted, “It would have been nice if I had the freedom to say no.”
A New Battle: Cancer
Life tested her once again. On her 62nd birthday in 2008, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“The biggest challenge I’ve ever had,” she recalled. Facing the diagnosis, she underwent immediate surgery. Yet the reality of treatment hit hard. Two weeks into chemotherapy, her hair began falling out. Refusing to feel powerless, she had her son shave her head.
Resilience and Humor
Even during treatment, she kept her humor. “I had a marvelous wig,” she laughed, “and at night I wore a pink woolly bobble hat because my head got cold.”
Determined to recover, she pushed through. However, after three chemotherapy sessions, she made the tough decision to stop.
Hayley Mills attends the TV Choice Awards on September 7, 2015, in London, England. | Source: Getty Images
