For millions of fans, Hayley Mills is the face of 1960s innocence. She was the blonde, dimpled girl who played twin sisters Susan and Sharon in Disney’s classic ‘The Parent Trap‘ (1961). As a teenage star of ‘Pollyanna’ and ‘That Darn Cat!,’ she seemed to live a fairytale.
But behind the scenes, a very different story was unfolding. Now at 80 years old, the Disney legend has publicly shared how she lost most of her childhood fortune. It wasn’t because of wild spending; it was because of a betrayal by her father’s trusted financial advisor.
The ‘Crook’ Financial Advisor Who Cost Hayley Mills Millions
Mills appeared on the ‘Rosebud Podcast‘ with host Gyles Brandreth, and Mills didn’t hold back. When asked about the millions she earned during her golden years at Disney, she gave a blunt answer: “In a nutshell, I gave it to the tax man.” But the conversation quickly showed that the loss wasn’t just bad luck. It was bad faith.
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As a child actor in Britain after the war, Mills faced a very high 90% supertax on her earnings. To protect her money, her father, acclaimed actor Sir John Mills, followed the advice of his business manager, Stanley Passmore. The plan was to put her earnings into a trust fund.
Decades later, Hayley and her sister Juliet said Passmore was either grossly incompetent or worse. “[He] advised Daddy not very well and actually lost money for him,” Hayley said.
The Devastating 21st Birthday Envelope Across the Green Baize Table
The full extent of the damage became clear on her 21st birthday, which should have been the day she gained financial independence. Instead of a key to the door, she got an envelope.
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Describing the moment, Mills said, “I was handed an envelope across a green baize tablecloth by Stanley, which was the Inland Revenue basically saying, ‘Thank you. You owe us 90% of your earnings.’”
The trust had been set up incorrectly. Even worse, Passmore had been involved in a similar setup for actor Jack Hawkins, which had created a bad legal precedent with British tax authorities. When the 21-year-old actress looked to her advisor for help, he brushed her off.
“I’ve never been good at figures,” Mills admitted. “I said, ‘Well, what does this mean?’ And Stanley laughed and said, ‘Well, I think it means you have to move to America.’ And that’s all he ever said.” That’s when Mills, joined by her sister Juliet on the podcast, gave the harsh verdict. “He was a crook. He was a crook. He didn’t give a flying Dutchman.”
How Much Money Did Hayley Mills Lose?
The financial damage was terrible. She called the loss “a rather big chunk” and “most of it.” Reports suggest the sum added up to millions in lost earnings, with The Times of London reporting a loss of around £2 million.
But for Mills, the worst part wasn’t the house she couldn’t buy or the car she couldn’t drive. It was losing her freedom to choose.
Thinking back on what the money would have meant, she told The Times of London, “The main thing it would have given me is the freedom to say no… and not to have to go to America for work or whatever after that.”
Hayley Mills’ Career Struggles and Life Lessons After Disney
With her savings wiped out, Mills felt pushed into taking roles she might have turned down. She even said no to a generous offer from Walt Disney himself to renegotiate her contract, telling the podcast she simply “didn’t want to do more Disney movies.” She fought the tax ruling and took her case all the way to the House of Lords, but it didn’t work.
Even after the betrayal and the financial loss, Mills kept acting. However, she admits she struggled to find her footing as an adult actress, saying she felt she “wasn’t very good” for a while.
Now, looking back, the Disney legend sees the whole thing as a lesson in the business of being an artist. She regrets one specific mistake she made when she was young and full of ego. “There is no such thing as a small part, just small actors,” Mills said, thinking about a role she turned down that she now wishes she had taken.
For Hayley Mills, the millions are long gone, paid to the tax man and lost to a “crook.” But her voice, honest and sharp and resilient, is still very much intact.
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