by Hayley Mills
First published 2021
Hayley Mills opens her memoir by looking back at the girl who became a Disney sensation before she turned thirteen. The daughter of British actor Sir John Mills, she landed under Walt Disney's personal guidance and starred in Pollyanna and The Parent Trap during the 1960s. Mills won the Academy Juvenile Award, presented by Shirley Temple, and collected Golden Globe and BAFTA honors as her fame soared. She describes the pressure of maintaining a wholesome image while growing into her teens, the emotional cost of being locked into eternal youth, and her relationship with Disney himself. Mills reveals how Hollywood's golden expectations shaped her choices, including her marriage to a producer thirty years older when she was twenty. She examines both her childhood wonder at the glamorous world that swept her up and the wisdom that comes from years of reflection on that extraordinary time.
Genres: historical-fiction, coming-of-age, autobiography, biography-memoir, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Disney, Hollywood
Period: 1960s
384 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing