User:HorrorFan121/Abby Cunningham

Casting and creation
Prior to being cast in Knots Landing, Mills was primarily known for playing the "damsel in distress" archetype in both film and television media. The actress became somewhat famous for playing these roles, often leading to some unwanted typecasting on her part. In an interview with Jerry Buck for the Toledo Blade newspaper, Mills said: "I got tired of playing the victim. It's a more active role. Abby keeps things stirred up, and I like that." According to series creator David Jacobs, Abby was never planned when the show began. He did know that he would like to bring on a J.R. Ewing-esque character in the form of a woman later on down the line. However, he had quite a different sense of who the character would be and who would wind up playing the role. With Mills' reputation of playing the victim, they didn't even think of casting her in the part.

In the early planning stages of season two, a CBS executive, Tony Barch, suggested Mills for the role of Abby Cunningham. The character was initially conceived as simply being the sister of Sid Fairgate (Don Murray), one of the central characters on the show, who was killed off in the next season. Casting agent Barbara Miller-Gidaly was the first to introduce Mills and Jacobs. After meeting with Miller-Gidaly, Jacobs decided to have Mills come in to test for the role, which was unusual for an established actress of her league. She auditioned shortly after and convinced the producers that she was a perfect fit for the character. Jacobs said, " She came back that afternoon and she read and she was great, and it meant reshaping the role a little bit, but, um, not that much. You know, she still came in, she drove up in the Volvo station wagon. She had the kids in the back. It was very middle class."

In 1989, Mills announced her intentions to leave the long-running nighttime soap after nine years of playing Abby. According to Mills, she wanted to take a break from acting for a while, and also wanted to take a break from playing Abby.