Hayley Mills‘ Disney fortune vanished to the “tax man” because of a “crook.”
She was minted after she inked a lucrative deal with Walt Disney to star in multiple flicks, including The Parent Trap, That Darn Cat!, and In Search of the Castaways.
Losing Money to Taxes
But Hayley blew a “big chunk” of cash on “unnecessarily large amount” of taxes after solicitor Stanley Passmore encouraged the star to inject her fortune into a trust, later engulfed in a 90 per cent super-tax to help Britain recover after World War Two.
Stanley “poorly advised” Hayley’s dad, actor Sir John Mills, and “lost money” for him.
The actress was 21 when “handed an envelope across a green baize tablecloth by Stanley, which was the Inland Revenue basically saying, ‘Thank you. You owe us 90 per cent of your earnings'”, she recalled on Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud Podcast.
Hayley, 80, admitted she struggled to wrap her head around finances to Stanley, and was met with laughter as “he said, ‘Well, I think it means you have to move to America'”.
Juliet Mills, 84, declared Stanley “was a crook” as she joined her sister on the podcast episode. Hayley agreed, “He was. He was a crook. He didn’t give a flying Dutchman.”
Hayley’s appeal for the return of her earnings, which The Times reported was around £2 million, went as far as the House of Lords, but ended in her being slapped with a rejection.
Struggling in Adult Acting Roles
The BAFTA award winner bounced back after her fortune was wiped out of her bank account. Unfortunately, she struggled to perform in adult roles.
Hayley said, “I did go through a period of it being more difficult, and I wasn’t very good, and I went through a period of not knowing what kind of parts I ought to be playing.”
However, Disney “very generously offered” the actress to “renegotiate and sign another contract.” However, Hayley admitted to not having a “sensible enough sense of my career and what I ought to be doing”.
She ruled out making more movies for the legendary filmmaker because Hayley “wanted to spread my wings and have a greater choice and not be limited by that.”
Hayley “found it awfully difficult” to transition into adult roles because she “didn’t want to disappoint people.”
Poor Decisions
The Trap star said she “made some crass, really stupid mistakes.” One was turning down a “small part” in Hindle Wakes. The TV series was from actor-and-artist Laurence Olivier, her 76-year-old brother, and actor Jonathan Mills’ godfather.
Hayley recalled, “It was too small. I didn’t understand. There is no such thing as a small part, just small actors. And that was a big mistake.”