Abby Cunningham
| Abby Cunningham | |||||||||||
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| Knots Landing character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Donna Mills | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1980–89, 1993, 1997 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | November 20, 1980 (Episode: Hitchhike, Part 1) |
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| Last appearance | May 9, 1997 (Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac) |
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| Created by | David Jacobs | ||||||||||
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| Occupation | Housewife Bookkeeper at Knots Landing Motors Executive at:
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| Siblings | Sid Fairgate Paul Fairgate |
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| Spouse | Jeff Cunningham (div. 1980) Gary Ewing (1983–87) Charles Scott (1988) Greg Sumner (1988–89) |
| Children | Olivia Cunningham Brian Cunningham |
| Grandchildren | Unnamed grandchild (through Brian) |
| Nieces and nephews | Annie Fairgate Diana, Eric and Michael Fairgate Paul Fairgate (via her older brother) |
Abby Fairgate (formerly Cunningham, Ewing and Sumner) is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera Knots Landing, a long-running serial about middle class life on the fictional cul-de-sac known as Seaview Circle in Los Angeles, California. She was played by actress Donna Mills between 1980 and 1989. Abby was created by producer David Jacobs as one of Knots Landing's earliest characters. She debuted in the first episode of the second season. Mills remained a principal actor in the series until she left in its tenth season. She returned for the two-part series finale to provide closure for the fans. The character made her last television appearance in 1997, when she appeared in the Knots Landing reunion series Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac, and was reunited with former cast members.
Prior to being cast on Knots Landing, Mills was predominantly known for playing "damsel in distress" roles, which is why the producers didn't initially consider her. Abby's storylines focused on business dealings, affairs and family troubles. Introduced as the sister of Sid Fairgate, she was initially portrayed as a friendly, warm-hearted woman with great love for her children. In due time, she evolved into the series' main antagonist, constantly causing mayhem in others' lives. According to series creator David Jacobs, the producers always intended Abby to be a J.R. Ewing-esque character. Jacobs said, "When we were casting the role of Abby, we were looking for a homey type, someone whom the other women characters would trust. It was our intention to have this nice person gain the trust of the other women and then cause trouble for them. We didn't want the other characters and the audience to know that there was a scheming person under this nice facade. We wanted her to come on as a good person and then evolve into a vixen."
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