text: abby cunningham 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 . " the character became known for her manipulative behavior and was often labeled a " soap vixen " . she was praised by television critics , with carolyn mcguire of the chicago tribune saying : " whoever shows up as the next villain , chances are his or her work won 't be easy . that 's because at least one resident — abby ewing — knows how to dish nasty with the best of them . " when asked which character he wished he had created , mike kelly , the creator of abc 's popular primetime - soap opera revenge , said : " abby ewing . donna mills , you rocked my world . " john mapes of the biography channel said , " any great soap opera needs a great villain . while viewers may identify more with the protagonist , the villains in a serial drama always spice things up , cause trouble , and make it more fun to watch . " development casting and creation mills portrayed abby from 1980 – 1989 . 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 unwanted typecasting . in an interview with jerry buck for the toledo blade , 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 jacobs , abby was not planned when the show began . he knew that he wanted a female j.r. ewing - esque character . however , he had a different sense of the character and who would wind up in the role . with mills ' reputation of playing the victim , he initially didn 't choose her for the part . in the early planning stages of season two , cbs executive tony suggested mills for the role of abby cunningham . the character was initially conceived as 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 - introduced mills and jacobs . after meeting with miller - , jacobs decided to have mills test for the role , which was unusual for an established actress . she auditioned shortly after and convinced the producers that she was the right person for the part . 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 intention to leave the long - running nighttime soap after nine years as abby . according to mills , she wanted to take a break from acting for a while , and from abby as well . in an interview with the standard , mills explained : " i 'm tired of the show . it 's been too long . i 'm not particularly happy with the way they 've been writing abby lately . she 's too soft . i 'd like abby to get back to her old self . " mills returned for the series finale and the subsequent reunion specials ( knots landing : back to the cul - de - sac and knots landing reunion : together again ) . virginia heffernan of the new york times praised her scenes with fellow actor william devane , saying : " the jean - scented banter between the actors donna mills and william devane is both the and the most enlightening part of the reunion special . " characterization the producers always intended abby to be the " pot " . devane , who played greg sumner , said that the show was looking for a woman " in high heels with the throat of the guy – that 's what they wanted " . he added , " it was your character that influenced all these unhappy women today who have jobs and are out there working hard , trying to raise kids by themselves , going crazy . " mark harris of entertainment weekly said , " michelle phillips is the last of prime - time 's great schemers , an essential element of the show since the departure of donna mills , whose abby cunningham was knots ' resident harpy for years . " in an interview with greg hernandez , mills explained : " i knew that she was going to be a trouble maker but actually knowing the writers and the producers , i knew that the character would be rounded and have dimension and that was really fun for me to play . it wasn ’ t one - note all the time , it was a lot of different colors . " television personality julie chen said , " the women of knots , michele lee , joan van ark , and donna mills have been compared to earth , wind , and fire , with donna mills bringing the heat as abby , the conniving vixen that everybody loved to hate . " according to mills , many people were wary of meeting her in person because they assumed she would be like abby . she said , " they were very about what i was going to do . " mike of nbc said that her character was " the archetypal predatory female " , while meredith vieira said " even the bad girl could show a tender side every once in a while " , in reference to her daughter 's on - screen drug addiction . it was this very storyline that showed abby at her most vulnerable and human , a story which audiences recall as perhaps one of her most desperate and motherly of moments . in addition to that , abby also helped val get her kidnapped babies back , even though she was blamed she said she " could never do a thing like that to anyone " . when karen and mack began to have some problems in their marriage and karen distanced herself from mack , abby confronted karen aggressively and told her she was wrong for doing so to him . mills became known for wearing a lot of eye makeup in her scenes , to the point where it became a major character trait for her fictional personality . carole glinez of star magazine said , " mills was so famous for her dramatic eye makeup on the show that she produced her own beauty video called the eyes have it . " eddie shapiro of out magazine said that " abby 's eye makeup was legendary ! " glinez also referred to her as knots " fox " , saying : " mills was one of the queens of the nighttime soap . abby cunningham ewing was the conniving , bed hopping blonde beauty on the dallas spin - off knots landing . relationships abby was always intended to be the show 's promiscuous seductress . in an interview with carolyn mcguire of the chicago tribune , 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 . " author june l. may of monsters and critics said , " in season two of knots landing , a catalyst moves into the neighborhood in the form of sid ’ s sister , the drop dead gorgeous abby cunningham . whether abby is directly involved , or simply in the neighborhood , she has a detrimental affect on the harmony of couples . " almost immediately , abby sank her claws into richard avery ( john ) , one of the neighborhood husbands . though the affair was brief , it set the stage for what was to come . in season three , abby sets her sights on the wealthy gary ewing , the husband of her good friend valene ewing . while gary initially thwarted her attempts , he eventually gave in and had a full - fledged affair with her . actress joan van ark , who played val , said : " i went in way early , whenever donna mills came on the show , and told david jacobs that it made total sense that gary would fall for abby . because they were celebrating donna mills and she became the center i can ’ t believe i did that but it really provided us with some great stories . and it was the longest running story on the show . " dan lewis of the sarasota journal said , " in a recent episode , abby lures gary ewing into an affair , and sets it up so that his wife will discover it . after she completed the scene , miss mills recalls , the crew hissing at her – jokingly , of course . " the character was known for her numerous rivalries with other female characters , such as paige and karen . carole glinez said , " mills ' character faced her rival paige , played by future desperate housewives sexpot nicollette sheridan . " storylines before her first appearance , abby meets and marries jeff cunningham . they move to san luis obispo , california , and have two children , olivia and brian . when she and jeff divorce , abby moves to san diego . on the way she stops to visit her brother , sid , and decides to stay in knots landing . she rents a house on seaview circle , and has an affair with richard avery . abby soon sets her eyes on neighbor gary ewing , which becomes obvious after she starts working as a bookkeeper for knots landing motors . she and gary get the company involved with the mob , which results in her brother sid 's death . at the same time , jeff kidnaps her children . she eventually gets them back . abby and gary go into a methanol business together and start an affair . valene finds out and kicks gary out , so he moves in with abby . gary soon inherits millions from his father jock ewing 's death . abby uses the money to manipulate those around her , and gary starts drinking again . gary up and buys a ranch , similar to southfork , the ranch his family owns . they move there and marry . abby begins running gary 's company , and uses his money to fund her own corporation , , which she uses to develop lotus point . she becomes involved with politician greg sumner and the group . when gary finds out about her illegal dealings , he leaves her . after abby is kidnapped , he takes her back , and makes karen a partner in lotus point . abby soon finds out that val is pregnant with gary 's twins . she expresses her displeasure to employee scott easton , who has val 's twins kidnapped at birth . abby works to find out where the twins are , and brings val to them . abby her way to become a part of the " real " empire valley . after gary blows it up , he leaves abby again . she attempts to get him back , but instead they divorce . abby soon starts an affair with peter hollister as a way to get information on greg . then charles scott , her first love , returns . he is married , but he divorces his wife and asks abby to marry him . abby is in love again , but then finds out that charles is the front for a group of thugs wanting to build a marina at lotus point for drug trafficking . abby pretends to go along with the marriage and accepts a two million dollar wedding gift from charles . after the ceremony she has the marriage annulled , but keeps the money . after this , abby marries greg sumner . it isn 't love , but rather a political marriage . abby forms another company , , in order to buy lotus point . when her former partners find out and threaten to have her arrested for fraud , she donates lotus point to the government as a wildlife preserve . abby goes after a political appointment that greg wants , and leaves knots landing to be a trade representative in japan . abby later forms another illegal company with nigel treadwell , and tries to take over the sumner group , but her plan fails . she moves back into her old house on the cul - de - sac . in the 1997 reunion mini - series , abby sells her house and prepares to leave the cul - de - sac and move to malibu . however , the irs freezes her assets for non - payment of back taxes , and she temporarily moves in with karen and mack , and gets a job from gary at the construction company he runs with karen . however , abby 's motives are to obtain a legal document from their company in order to help greg sumner , who is being sued . should she obtain the document , greg will pay her the $ 1 million she needs . greg then informs her he no longer needs the document . abby tries to infiltrate his other business dealings to her advantage . instead of paying her off , greg offers her a job overseeing one of his business operations in thailand , which will make her rich again . before departing , abby learns that brian 's girlfriend ( kate whittaker ) is expecting their first child , thus making her a grandmother . reception critical reception abby was well received by television critics . carolyn mcguire of the chicago tribune commented , " whoever shows up as the next villain , chances are his or her work won 't be easy . that 's because at least one resident — abby ewing — knows how to dish nasty with the best of them . only alexis carrington colby dexter , played by joan collins on dynasty , and angela channing , portrayed by jane wyman on falcon crest , rival abby ewing , played by donna mills , for best prime - time female villain . " when asked which character he wished he had created , mike kelly , the creator of abc 's popular primetime - soap revenge , said : " abby ewing . donna mills , you rocked my world . " jamey giddens of zap2it said , " while i readily admit alexis will go down in soap history as the most famous of the 80 's primetime soap vixens , she was never truly my cup of detergent . i much preferred the more subdued , methodical villainy of characters like abby fairgate ( donna mills ) , who slept her way through seaview circle , and to the top of corporate california on knots landing . god i miss that damn cul - de - sac ! " josh mapes of the biography channel listed her in the category " 10 primetime stars we love to hate " . he said , " any great soap opera needs a great villain . while viewers may identify more with the protagonist , the villains in a serial drama always spice things up , cause trouble , and make it more fun to watch . from tongue lashings to catfights , underhanded tricks to boldface lies , the characters we love to hate have each brought a fair share of great moments to primetime soaps . while larry hagman played the bad guy on dallas , donna mills played bad girl on its spin - off , knots landing . going after what she wanted , mills ' character engaged in affairs with two of the husbands on the knots landing cul - de - sac . but , like most vixens on primetime soaps , she was only out for money , not love . " steve of the quincy newspapers listed abby as the third - most memorable tv character in an article he wrote for the quincy herald - whig . he said , " no one , absolutely no one , rocked eye shadow and the messy - hair look like abby ewing , who was this marvelous combination of vixen and corporate sleuth . as her character developed , life on the cul - de - sac made knots landing destination tv every thursday night for more than a decade . " marta of technorati media said : " the biggest news of season two , though , is the appearance of donna mills as abby cunningham , the blonde bombshell who wreaks havoc all through the neighborhood . with the appearance of abby , things really started to heat up and get interesting . no marriage is off limits when abby sets her eyes on it . played to perfection by donna mills , abby is wicked , vicious , bitchy , and heartless enough to keep us loving and hating her for years . abby 's clashes with karen mackenzie and val were legendary , and season two gets things rolling . after a fairly peaceful start to the season , we start to see the beginnings of the rivalry that defines the show for years : karen vs. abby . it 's fun watching their early friendship evolve into a bitter rivalry . " accolades