Heather Mills

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Heather Mills
Heather Mills and Paul McCartney in Moscow.
Born	January 12, 1968 (age 39) Aldershot, Hampshire, England
Spouse	Alfie Karmal (1989-1991) Paul McCartney (2002- )
Children	Beatrice Milly McCartney

Heather, Lady McCartney (born 12 January 1968 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England), usually known as Heather Mills or Heather Mills McCartney, is a campaigner on behalf of several causes, including amputees, the curtailment of land mines and animal rights. Her early career was as a glamour model. She is the estranged wife of the former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney; the couple announced their separation in May 2006, just prior to Sir Paul's 64th birthday.

1 Early career
2 Activism and awards
3 Criticisms
4 Bibliography
5 References
6 External links

Early career

Mills's early life was turbulent. A few months after she was born, she moved to Washington, then in County Durham. Her mother left home when she was nine, leaving Mills and her siblings in the care of an abusive father. When her father went to prison, she moved to London to live with her mother. As a teenager she ran away from home and found herself homeless.

Having tried several jobs, she began a career in modeling and in 1988, while aged twenty, she took part in a photoshoot with a male model with whom she performed simulated sexual acts^[1]. The photos were published in a book entitled Die Freuden der Liebe (The Joys of Love)^[2]. An American edition was published in the same year with the title Sex Games. The male model has stated the book project was presented to him as a sex manual, not pornography.

In early 1989, after becoming more established as a model, she and her mother reconciled. Her mother had minor surgery and subsequently died; a blood clot moved into her lungs and heart resulting in death^[3]

In 1990, she moved to what was then northern Yugoslavia (now Slovenia), to recover from an ectopic pregnancy. She arrived to witness the unfolding civil war first-hand. Over the following two years, she modelled to raise funds for refugees of the war, commuting between Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and the UK and working with government agencies to establish refugee crisis centers, hospitals and housing for the homeless.

Mills married Alfie Karmal on 6 May 1989. They divorced in 1991.

Accident and leg amputation

In August 1993, she was hit by a police motorcycle while crossing the road near London's Kensington Palace; her injuries included crushed ribs and a punctured lung. She needed a metal plate put into her pelvis and also the amputation of her left leg below the knee^[4]. Mills has a prosthetic leg, notably taking it off and showing it to USA talk show host Larry King during his interview with her in October 2002. While in hospital, she let reporters into her hospital room and sold her story to the highest bidder, with details of how she and her boyfriend made love in her hospital bed. During the next month, she earned about $250,000^[5]

Following the accident she arranged for prostheses to be sent from the United Kingdom to the war-torn former Yugoslavia.

Marriage to Paul McCartney

While she was engaged to be married to Chris Terrill, a film maker, she met Sir Paul and abandoned her fiancé only days before the wedding^[6]. After a period of going out with each other, in March 2000 Mills and Sir Paul announced they were in love. It is not known if she told him about her change of plans for her earlier marriage. He eventually proposed with a diamond and sapphire ring he had purchased in India^[7]

Heather Mills married Sir Paul McCartney on 11 June 2002, four years after his first wife Linda McCartney died of breast cancer. Their wedding was an elaborate ceremony at Castle Leslie (once home of Shane Leslie) in the village of Glaslough in County Monaghan, Ireland.

As a result of this marriage, Mills became stepmother to Sir Paul's children from his marriage to Linda: ceramics designer Heather McCartney, photographer Mary McCartney, top fashion designer Stella McCartney, and musician and sculptor James McCartney.

On 28 October 2003, Mills gave birth to the couple's only child together, a daughter, Beatrice Milly McCartney. The baby was named after Heather's late mother Beatrice and Sir Paul's Aunt Milly.

Divorce

On 17 May 2006 it was announced via the couple's websites that she was to separate from her husband. When it became known that Paul McCartney had left her and was seen and photographed in France, Heather Mills claimed that they were still together. Only a few days later the couple announced their separation in a joint statement. Media speculation in the weeks prior to this had been intense. In the London newspaper the Evening Standard on 18 May 2006, Mills told of the hurt she felt over claims she had only married Sir Paul for his money, and she said "I am no gold digger" and that the allegations were "worse than losing my leg."^[8] The Daily Telegraph was one of a number of British newspapers to suggest that if the couple did eventually divorce, it could lead to the UK's biggest ever divorce settlement, some estimating she could receive £200 million (a quarter of Paul McCartney's wealth). On 30 July 2006, Paul McCartney filed for divorce from Heather Mills citing "unreasonable behaviour." Meanwhile national newspaper The Daily Mail has alleged that Ben Amigoni, Mills' personal trainer, is having a close relationship or affair with her^[9].

Under English law, a divorce or dissolution of marriage can be made in as little as six weeks. However, Mills has vowed to fight the case in both Britain and the United States. She is using the services of divorce lawyer Anthony Julius, from London solicitors Mishcon de Reya who had acted in the 1996 divorce for Diana, Princess of Wales^[10], while her estranged husband is said to have instructed the divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who acted for Prince Charles.

On 24 October 2006, Mills announced her intention, through solicitors, to sue the Daily Mail and London's Evening Standard over "false, damaging and immensely upsetting" claims surrounding her divorce from Sir Paul McCartney. It has not been stated whether the litigation will be on the grounds of libel or invasion of privacy. Her law firm also intend an action against The Sun.^[11]^[12]

The Sun, which regularly refers to her as "Mucca" (a play on Paul's nickname "Macca"), has responded to threat to sue by asking her to "tick the boxes" on a series of allegations the paper has made about the former model stating "It is not clear what exactly she plans to sue us about." The paper then asks: "Come on Heather, what exactly did we get wrong? Is it that you're a ..." Underneath the open question, the Sun lists six allegations about the former model, with a blank box beside each one. The words beside the boxes read: "Hooker, Liar, Porn Star, Fantasist, Trouble Maker, Shoplifter".^[13]

Mills has told the BBC that she has received "death threats" since splitting with her husband. She also claimed her personal trainer, Ben Amigoni, was not her lover but was helping to protect her^[14].

On 17th December 2006 the BBC's website reported that Police have warned Heather Mills over a "non-specific threat" made to her safety.^[15]

On 21 January 2007, the press announced a settlement between the two, mentioning that Sir Paul would pay £32 million in cash and property to his ex-wife^[16]. The deal appears to incorporate a gagging order. Marilyn Stowe, a leading UK divorce lawyer writing in The Times called it "one of the most high-profile marriage breakdowns in history."^[17].

Since January 2007 Heather Mills and her sister Fiona have a new section attached to Heather's website called "Enough is enough". It is similar to their facts and fictions section. So far they posted two excerpts in this sections, which both disappeared again after only a short time. In the first excerpt the sisters accused Paul McCartney that he doesn't care to pay for Heather's security even though she claims to receive death threats. That said, the letter of support Paul McCartney wrote for Heather Mills about two years ago can still be read on her website. In the second excerpt, which disappeared after only two days, the sisters complained about false and misleading media reports added with a definition of "character assassination" taken from Wikipedia.

In March 2007, Mills has said "I will never get over it. I will always love Paul. He is the father of my child but I just have to move on and deal with it and there is nothing I can do," she told BBC News 24 television. "I have never spoken badly about my husband. I never will -- he is the father of my child." She also insisted that the media's attitude to her was biased. "It's a big powerful group of people behind this whole campaign against me," she said, "all I want is balanced coverage, not just the one sided, 'let's crucify and vilify Heather.'"^[18]

Dancing with the Stars

Mills is one of the celebrities showcased during the U.S. television series Dancing with the Stars in 2007. The show's fourth season began March 19 of that year.

Activism and awards

Mills is an activist for several causes, particularly against the use of landmines.

In 2003 the Open University of the United Kingdom awarded her for this an honorary degree. Websites under control by Lady Paul describe this misleadingly as an "Open University Doctorate".

In 2004 she received an "Children in Need" award from the annual International Charity Gala in Düsseldorf. The proceeds from this gala went to UNESCO.

The University of California, Irvine, honoured Mills with the 2004 Human Security Award and created the Heather Mills McCartney Fellowship in Human Security, to support graduate students conducting research on pressing human security issues.

Work for the United Nations Association of the USA

Mills is currently a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA), a private charitable trust, which is not directly connected to the United Nations Organization but works to highlight the goals of the UN.

Sir Paul and Lady McCartney are both patrons of Adopt-A-Minefield, a programme by the UNA-USA. Proceeds from Mills' updated autobiography, A Single Step, will be donated to the cause.

Work for amputees

In addition to promoting distribution of prostheses worldwide, she has been involved with the development of the "Heather Mills McCartney Cosmesis"^[19]^[20] 'to give amputees in America a chance to wear a Dorset Orthopaedic cosmesis without the need to visit us here in the UK'.

Work against seal hunting

In March 2006, Mills and her husband ventured to eastern Canada to bring attention to the country's annual seal hunt. Sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, they claimed the hunt was inhumane and called on the Canadian government to put it to an end. Their arrival on the floes sparked much attention in Newfoundland and Labrador where 90% of the sealers live. Due to the intense media attention, the couple debated with Newfoundland and Labrador's Premier Danny Williams on Larry King Live.

Work against the fur trade

Heather Mills also campaigns against the trade in dog fur (which is often passed off as fur from other animals), and particularly the live skinning of dogs.

She posed with her dog, in an anti-fur advertisement for a PETA campaign, which had the catchline: "If you wouldn't wear your dog, please don't wear fur" campaign^[21].

She has been dropped by PETA, the "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals", over her controversial behavior and because Paul McCartney's daughter Mary refused to continue her work with the organization unless it cut ties with Heather Mills. Recent photos have come to light of Mills wearing a favorite mink coat she owned and wrote about in her autobiography.^[22]

Work against pig farms

Heather Mills illegally raided a pig farm in Somerset in February 2007^[23]. The raid was said to have been carried out to publicize the use of so-called farrow crates, used for sows who are suckling piglets. A video of the raid has been circulating the internet.^[24]

Criticisms

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Heather Mills has been written about in several publications for alleged embellishments to her life story. For example, the journalist Heather Mills of Private Eye magazine has accused Mills of impersonating her for over a year in the late 90s^[25].

Articles have also questioned the effectiveness of her charitable work in the Balkans, and she has also come under criticism from disabled people claiming she presumes to speak on their behalf.

On occasion Sir Paul has defended Mills against criticism, via her website or his own.

Tabloid newspaper the News of the World alleged that she was involved in prostitution during that period of her life^[26]. Mills has strongly denied the allegations. The Reuters news agency quoted Mills McCartney's lawyers on Tuesday 13 June who issued a statement saying. "Heather is very distressed by this article... she has suffered weight loss, anxiety and sleeping problems as a result of the stress and anxiety of the break-up of her marriage." The statement was made by Stephen Taylor from Buckinghamshire based solicitors Coyle White Devine. Her lawyers also issued a warning that "She will defer issue of legal proceedings until the arrangements in relation to the divorce are concluded but intends to sue at that stage all parties (including individuals) who are intent on damaging her reputation".

In March 2007, British police warned Heather Mills about using the emergency phone number 999 too often. They are quoted as saying they are having to spend a disproportionate amount of time on one particular person. Kevin Moore, the Chief Superintendent of Sussex Police, said that there has often been no grounds for the calls and that Mills McCartney runs "the risk of being treated as the little boy who cried wolf."^[27]

Bibliography

A Single Step (ISBN 0-446-53165-0)
Life Balance - the Essential Keys to a Lifetime of Well Being (ISBN 0718146670)

References

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../h/e/a/Heather_Mills_bee9.html"