Characters
 
 

Helen Mills

Representation: Portia de Rossi
 
 
On Series Since: 2003 - Present
Full Name: Helen Mills
Profession: High School Teacher, Twin Peaks High School
Martial Status: Single
Previous Relationships: Divorced, Adam Black; Ex-Boyfriend, Chris Michaels; Formerly Engaged, Dale Cunningham
Family Ties: Daughter, Dawn Marie; Brother, Casey Mills; Mother, Barbara Mills; Father [deceased]; Reg Mills

History:

2003

Helen lived in White Cove, a small town just outside of Twin Peaks. She was in town at Wild Night when she met Adam Black. The two ended up having a one night stand, despite him being involved with Victoria. Victoria discovered their affair, while suffering from multiple personalities, and tried to kill Helen.

2004
The accident left her with no memory of her past. Adam stuck by her and they soon became engaged.

2009
A furious Victoria, still under the influence of her alter ego, tried to kill Adam and Helen in a fire. They survived and decided to try to regain Helen's memory. Helen started having memories of driving a car away from a bank with Olivia Wilkins next to her. She discovered she was pregnant; Adam rejoiced. They planned to be married on New Year’s Eve, which they did. Olivia introduced herself as a high school friend of Helen’s.

2010
Helen believed her, all the while Olivia began drugging Helen to ensure she didn't remember her past. Helen started to have lapses in memory, which she chalked up to her pregnancy. Things continued to get worse however, and Adam voiced his opinion that he didn't trust Olivia and wanted Helen to seek medical attention. She refused. Finally, on a stormy night at the Calimo cabin with Olivia, Olivia induced Helen's labour then knocked her out. Olivia made a mysterious call, then when Helen awoke she was in the hospital. Olivia told her and Adam that their baby girl had died. Helen was devastated; Adam blamed his wife. Turns out, however, Olivia stole Helen's baby and gave her to Cassie! Adam and Helen's grief pulled them apart and Helen moved out of their house together.

2011
She began suffering from nightmares about her baby crying. She did find herself attached to Dawn, Cassie's "baby". To get her mind off her daughter, Helen asked Madeline for help in uncovering her past. Madeline started to edge closer to the truth that Helen was helping Preston & Olivia rob banks. After having another fight with Adam, Helen asked Cassie to go to the Cabin with her for a get away. Cassie agreed and asked Olivia to come as well, knowing that Liv was having guilt pains over the baby switch. At the cabin, Helen started having more memories and Olivia encouraged her to remember making Cassie furious. Cassie ripped the break cord from Olivia's SUV and took Helen home. Olivia and Preston crashed their SUV on the way home and died. Helen was crushed and turned to Adam for support. Soon after Olivia's death, Helen began having memories from the night the baby died. She fainted and Adam rushed her to the hospital. Craig determined that because Olivia was drugging Helen, she fainted because her body was coming out of it's high. Helen was stunned to learn that Olivia was drugging her. Adam wondered if Olivia and Preston were hiding more than just their criminal past. Helen, meanwhile, continued to have memory flahses of that night and still felt attached to Dawn. Cassie asked her to be maid of honor as she and Shane were going to renew their vows.

2012
With Helen taking the memory loss pills again, she found herself having fewer and fewer memories of the night her baby died, which frustrated Adam. He started to have an attraction to one of his students, Mallory Cunningham. At Sofia's funeral, the two shared some cold words with each other but were drawn to Dawn. Cassie was exposed and Adam and Helen were finally reunited with their baby. They both verbally attacked Cassie for her lies and Helen slapped her. Cassie was arrested but she drove her car into the river and was presumed dead. Shane came over and the three adults agreed to let Shane still be a part of Dawn's life. Helen, meanwhile, became obsessed with keeping her daughter safe. This meant she continued to push Adam away and into Mallory's arms. Helen started hearing some weird noises in the house so she bought a gun to keep her and Dawn safe, which Adam was against. Adam and Mallory almost had sex but Adam left leaving Mallory thinking that if she had Adam's baby, he would want to be with her. While Adam and Helen were fighting, Mallory kidnapped the child! With Robbie's help, the couple found Mallory in her childhood tree house. Over the police radio, Helen overheard all the details of Adam and Mallory's near affair and was devastated. Mallory lunged at Adam, but fell to her death. The Black's were reunited with Dawn, despite Helen learning of her husband's near affair with his student. Adam tried to make it up to Helen, but she remained distant from him. Helen also began hearing odd noises coming from her basement. Adam gave Helen another ring and asked her to marry him again. She agreed. She went home early one evening and got spooked when she heard someone trying to break in. She grabbed the gun she had bought and fired when the man entered the house. She was horrified to see that she shot Adam! He survived the bullet, but it felt him paralized. Her long-lost brother, Casey came to town to support Helen in her time of need. Shane was worried that Casey was a con artist, but Helen told him she had a DNA test run proving her relation to Casey. Helen stunned everyone by announcing that Casey was the one who shot Adam. Adam was stunned as he remembers Helen shooting him. Helen and Casey worked on a mysterious plan to keep Adam in the dark.

2013
Adam continued to press Helen for the truth about the night of the shooting. She expressed her fears to Casey about Adam learning the truth. Helen started to drug Adam to keep him from having more memories and it started to work - Adam's memory of the night of the shooting started to turn hazy. Helen, meanwhile, was also growing closer to Shane. She kissed him and he immediately told Natasha. It was then revealed that Helen is really Cassie! Turns out, Cassie survived her car accident and had surgery to make herself look like Helen so she could get closer to Shane and Dawn again. Cassie shot Adam when he came home during the take over; Helen is being locked in a cage in the Black house basement. Helen had mixed feelings when Cassie kidnapped Natasha and put her in the same cage. On one hand, Helen was horrified that Cassie kidnapped someone else, but on the other hand she was relieved to have someone to talk too. Helen and Natasha came up with a plan to try to use Casey to help them escape. It falied, however. The two started to lose hope, when Kim found them! Cassie came down into the basement with a gun; Kim and Cassie struggled, the gun went off and both were shot. Helen and Natasha were saved, however. Helen reunited with Adam. Helen confronted Cassie in the hospital, unaware that Cassie and Adam had sex.

2014
In the New Year, Helen tried to reconnect with Adam and Dawn as a family. Her state of bliss was soon turned upside down when Adam revealed that Cassie is pregnant - and he could be the father of the baby! Helen demanded that they have a paternity test done. Helen confronted Cassie, who laughed at her. The paternity test results came back: Adam is the father of Cassie's unborn child. Devastated, Helen slapped Adam. Helen came around, however, and agreed to help Adam get custody of the unborn child. They got Natasha's help in sueing Cassie for custody. The papers left Cassie reeling. Helen went to confront her rival, and while at the hospital, Cassie went into labour. Natasha soon found Helen knocked out in the hospital room; Cassie had disappeared. Natasha worried that Cassie had replaced Helen again, so Helen got a DNA test to prove she was herself. She agreed to help Adam find his child after the police said they couldn't find Cassie. On New Year's Eve, Helen decided to look into her past to see if she had any family out there.

2015
Adam and Helen went to Madeline to get her to look into Helen's past. Helen was soon frustrated by the lack of results, but Adam told her that these things sometimes take time. Meanwhile, Helen and Adam learned that Shane was putting out a legal notice to Cassie: step forward in 30 days or their marriage would be invalid. Worried that Cassie would come back and try to take Dawn, Helen agreed to send Dawn to Europe. Soon after, Madeline revealed that she had found Helen's parents! Helen went to see them and met Reg and Barbara, but she found that Reg was verbally abusive to her mother. Soon after, Dawn came home and was reunited with her parents. Helen then took Adam and Dawn to visit Reg and Barb. Reg made it clear that he didn't like Adam, which made things tense between Adam and Helen. Adam left the visit early. When Helen got home, she and Adam fought about it. Dawn hated that her parents were fighting. Helen went back to visit her parents and Reg suffered a stroke. She had him moved to Twin Peaks and moved Barb into the family home, much to Adam's chargin. Helen became worried when Dawn became snarky with Adam, unaware her daughter had seen Adam and Natasha having sex.

2016
Helen realized that Reg was verbally abusive to Adam in the new year. She was upset, however, when her father had a set back and suffered another stroke. At the hospital, Helen was further upset by how Reg was treating Barbara. One day while Adam was with Reg, he died. Helen wondered what her husband could have said to her father that caused him to die and lashed out at Adam. He tried to convince her that it wasn't his fault, but Helen blamed Adam for Reg's death. Shortly after, it was revealed that Reg had secret debts. Helen agreed to pay them so Barbara wouldn't have to, which caused Adam more frustrations. He tried to make it up to Helen, but she refused to listen. Barbara then asked Helen to leave Adam. On the night of the storm, Barbara couldn't keep her secret any longer and she revealed that she knew about Natasha and Adam's affair! Helen was devastated and asked Adam and Natasha if it was true. When Adam admitted it, Helen slapped him and Natasha. Helen told Adam she needed space, so he agreed to move out of the house. Barbara tried to comfort her distraught daughter. Adam and Helen then realized that Dawn had run away from home; Robbie found her at the Calimo mansion. Adam and Helen then soon learned that Dawn had been blackmailing Natasha; they were shocked by her behaviour but Dawn called them out on bad behaviour. Helen struggled to forgive Adam, and soon had a chance encounter with Chris.

2017
Helen grew closer to Chris in the New Year, which unnerved Adam. Barbara began to try to convince Helen to file for divorce from Adam, which left Helen feeling confused. At Andy's gala for Reese, Helen was thrilled when Dawn arrived and appeared to be civil to her and Adam. Adam then realized that Barbara was pushing Helen to file for divorce and he told her to butt out. Things soon took a romantic turn between Chris and Helen when they shared a kiss, which Dawn witnessed. Under the influence of being smitten with Chris and Barbara's words, Helen filed for divorce from Adam. Adam got served and confronted her; Helen told him that she wanted to move on with her life. Adam then saw her with Chris and warned Chris about hurting Helen. Chris and Helen, meanwhile, had sex. Helen felt bad afterwards and told him that she needed to go slow. Chris agreed to do that, as Helen supported him through the challenges of trying to locate his biological child with Trenyce. Adam, soon, shocked Helen by revealing that Max is really his son with Cassie Nova! Helen was shocked to learn from Adam that his son was in town and is Max. Helen met Max and together with Adam, they told Dawn about her half-brother. Dawn was shocked that best friend was her family. Helen then confronted Cassie and warned her about not hurting her family again, or else. Helen and Chris continued to grow closer, but Helen bailed on going to Santa Barbara with him for Daisy & Vinny's wedding with everything going on with her family. While he was away, Helen saw Adam with Robin and then with Max and wondered if her family would ever be normal again. Dawn then revealed to Helen that the court ordered her to move back home, which thrilled Helen and Barbara. When Chris returned from his trip, however, Dawn saw her mother and Chris making love. Helen was crushed to learn that Dawn had runaway again. Adam blamed her for Dawn running after he learned about Helen and Chris' affair. Helen then comforted Chris after he was questioned by the police when Frederick was shot. On New Years' Eve, Helen was thrilled when she and Adam got a phone call from Dawn.

2018
Helen was shocked to learn that Chris was questioned by the police regarding Frederick's death. He claimed he was innocent, but when Helen learned of all the evidence against him, she wondered if he was actually guilty. Once he was arrested, Barbara claimed that he was guilty. Helen couldn't help but wonder if she was right, and didn't visit Chris while he was in jail. Soon, he was released and he told Helen how upset he was that she didn't come see him in jail. He realized it was because she thought he had killed Frederick. Helen tried to make it up to Chris. Helen, meanwhile, was thrilled that Dawn was seemingly coming back around to being a part of the family. After the ice storm passed, Dawn held a family meeting in which she announced she is a lesbian. Helen, Adam and Max were supportive, but Barbara refused to accept it. Chris and Helen made up, and he supported Helen with the news. Helen worried that Barbara wouldn't accept it. Soon after, Adam and Helen were shocked when Barbara suggested that they send Dawn to a bible camp! Helen and Adam agreed to send Dawn to the bible camp to appease Barbara. Helen and Chris, meanwhile, continued their romance. Little did Helen know, however, that Chris and Trenyce admitted they had feelings for one another and they had sex. Chris agreed to end things with Helen, and when Helen showed up and Chris' house they had a glass of wine. Neither one knew that Andrew had drugged their wine; when they passed out, he removed their clothing and put them in bed together to make it look like they had sex. In the morning, Trenyce arrived and assumed that they had made love. Helen realized that Chris was going to dump her and left quickly embarrassed. Dawn, meanwhile, returned home and Shelley revealed to Helen that her daughter had been raped. Helen comforted Dawn as they learned about Adam's accident. After they learned that Adam would be okay, Dawn lashed out at her parents for sending her away. Helen told Adam that it was her fault. Then, Barbara shot and killed Jonah and was arrested. Helen pleaded with Simona that it was self-defense, but Barbara insisted that she should be in jail. Adam and Helen grew closer as they tried to keep their family together. Adam then revealed to her why he broke up with Robin and she told him to be honest about his impotence with Robin.

2019
Helen continued to press Adam to be honest with Robin about his medical condition but he insisted that he didn't have too. They grew closer and ended up sharing a kiss and making love, which Helen thought she cured Adam's impotence. He upset her in when he told her that it was great but a mistake as he still loved Robin. Barbara, then was released from jail, as Simona could prove that Dawn was raped by Jonah due to her medical files Barbara was sentenced to community service. Adam and Helen supported Dawn when they learned she was pregnant and wanted to give her child up for adoption. Helen encouraged Barbara to support Dawn's choice, as Barbara was upset at the idea of Natasha getting to adopt Dawn's baby. Chris, meanwhile, continued to plead with Helen to see if she could remember anything about their night together the previous fall, but Helen had no memory of it. Soon, she was getting a text from Paige to meet her. At Paige's house, Helen was horrified to learn that Andrew drugged her and Chris. She warned Andrew to stay away from her, or else. She forgave Chris & Trenyce for their roles in the night. Then, an unhinged Barbara shot Dawn and Natasha. Helen and Adam were devastated to learn that Dawn lost the baby. They told their daughter what happened. Helen visited Barbara in jail, and she had a complete mental breakdown. Simona suggested that Barbara be sent to Raven's Meadow. Helen struggled with the fact that she and Adam slept together, which cured him of his impotence. She believed that their night together would lead them to them reuniting, but he told her that he was in love with Robin still. Helen tried to put a brave face on but it continued to upset her. Then, she learned that Barbara would have to go to Raven's Meadow instead of facing jail time for shooting Dawn and Natasha. Helen asked Robin about the hospital, and then agreed to send her mother there. Barbara remained in a catatonic state while at the hospital, but Felicia befriended her. Felicia overheard Brandy, Victoria's alter ego, tell Barbara that she would make her pay for sending Dawn to the bible camp. Helen, meanwhile, showed up at Robin and Adam's engagement party and got drunk. Dawn was worried about her Mom, but Helen tried to sober up and then left the party. Helen then got into a car accident with Bob. Brandy was the doctor on call, and tended to Helen. She shocked Adam and Dawn by announcing that Helen was dead! After Helen's memorial service, Brandy recalled how she drugged Helen to make her appear dead, but in fact Brandy had buried her alive! In the coffin, Helen pleaded with Brandy to let her out, but Brandy vowed to make Helen pay for sending Dawn to the bible camp.

2020
Helen continued to beg Brandy, Victoria's alter ego, to let her out of the coffin as she was buried alive. Her pleads fell on deaf ears as Brandy continued to tell her that she deserved to be punished for sending Dawn to the summer camp where she was raped. Soon, Helen told Brandy that her water source was empty; Brandy agreed to fill it. However, Brandy accidently shot herself and was not able to refill the water. Shane, however, discovered Brandy's walkie-talkie and realized that Helen might be alive. He interrupted Robin and Adam's wedding day with his theory; Adam, Max and Shane dug up Helen's grave and found her barely alive. At the hospital, Helen was reunited with Dawn and Adam as they rejoiced that she had come back to them. Helen wanted to press charges against Victoria, but Eva convinced her that if Victoria went to jail she wouldn't get the help she needed. Helen agreed to not press charges. She then told Adam that she was still in love with him, but Adam told her that his future was with Robin. Helen continued to spend time with Adam and Dawn after she was released from the coffin. Helen admitted to Adam that she still had feelings for him but he told her that he was engaged to Robin and that they would be together. Helen tried to push her feelings aside but she continued to long for her ex-husband. Shortly after, Adam, Shelley and Helen realized that Dawn was over medicating on her anti-depressants; they then received a call that Dawn was found asleep on a bench on the pier while Cheresa almost drown. Dawn had her stomach pumped and Helen supported her daughter while she agreed to get help with her addiction. Victoria, then, returned to town and apologized to Helen for burying her alive. Dawn started to tell her that she wanted her parents to be back together. On New Year's, Helen revealed to Robin that she slept with Adam which cured him of his impotence.

2021
Adam confronted Helen over her reveal to Robin that she cured him of being impotent. Helen admitted to her ex that she was still in love with him but he claimed that he was in love with Robin. Adam, meanwhile, agreed to go to rehab with Dawn. Right before they were about to go, Dawn was slapped with a restraining order to stay away from Cheresa. They vowed to get to the bottom of it. Helen, meanwhile, and Robin continued to disagree about who should be with Adam. When Adam and Dawn returned, Robin agreed to take Adam back if he agreed to stay away from Helen! He told Helen and Dawn and they were furious. Helen confronted Robin and told her to stop being so insecure. Helen, also, happened to see Shane and Robin in some close encounters. Helen pleaded with Adam to change his mind and he eventually told Robin that Helen will always be in his life. They agreed to go to Paris to have some quiet time together; Helen heard and realized that if she told Adam she loved him in one of the most romantic cities in the world, he'd have no choice but to tell her he felt the same. On the day that Adam was going to meet Robin at the Eiffel Tower, Helen announced that she was in Paris. She professed her love and kissed Adam but he told her that he loved Robin. Crushed, Helen was dejected and decided to return home. She saw Adam and he told her that Robin stood him up. They left together and Helen hoped that they would reunite. She was crushed when they got back together having just missed their connection. Robin learned that Helen was in Paris which caused Adam to be late for their meeting at the Eiffel tower. Furious, Robin confronted Helen and they had a catfight, which resulted in Robin falling down the stairs. At the hospital, Adam and Shane lashed out at her for fighting as a grown woman. Helen felt terrible. As a result, Adam told her that they couldn’t see her anymore, which crushed Helen. Shortly after, Adam was in a car accident with Chris. Helen and Dawn learned that Chris was drinking and they were upset. Adam was okay but he suffered from short term memory loss as he couldn’t remember the last 5 years of his life. Shane warned everyone not to tell Adam the truth or it could risk his recovery. Helen was secretly thrilled that Adam thought that they were still married, so he moved back in with her. Robin was furious with the fact that Helen and Adam were growing closer. Dawn was happy that her family was reunited even though it wasn’t a reality. Shortly after, Adam and Helen made love since he believed that they were married. Robin found out and confronted Helen again causing another catfight to break out! Adam split up the fight but it caused him to regain his memory; he was livid that Robin slept with Shane and he got her pregnant. The stress caused Robin to go into premature labour! Adam told Helen that she would pay the price if anything happened to the child.

2022

Helen was kept at arms bay by Adam, who was still furious with her for sleeping with him the previous fall when he didn't have his memory. She told Shane that they would have to do something to ensure Adam and Robin stay apart, but once Dominique was well enough to go home from the hospital, Robin moved back in with Adam. Shane admitted to Helen that he hated that Adam was raising his daughter. Helen gave him the idea to threaten to sue Robin for custody of the child unless she moved out of Adam's and in with Shane. Shane wasn't sure of the idea but once he learned that Adam and Robin were engaged, he agreed. Helen was thrilled when her plan worked! Robin left Adam and moved in with Shane, who pressed her to be married. Helen, meanwhile, was grateful to Adam when he agreed to try to move past everything that happened. She supported him during his breakup with Robin and kissed him. He pulled back from the kiss and told her that he was still in love with Robin, but Helen had hopes of reuniting with her ex-husband. Helen was thrilled when Shane told her that he convinced Robin to marry him. She believed that they were both going to get what they wanted: Adam and Robin, respectfully. Helen supported Adam when he became depressed at the thought of Robin marrying Shane. She told him that it was time to move on. She continued to support him after the marriage happened. Shortly after, Adam overheard Helen leaving Shane a voicemail saying that their plan worked. He demanded to know which plan she was talking about; Helen finally broke down and admitted that it was her idea for Shane to threaten to sue for custody of Dominique unless Robin moved in with him. Adam was furious with her and threw her out of her life. Dawn encouraged her mother to do what she had to do to make it up to Adam. Adam and Helen were thrown together to support Dawn during Cheresa's kidnapping. Helen believed the ordeal was a reminder of how well they worked together as a team but Adam told her that he was going to tell Robin the truth. Shortly after, Robin told Helen to stay away from her and Adam as they reunited. Shane suggested to Helen that she move on from Adam, since he was going to move on from Robin because he didn't want to pine away after someone who didn't want him. Helen thought about it and then was kissed by Shane on New Year's Eve.

2023
Helen was upset when Adam confirmed that he was moving on with Robin. She decided to take a vacation to Mexico, but waited to leave until after the Roboto gala. At the gala, she was stunned to hear Felicia claim that Barbara was alive. Helen told Dominick that they had to figure out what was going on because there's no way that her mother was alive. Helen then flew to Cancun and met a man named Dale Cunningham at her resort. They hit it off and ended up in bed together! Helen felt great when she returned home as she realized she needed the one night stand to help move on from Adam. Upon returning home, she learned that Adam dumped Robin because she was pregnant with Shane's baby again. Dawn told Helen and Adam that they could be together again. Helen was then floored to see Dale in Twin Peaks; he admitted he was there for work, so they connected again and ended up back in bed. Adam saw them together and thought that Dale looked familiar. Adam then told Helen that he realized who Dale is: Mallory Cunningham's father! Helen was stunned and confronted him; Dale admitted it but claimed that he didn't know their connection when they first met. To prove this, Dale proposed to Helen! Helen thought about it and finally accepted his proposal! Helen stunned Dawn and Adam with the news that she accepted Dale's marriage proposal. Adam and Dawn still had issues with the proposal while Helen and Dale grew closer while planning their wedding. Soon after, Helen learned that Dawn and Cheresa were planning to elope. Cheresa arrived on her doorstep when Dawn missed the flight, which they all thought was odd. Then, they all learned that someone hit Dawn with their car and drove away! They rushed to the hospital and were horrified to learn that Dawn was placed in a medically induced coma in hopes of her being able to recover. Helen went home to change when Simona arrived and told her that she found Dale's car outside of Twin Peaks, with a large dent in it. Simona asked Helen if Dale could have hit Dawn with his car, but she said no. Simona decided to run a paint sample test anyways. Helen confronted her fiancé when Dale returned home. He denied hitting Dawn with his car, but he finally admitted it after Helen told him that Simona was investigating! He told her that he wanted revenge for Mallory's death but didn't know what his plan was until Dawn learned the truth. Helen was horrified but Dale knocked her out before she could leave. When Helen woke up, she was tied to a chair in the treehouse in her backyard; the same treehouse where Mallory had kidnaped Dawn too years earlier. Helen pleaded with Dale to let her go but he said he wouldn't let her go until he was ready to kill her. Soon, Adam realized where Helen was and went to save her! A fight broke out between Adam and Dale, and Dale ended up falling to his death, just like Mallory! Adam saved Helen and then were reunited with Dawn, who came out of her coma as she was getting better. They spent Christmas together as a family before Adam admitted he still loved Helen and kissed her on New Year's Eve.
 

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