Heather Mills has recently made headlines after hitting out at the meat industry and blaming its ‘nefarious practices’ for her collapsing vegan food empire.
But the model and campaigner is more than just plant-based philanthropy, and has notoriously found fame in various ways – be it animal rights activism, landmine campaigning or even skiing.
She is also known for her famous marriage to – and even more famous divorce from – ex-Beatle Paul McCartney.
And the star has also found herself in the spotlight for her feisty reputation – in one incident pouring a jug of water over Sir Paul’s barrister – and has even been accused of being a ‘pathological liar’ by past husbands and publicists alike.
Here, FEMAIL looks at the many lives the extraordinary public figure has led…
Heather Mills has recently made headlines after hitting out at the meat industry and blaming its ‘nefarious practices’ for her collapsing vegan food empire. Pictured in 2019
VEGAN EMPIRE
Heather is perhaps best known for her work in veganism and animal rights activism.
Earlier this month, she blamed ‘gaslighting’, ‘nefarious practices’ and a ‘litany of lies’ from the meat and dairy industry – as well as Brexit, the Tories and energy companies – for the collapse of her vegan food empire.
Sir Paul McCartney’s ex-wife, 55, claims that dark forces within rival food industries undermined VBites – one of the leading manufacturers of plant-based meat and cheese in the UK.
She wrote that vegan firms are under attack from the meat and dairy industries – and the celebrities they employ. She claimed they run dirty advertising campaigns ‘joking about plant milk, insulting lactose intolerant people as well as ethical environmental animal lovers’.
Heather also blasted ‘a litany of lies and misinformation’ and ‘well-funded gaslighting initiatives that detract from the facts and sow the seeds of doubt in consumers who deserve to know the truth’.
She founded VBites with the ‘sole purpose of furthering the plant-based movement’ and set up a factory in County Durham with the plan of turning her native north-east of England into ‘Silicon Valley of plant-based foods’ such as vegan sausages, burgers and fish fingers.
The collapse of Heather’s food business came in a grim year for vegan brands as demand for meat-free products slowed after a pandemic rush with a study revealing today that companies should now consider not putting vegan on labels if they want them to succeed with weary consumers.
Sir Paul McCartney ‘s ex-wife, 55, claims that dark forces within rival food industries undermined VBites – one of the leading manufacturers of plant-based meat and cheese in the UK. The pair pictured in 2002
But the model and campaigner is more than just plant-based philanthropy, and has notoriously found fame in various ways – be it animal rights activism, landmine campaigning or even skiing. Pictured in 2013
After her split from the Beatles genius and bitter divorce battle that saw her hurl water on Sir Paul’s barrister Fiona Shackleton, Heather, a former model and ski instructor set about her mission to promote veganism and animal rights and become the UK’s ‘vegan queen’.
After her split from the Beatles star and bitter divorce battle that saw her hurl water on Sir Paul’s barrister Fiona Shackleton, Ms Mills, a former model and ski instructor set about her mission to promote veganism and animal rights and become the UK’s ‘vegan queen’.
The collapse of VBites will have hurt Heather deeply. It was a path that coincidentally pitted her against Sir Paul’s late first wife, Linda, whose vegetarian food remains a best-seller.
VBites makes vegan sausages, burgers and fish fingers, and had previously had a deal to supply McDonald’s. The business also supplied meat-free products to Europe including ski resorts and even ran vegan cafes in chichi Chester and Hove.
The company was founded as Redwood Wholefood in 1993, Mills took control in 2007 and changed its name to VBites.
But the administrators have now been called in, with Ms Mills blaming celebrity campaigns promoting milk, cheese and meat for a decline in demand for the vegan foods VBites offered.
The former model, who was awarded £24.3million in her divorce from Sir Paul, has said she was devastated by the collapse of her vegan food empire just before Christmas, claiming she had invested ‘tens of millions of pounds’ of her own money into the business – as well as ‘blood, sweat and tears’ to try to save it.
She paid tribute to her 112 staff, whose jobs are at risk just two weeks before Christmas.
On her website, she said: ‘It’s with regret that VBites Foods, a company very dear to my heart, is entering into administration. I offered every solution I feasibly could to keep it going.’
Her manufacturing site in Peterlee, County Durham and in Corby, Northamptonshire, will continue to run until a new buyer is found.
MODELLING CAREER – AND MOVE TO PHILANTHROPY
Heather has often spoken about her troubled upbringing – and while the accuracy of her stories have been debated, she reportedly had left home by the age of 17.
As reported by HELLO!, she was in the mid 1980s put on probation after being arrested for stealing £20,000 worth of jewellery.
However, Heather was not to be deterred by any setbacks.
The outlet explained that she would soon meet British businessman Alfie Karmal, who helped support her modelling ambitions and even helped her set up an agency – which was ultimately unsuccessful.
By 1987, Heather had oved to Paris, where she reportedly became the mistress of a millionaire called George Kazan.
In 2003, he told the Sunday Mirror: ‘Heather did do some modelling when I knew her in Paris but it didn’t bring in the kind of money she was after.
In the 80s, Heather met British businessman Alfie Karmal, who helped support her modelling ambitions and even helped her set up an agency – which was ultimately unsuccessful. Pictured in 1988
‘She was a minor model. She needed something else. And that something was me.’
He added: ‘Heather is a totally different person today to when we first met, and I would like to think that a lot of that is down to me.
‘I taught her to appreciate the finer things in life. We used to move constantly between Paris to Cannes to Geneva to London, always staying in the best places.
‘It was an amazing lifestyle for her – another world from what she was used to. But she was a very quick learner.’
Heather and Alfie married in 1989, aged 21, after she returned to London. They split up two years later, and her modelling career appeared to take a different direction – this time towards activism and campaigning.
In the 90s, after visiting Yugoslavia shortly before the outbreak of the Croatian War, she set up a refugee crisis centre in London.
According to the BBC – she helped as many as 20 people escape, collecting aid and driving resources into the war-torn nation.
By 1987, Heather had oved to Paris, where she reportedly became the mistress of a millionaire called George Kazan. Heather pictured in 1987
She often took up modelling gigs in Austria – which was en route – to fund the journeys.
Heather lost her left leg after a traffic collision with a police motorcycle in Kensington, London in 1993.
Her left leg was amputated below the knee, and she has used a prosthetic limb ever since.
The star had also continued to model, determined to make strides for disabled people in the industry.
Heather has since also set up initiatives which recycle prosthetic limbs, spoken up about landmine risks in areas of conflict and – in 1996 – was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
RELATIONSHIP WITH PAUL MCCARTNEY
Heather’s marriage to Paul McCartney was notoriously filled with highs and lows.
It was earlier this year reported that she ‘struggled’ to live in the ex-Beatle’s family home, where love notes and photos of his late wife Linda were displayed, as claimed by a friend of the star.
The former model’s ghostwriter and confidante Pamela Cockerill appeared in the new documentary The Trials of Heather Mills, which aired on Channel 5.
In the 90-minute TV special, the author – who wrote Heather’s 1996 biography Out On A Limb – opened up about the early days of Heather’s marriage with the former Beatle.
The couple – who had a 25-year age gap – met in May 1999 at the Pride of Britain Awards in London, just over a year after Sir Paul’s first wife Linda died of breast cancer.
It was earlier this year reported that she ‘struggled’ to live in the ex-Beatle’s family home, where love notes and photos of his late wife Linda were displayed, as claimed by a friend of the star. Paul pictured with Linda in 1989
Following their lavish wedding in Glaslough, Ireland, in 2002, Heather moved into his home in Rye, East Sussex – which he bought with Linda in 1973.
Pamela explained: ‘I think Heather found it quite hard to live in the same house that, only a couple of years before, Linda had been living in.
‘And the house hadn’t been changed that much. [Linda] was an inescapable presence because obviously, she was a big part of Paul’s life.’
What’s more, Heather’s friend claims that Paul had included tributes of his love for his first wife into the design of some of the rooms.
She continued: ‘There were little plaques saying “I love Linda” over the doorways and photos of her around.
‘It must have been very hard to deal with.’
When Linda passed away at the age of 56, the couple had been married for 29 years and shared their three children Mary, 53, Stella, 51, and James, 45. Sir Paul also adopted Linda’s daughter Heather from his wife’s first marriage to Joseph Melville See Jr.
Author Howard Sounes, – who wrote the biography Fab: An Intimate Life Of Paul McCartney, said: ‘I’m sure it must have been very difficult for Heather to move into the life of a man who had been famously happily married for years.
‘They had children together and I’m sure he was still in love with Linda. He probably hadn’t got over it.
‘He kept Linda’s ring on until the day before he married Heather.’
Elsewhere in the documentary, Pamela described how Sir Paul and Heather’s relationship was ‘volatile from the beginning’.
She explained: ‘They were such strong characters.
‘They were both used to having their own way. Before they got married, there was a big row in a hotel room in America and [Heather’s] engagement ring got thrown out of the window.
Following their lavish wedding in Glaslough, Ireland, in 2002 , Heather moved into his home in Rye, East Sussex – which he bought with Linda in 1973. The pair pictured in 2005
‘I don’t know who flung it out, but the next day, the staff were all going round with metal detectors and they recovered the ring.’
Meanwhile, Heather’s friend said she struggled with Sir Paul always being the ‘centre of attention’ when he started getting involved in her charitable causes.
Before meeting him, Heather had worked with the Cambodia Trust and Voluntary Services Overseas to help them establish schools of prosthetics across South East Asia.
In the early Noughties, Heather started working with Adopt-A-Minefield to help landmine survivors, which was also a cause close to Sir Paul’s heart.
Discussing the impact this had on the marriage, Pamela continued: ‘She wanted to still do her charity work.
‘She still wanted to be who she was and for that not to be forgotten and it was quite hard to carry on doing that.
‘Once he started to get involved in the charities, he became the star of the show and she was just an extra.’
In 2003, Heather gave birth to the couple’s daughter Beatrice. The pair announced their separation three years later before their divorce was finalised in 2008.
As part of the agreement, Heather was given £23million in cash and assets in their divorce settlement.
Sir Paul went on to marry his third wife, businesswoman Nancy Shevell, 63, in 2011.
In December 2021, Heather Mills was rumoured to have married her businessman boyfriend Mike Dickman.
The couple started dating in the spring of 2019 and Mike, who is 17 years her junior, had been seen wearing a gold wedding band.
The couple got engaged just before Christmas 2020, and were on holiday together in Dubai when news of the engagement broke in January. At the time she wrote: ‘What better way to spend my birthday than with the love of my life.’
Friends say that they had a beachside ceremony in the Maldives in 2021, on the palm-fringed sand at the Anantara resort, where rooms start at £450 a night.
Before Sir Paul, Heather was engaged to documentary-maker Chris Terrill, media executive Marcus Stapleton, and businessman Raffaele Mincione.
Chris was planning their wedding to her when she dumped him and flew to the U.S. to pursue a romance with Sir Paul McCartney, whom she had met at an awards ceremony.
Heather asked for £125 million in the divorce, but a High Court judge awarded her just a fifth of that sum — £24.3 million which she said she was ‘very, very pleased with’. She was also awarded £35,000 per annum, for a nanny and school fees for Beatrice.
Mr Justice Bennett labelled Heather a ‘less than impressive witness’, who had exaggerated the extent of her wealth before she met the former Beatle.
After the split, Heather was accused of being a ‘gold digger’ who only married Sir Paul for his money — which she denied, saying in a 2010 interview: ‘This is so far removed from who I really am.’
SKIING STAR
Earlier this year, Heather was officially recognised as the fastest disabled female skier on the planet.
Heather lost a leg in an accident in 1993 and clocked in a staggering speed of 102.5mph (164.95 km/h) in Vars, southeast France, in 2015.
In January, her successful attempt was finally recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records.
She began her competitive skiing career in 2010 at the age of 42, two years after her divorce from the legendary Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.
Earlier this year, Heather (pictured left in 2013) was officially recognised as the fastest disabled female skier on the planet
Despite her advanced age, she went on to win four gold medals at the Skiing World Championship in Aspen in 2012 for the super giant slalom and downhill racing events.
Skiing is the fastest non-motorised sport, and professionals can accelerate faster than most road cars.
In her attempt, Heather went from a standing start to over 60mph in less than three seconds.
On her record-breaking achievement, Mills said: ‘I’m delighted to have finally made it into the book!’
‘I just hope that this goes a little way to providing inspiration to those out there that have suffered similar injuries to my own and that they are able to use it as a source of inspiration to go on and achieve their own dreams and goals, whatever they may be.’
FIESTY REPUTATION – AND FAMOUS FIBS
Heather is known for not only her spirited public persona – she notoriously tipped a jug of water over the formidable ‘Steel Magnolia’ lawyer Fiona Shackleton while wrangling over her divorce from Sir Paul in the High Court in 2008 – but is also said to have a lax relationship with the truth.
Her first husband – Alfie – has in past told an interviewer: ‘She told me so many fibs that if she’d said it was raining, I would have checked.’
He was also said to urge her to seek professional help for compulsive lying.
A 2011 article from the Telegraph also recounted how Heather’s website has in past claimed that, after being sacked from a croissant shop, she ‘vowed to never work for anyone else again’.
Heather is known for not only her spirited public persona – she notoriously tipped a jug of water over the formidable ‘Steel Magnolia’ lawyer Fiona Shackleton while wrangling over her divorce from Sir Paul in the High Court in 2008 – but is also said to have a lax relationship with the truth. Pictured in 2019
‘This isn’t quite accurate, because she later took a job with a South London jeweller who had cause to lament the pitfalls and insecurities of employing the winsome adolescent,’ it read.
‘He said: “I treated her like my daughter. And she repaid that by stealing £20,000 of jewellery from me.”‘
In 2008, her former publicist accused her of conducting a campaign of dirty tricks against Sir Paul during their bitter divorce.
Hollywood PR Michele Elyzabeth launched a scathing attack on Miss Mills, saying the former model duped her into lying for her in their public battle and leaked false stories to blacken Sir Paul’s name.
During her explosive rant she refers to Heather as a pathological liar, a witch, a bitch and a gold-digger who married the former Beatle for his money.
She declared: ‘That witch tricked me into spreading lies about Paul. She’s a b***h.’
Michele also suggested the animal rights activist had misled the world into thinking she was penniless, when Sir Paul was still giving her money.
A lot of her autobiography – which came out when she was 25 – called Out On A Limb, was also said to be ‘exaggerated’, according to her boyfriend Charles Stapley, the BBC says.
The book alleges that she ran away to join a funfair at 15 and later spent months sleeping in a cardboard box under Waterloo station.
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