Milly Charles was born in New York City into a theater family who moved often for work, so she grew up in Woodstock, NY, NYC, Boston and Paris spending hours drawing and painting wherever the family moved. Some of her earliest exposure to art was spending long days drawing in museums throughout Europe. Dance, theater, poetry and visual arts have been her life since childhood. Each of these disciplines have enriched the whole of her artistic life.

Milly worked for many years in the theater as an actor, dancer and choreographer. Her art practice and art studies continued throughout as a guilty pleasure that she did “on the side” for the joy of it.

When she had her daughter, Maia, and became a single mom, she became very interested in early childhood education and started Lily Pad Preschool which she ran for 12 years in Los Angeles. When the pandemic hit, her preschool closed and all the artistic yearning to create art came surging back. The day the preschool closed she turned it into her art studio, put up her easel and started collaging. She’s now gratefully making art full time.