As a child, she was nicknamed "Penny" because the last of syllable of her first name, Millicent, ended in "cent".
Made headlines in 1953 when she retired at the height of her career to devote herself to religious work with the Seventh-day Adventist church. She later resumed her career in 1956.
Mother of actress Deborah Winters.
Mother-in-law of Warren Chaney.
Once romantically involved with Ronald Reagan in the late 1940s between his marriages to Jane Wyman and Nancy Davis. She was 16 years younger than Reagan and her religious upbringing eventually stopped the relationship.
Popular cowgirl and devout Christian Dale Evans chose Penny as her replacement in the films of husband Roy Rogers (Evans was pregnant) predominantly because of Penny's strong religious background.