Joan Collins
Encyclopedia
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE
(born 23 May 1933), is an English
actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington
and raised in Maida Vale
, Collins grew up during the Second World War
. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House
and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA) in London. After eighteen months at the drama school, she was signed to an exclusive contract by the Rank Organisation
and appeared in a number of British films.
At the age of 22, Collins headed to Hollywood and landed sultry roles in several popular films, including The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
(1955) and Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!
(1958). While she continued to make films in the United States and the United Kingdom throughout the 1960s, her career languished in the 1970s, when she was reduced to roles in horror flicks. Near the end of the decade, however, she starred in two films based on bestselling novels by her younger sister Jackie Collins
: The Stud (1978) and its sequel The Bitch
(1979). Returning to her theatrical roots, she played the title role in the 1980 British revival of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney and later had a lead role in the 1990 revival of Noël Coward
's Private Lives
.
In 1981, Collins landed Alexis Carrington
(later Colby), the role for which she is perhaps best known, in the long running 1980s prime time television soap opera Dynasty
. By the time the soap opera had been cancelled, Collins followed in her sister's footsteps and published her first novel Prime Time (1988) which became a bestseller despite critical pans. Although retrieving publication issues with Random House in 1996, she has since published many books: both fictional, non-fictional and autobiographical.
Flamboyant in her personal life and equally flamboyant in roles she pursues, Collins continues to act in theatre, film and television in a career that has spanned 60 years. She has had varying guest arcs on a variety of television shows in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
, London, the daughter of Elsa Collins (née Bessant), a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins (died 1988), an agent whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey
, The Beatles
, and Tom Jones
. Collins' South African-born father was Jewish and her British mother was Anglican. She has one sister, author Jackie Collins
, and one brother, Bill Collins. Collins was educated at the Francis Holland School
and then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA).
Collins' childhood was spent in and around Maida Vale
and was, according to Collins, an idyllic one with plenty of love, comfort and security. Her father, however, was also a strict disciplinarian and exerted a strong hold over her gentle mother, an attitude which came to annoy her daughters, who sought to rebel against it. Collins has said of her father that "he was detached, cold, hard, critical, difficult, acerbic, and everyone had to please him". He said himself in his 1986 autobiography A Touch of Collins: "I love my daughters but I am not the kind of parent who deludes himself that his children are superior to everyone else's. I did not think of them as particularly outstanding in any way".
At the age of 17 Collins was signed to the J. Arthur Rank Film Company
, a profitable British studio.
and had a number of other minor film appearances in the UK. She was next signed by 20th Century Fox
in 1955 as their answer to MGM
's Elizabeth Taylor
. She actually screen tested for the title role in Cleopatra
which eventually went to Taylor. According to an article in Picture Post
, Collins was frustrated by her time at Rank. Collins told the popular Hulton Press Weekly 'they're always carrying on about there being no women of star material in England. They don't bother to build us up. They concentrate on building the men'. She made her Hollywood debut in Howard Hawks
's Land of the Pharaohs
(1955) and appeared in Island in the Sun
(1957).
Collins was popular as a magazine pin-up in the UK throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, with cover appearances on titles such as Span and 66.
Her notable guest appearances on American television during the 1960s and 1970s included Batman
, The Virginian
, Mission: Impossible
, Police Woman
, and the notable Star Trek
episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever".
In the 1970s Collins made several movies and then starred in the softcore
film versions of her sister Jackie Collins
's racy novels The Stud and The Bitch
. The films were smash hits in England, becoming the most profitable films since the James Bond
series. Collins has worked with some of the biggest names and movie legends in Hollywood, including Richard Burton
, Bette Davis
, Kirk Douglas
, Gene Kelly
, Laurence Harvey
, Bob Hope
, Dwayne Hickman
, James Mason
, Robert Mitchum
, Eddie Albert
, Paul Newman
, Gregory Peck
, Sir Laurence Olivier
, Edward G. Robinson
, Sir Ralph Richardson
, Rod Steiger
, James Stewart
, Joanne Woodward
, Jayne Mansfield
, Sir John Gielgud
, and Sir Nigel Hawthorne
.
(1981–1989) playing Alexis
, the beautiful but vengeful ex-wife of tycoon Blake Carrington
(John Forsythe
). Her performance is generally credited as one factor in the fledgling show's subsequent rise in the Nielsen ratings
to a hit rivaling Dallas
.
In 1985, Dynasty was the #1 show in the US. For her portrayal of Alexis, Collins was nominated six times for a Golden Globe Award (every year from 1982 to 1987), winning once in 1983. Upon accepting the award, Collins thanked Sophia Loren
for turning down the part of Alexis. Also around this time, aged 49, she also appeared in a twelve page photo layout for Playboy
magazine shot by George Hurrell
.
In 1983 Collins starred in Making of a Male Model
with young model-actor Jon-Erik Hexum
, and in 1984 played a soap star in The Cartier Affair
with David Hasselhoff
. With Dynasty at the height of its success, Collins began producing and starred in the 1986 CBS
miniseries
Sins and Monte Carlo.
In the 2001 E! True Hollywood Story
episode featuring Dynasty, former ABC executive Ted Harbert
stated, "The truth is we didn't really believe that we had this thing done as a hit until Joan Collins walked down that courtroom aisle." Co-star Al Corley
noted that Collins "just flew" in the role that was "tailor made...just spot on." In Dynasty producer Aaron Spelling
's final press interview he said of Collins: "We didn't write Joan Collins. She played Joan Collins. Am I right? We wrote a character, but the character could have been played by 50 people and 49 of them would have failed. She made it work."
, a 1991 miniseries that concluded the series which had been left with a cliffhanger
ending after its abrupt cancellation. In the 1990s Collins made several guest star appearances on series such as Roseanne
, The Nanny
and Will & Grace
while dabbling in films like Decadence
and A Midwinter's Tale
. She also appeared as the main characters of films such as Mama's Back and Annie: A Royal Adventure!
during this period. In 1994, at the age of 60, she launched her only exercise video, titled Joan Collins Personal Workout.
In 1990, Collins played Amanda in a revival of Noël Coward
's Private Lives
in the West End
. She would later make her Broadway debut in the same play in 1992. In 1991 Collins also appeared in Noël Coward
's Tonight at 8:30
and played eight different women in a series of one act plays written by Coward, including an elderly Victorian spinster. She also guest starred in six episodes of Aaron Spelling
's short lived prime time soap opera Pacific Palisades
in 1997. During the early 1990s Joan Collins twice appeared as a celebrity guest star on the hit South African soap opera "Egoli" (City of Gold), playing the role of Catherine Sinclair. Collins was chosen as the cover model for the relaunch of the popular celebrity magazine OK!
when it changed from being a monthly to a weekly. In the spring of 2000 she completed an American tour of Love Letters
with the likes of George Hamilton
and Stacy Keach Jr
. Additionally, she appeared in a West End production of Over the Moon with Frank Langella
in 2000.
In 1999, Collins was cast in the video version of musical theatre show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
. She played two roles in this video: a pianist and Mrs. Potiphar, the wife of Egyptian millionaire Potiphar.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175790/fullcredits#cast
In 2000, Collins joined the cast of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
, a prequel to the 1994 Universal Studios
live action film The Flintstones
. She played the supporting role Pearl Slaghoople
(Wilma Flintstone's mother) but the film was not a box office success.
In 2001, she costarred in the TV movie These Old Broads
with Debbie Reynolds
, Shirley MacLaine
, and Elizabeth Taylor
. The movie was written by Reynolds' daughter Carrie Fisher
.
In 2002, Collins returned to soap operas in a limited run on the American daytime soap Guiding Light
. She also appeared on South African television, depicting the role of South African journalist Jani Allan
in a comedic spoof. In 2004 she appeared on a Dutch comedy film Alice in Glamourland (Dutch: Ellis in Glamourland) as a successful writer. Several months later she toured the United Kingdom with a revival of the play Full Circle. In 2005 she served as guest host of the popular British quiz show Have I Got News For You
.
In 2005, actress Alice Krige
portrayed Collins in Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure
, a fictionalised television movie
based on the creation and behind the scenes production of Dynasty.
In early 2006, Collins toured the United Kingdom in A Evening With Joan Collins, a one-woman show in which she detailed the highs and lows of her roller coaster career and life, directed by her husband Percy Gibson. In 2006, she reunited with her Dynasty co-stars for the non-fiction special Dynasty Reunion: Catfights and Caviar. Later that year, she began a tour of North America in the play Legends! with former Dynasty co-star Linda Evans
, which concluded in May 2007 after a 30-week run.
In 2005, Collins joined the cast of the hit British television series Footballer's Wives for a limited run as a glamorous magazine mogul, named Eva de Wolffe
. She also guest-starred in the BBC series Hotel Babylon
in 2006 as a lonely aristocrat desperate for romance.
Collins appeared in an two hour-long episode of the murder-mystery drama Marple
in 2009 ("They Do It with Mirrors
"). She played Ruth Van Rydock, an old friend of detective Miss Marple
.
On 24 January 2010, it was announced that Collins is joining the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe
(Forbidden Love) for a short run. She will play an aristocratic British woman, Lady Joan, who takes a young Prince in tow. Collins started shooting on 22 February 2010 and appeared on-screen in April 2010.
She made her pantomime
debut in Dick Whittington as Queen Rat at the Birmingham Hippodrome
during the 2010 Christmas season
, starring alongside Nigel Havers
, Keith Harris and Julian Clary
.
fans. In an August 2007 interview with gay journalist Matthew Hays
which appeared in the Canadian gay magazine Xtra!
, Collins was asked why so many gay men have such a strong connection with her and her Dynasty character: "I think that gay guys--and I have many, many gay friends--like the clothes, the attitude, the ballsiness. Alexis had a man's attitude. She took no prisoners in terms of sex. If she had to use her sexual wiles to get a business deal she did that, too. She was tough in business, but looked good in a negligee."
on 24 May 1952, and the couple divorced in 1956.
In 1959, Collins' beauty caught the eye of American actor Warren Beatty
, four years her junior, after he saw her while dining at La Scala in Beverly Hills. Their affair, which would last a year and a half, led to a brief engagement
and an abortion
. She said of her younger paramour, "I don't think I can last much longer. He never stops; it must be all those vitamins he takes." When someone later inquired if they really had sex seven times a day, she answered, "Maybe he did, but I just lay there."
Collins married award-winning singer, actor and film composer Anthony Newley
on 27 May 1963. She and Newley had two children, a daughter Tara Cynara Newley
and a son, Alexander Anthony "Sacha" Newley. Collins and Newley divorced in 1970.
In March 1972, Collins married her third husband Ron Kass, who had been the president of Apple Records during the reign of The Beatles
. During their marriage Collins had her third and final child, a daughter, Katyana Kennedy "Katie" Kass. Collins's marriage to Kass ended in divorce in 1983, although they remained very close until his death from cancer
in 1986.
At the height of Dynasty' s popularity on 3 November 1985, Collins married Swedish
singer Peter Holm
in a ceremony in Las Vegas
. They were divorced on 25 August 1987, with the lengthy divorce proceedings garnering significant media attention, which prompted her to quip, "I don't need a husband, I need a wife." Collins left Los Angeles and returned to London.
In 2001 Collins met theatrical company manager Percy Gibson, 32 years her junior. They married on 17 February 2002 at Claridge's Hotel
in London and later renewed their vows in 2009. The pair also appeared as contestants on the Christmas Day edition of the ITV game show All Star Mr. & Mrs.
in 2009.
On 24 October 2003 Collins and her husband were among the passengers on the last transatlantic flight of British Airways
Concorde
which she described as the very tragic end of a beautiful bird.
Despite having once been a patron of the UK Independence Party, Collins has become a supporter of the Conservative Party
.
. In October 2004 Collins stated she was not a supporter, but rather a patron, of the party.
In early 2005 Collins commented that she had rejoined the Conservative Party
stating, "The Labour Party doesn't care about the British people."
She also continues to contribute as The Spectator
Magazine Guest Diarist, something she has done since the late 1990s. Collins also writes occasionally for the Daily Mail
, The Times
, The Daily Telegraph
, The Lady
, and in the USA, Harper's Bazaar
. In September 2008 Collins signed on to the Sunday Telegraph
as a weekly opinions columnist through the final quarter of the year before leaving to pursue other projects.
She has commented that she was a huge supporter of former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher
. Collins is also a staunch monarchist
, remaining loyal to the British Royal Family
.
.
In the 1990s Collins was embroiled in a high-profile legal battle with the publisher Random House
, which was televised daily on Court TV. Collins had signed a two-book deal with the company for $4 million and they had given her a $1.2 million advance. In September 1991 Collins delivered a 690-page manuscript of a novel entitled The Ruling Passion to Random House
. However, the publishing firm deemed the manuscript to be of such poor quality that they demanded the return of the $1.2 million advance they had paid to Collins, claiming she had failed to deliver completed books as per her contract. Collins countersued, arguing that her contract required her only to submit a "complete manuscript" not an "acceptable" one. Since she had turned in two novels to the publishing company, A Ruling Passion in 1991 and a second novel, Hell Hath No Fury, in 1992, as her contract stipulated, she felt Random House owed her the rest of the $4 million. She also contended that Random House had not provided the editorial assistance she had expected.
Her Random House contract, negotiated by agent Irving Lazar
, required that she was to be paid even if her completed manuscripts were not published. When the case was finally heard in February 1996, a court determined that Collins could keep the advance given to her plus a further $1 million for the first completed manuscript, but that the publisher did not have to pay for the second manuscript since it was essentially a reworking of the first. The Guinness Book of World Records cites Collins as holding the record for retaining the world's largest unreturned payment for an unpublished manuscript.
Memoir
Non-fiction
Fiction
By other authors
, in which she was referred to as their "Most Frequent Flyer of First Class", a title she has maintained, having promoted the airline for more than three decades. In 1978, she appeared alongside Leonard Rossiter
in a series of Cinzano TV commercials in which the drink was spilled down her character's dress. This was named as one of the Top 100 British Adverts in a Channel 4
poll. In the mid-1980s, Collins appeared in print advertisements for Canada Dry
Ginger Ale
and Sanyo
and was the face of Revlon
's Scoundrel perfume. In 1988 she appeared in three TV commercials for the Bristol & West Building Society written and directed by Stephen Ward
, who went on to write the movie
Backbeat
. In 1992 she appeared in internationally broadcast television commercials for Marca Bravaria beer while also acting as the face of the perfume Spectacular. Also around this time, she starred in an advert for the Rover Metro
. Since 2000 she has appeared in TV ads for UK retailer Marks & Spencer
, Olympus
cameras, Old Navy
and Marriott
hotels. In 2007 Collins fronted two high-profile advertising campaigns. The first was as the face of skincare company Cellex-C's Ageless 15 Skin Serum. The second was as the face of the British Royal Mail's Christmas campaign. In 2008, Collins took part in an online and print advertising campaign for the Dorchester Hotel
in London and a Christmas television commercial, once again, for Marks & Spencer. In 2010, Collins was named the face of Alexis Bittar Jewelry for Spring Fashion Week.
and Dana Wynter
. In 1962 she sang "Let's Not Be" in the film The Road to Hong Kong
with Bing Crosby
and Bob Hope
. Collins teamed up with Peter Sellers
and her then-husband Anthony Newley
in 1963 to record the album Fool Britannia, which made the UK Top 10. In 1968 she sang a zodiac-themed duet with Newley, titled "Chalk & Cheese," in Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?
In a 1983 episode of Dynasty, she performed "The Boys in the Back Room", a Marlene Dietrich
song from the 1930s film Destry Rides Again
. She next sang "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in the TV miniseries
Monte Carlo in 1986. In 2001, Collins performed several musical numbers in These Old Broads
with Debbie Reynolds
and Shirley MacLaine
, and that same year appeared in Badly Drawn Boy
's music video for "Pissing in the Wind."
In the 1980s, Joan Collins released a solo 7" single with a live recording of her citing John Lennon
s "Imagine
" supported by the London Symphony Orchestra
, in the Netherlands
.
in honour of her contribution to the arts and ongoing charity work.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 23 May 1933), is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
and raised in Maida Vale
Maida Vale
Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn. It is part of the City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats...
, Collins grew up during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House
A Doll's House
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
(RADA) in London. After eighteen months at the drama school, she was signed to an exclusive contract by the Rank Organisation
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
and appeared in a number of British films.
At the age of 22, Collins headed to Hollywood and landed sultry roles in several popular films, including The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing
The Girl in the Velvet Swing is a film directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Walter Reisch and Charles Brackett, and starring Joan Collins, Ray Milland and Farley Granger...
(1955) and Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Max Shulman, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, and released by 20th Century Fox...
(1958). While she continued to make films in the United States and the United Kingdom throughout the 1960s, her career languished in the 1970s, when she was reduced to roles in horror flicks. Near the end of the decade, however, she starred in two films based on bestselling novels by her younger sister Jackie Collins
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins is an English novelist and former actress. She is the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. She has written 28 novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 400 million copies and have been...
: The Stud (1978) and its sequel The Bitch
The Bitch (film)
The Bitch is a British film released in 1979. It is a sequel to The Stud , and both films were based on novels by British author Jackie Collins. Like its predecessor, the film starred her sister, Joan Collins, as Fontaine Khaled.-Plot:...
(1979). Returning to her theatrical roots, she played the title role in the 1980 British revival of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney and later had a lead role in the 1990 revival of Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
.
In 1981, Collins landed Alexis Carrington
Alexis Colby
Alexis Colby is a fictional character and the primary antagonist on the American TV series Dynasty....
(later Colby), the role for which she is perhaps best known, in the long running 1980s prime time television soap opera Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
. By the time the soap opera had been cancelled, Collins followed in her sister's footsteps and published her first novel Prime Time (1988) which became a bestseller despite critical pans. Although retrieving publication issues with Random House in 1996, she has since published many books: both fictional, non-fictional and autobiographical.
Flamboyant in her personal life and equally flamboyant in roles she pursues, Collins continues to act in theatre, film and television in a career that has spanned 60 years. She has had varying guest arcs on a variety of television shows in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Early life
Collins was born in PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, London, the daughter of Elsa Collins (née Bessant), a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins (died 1988), an agent whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, and Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
. Collins' South African-born father was Jewish and her British mother was Anglican. She has one sister, author Jackie Collins
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins is an English novelist and former actress. She is the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. She has written 28 novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 400 million copies and have been...
, and one brother, Bill Collins. Collins was educated at the Francis Holland School
Francis Holland School
Francis Holland School is the name of two independent day schools for girls in central London governed by the Francis Holland Schools Trust...
and then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
(RADA).
Collins' childhood was spent in and around Maida Vale
Maida Vale
Maida Vale is a residential district in West London between St John's Wood and Kilburn. It is part of the City of Westminster. The area is mostly residential, and mainly affluent, consisting of many large late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats...
and was, according to Collins, an idyllic one with plenty of love, comfort and security. Her father, however, was also a strict disciplinarian and exerted a strong hold over her gentle mother, an attitude which came to annoy her daughters, who sought to rebel against it. Collins has said of her father that "he was detached, cold, hard, critical, difficult, acerbic, and everyone had to please him". He said himself in his 1986 autobiography A Touch of Collins: "I love my daughters but I am not the kind of parent who deludes himself that his children are superior to everyone else's. I did not think of them as particularly outstanding in any way".
At the age of 17 Collins was signed to the J. Arthur Rank Film Company
Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
, a profitable British studio.
Early career
In 1951, she made her feature debut as a beauty contest entrant in Lady Godiva Rides AgainLady Godiva Rides Again
Lady Godiva Rides Again is a 1951 British comedy film starring Diana Dors, about a small-town English girl who wins a beauty contest and heads for greater fame. It features Joan Collins in her movie debut as an uncredited beauty contestant...
and had a number of other minor film appearances in the UK. She was next signed by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in 1955 as their answer to MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
's Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
. She actually screen tested for the title role in Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
which eventually went to Taylor. According to an article in Picture Post
Picture Post
Picture Post was a prominent photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months...
, Collins was frustrated by her time at Rank. Collins told the popular Hulton Press Weekly 'they're always carrying on about there being no women of star material in England. They don't bother to build us up. They concentrate on building the men'. She made her Hollywood debut in Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
's Land of the Pharaohs
Land of the Pharaohs
Land of the Pharaohs is a 1955 CinemaScope epic film made by the Continental Company, Ltd and presented by Warner Bros. It was directed and produced by Howard Hawks from a screenplay by Harold Jack Bloom, Harry Kurnitz, and the novelist William Faulkner...
(1955) and appeared in Island in the Sun
Island in the Sun (film)
Island in the Sun is a 1957 film that stars an ensemble cast including James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie and Harry Belafonte. The cast includes also Diana Wynyard, Patricia Owens and Stephen Boyd. The film is about race relations and interracial romance...
(1957).
Collins was popular as a magazine pin-up in the UK throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, with cover appearances on titles such as Span and 66.
Her notable guest appearances on American television during the 1960s and 1970s included Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
, The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
, Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
, Police Woman
Police Woman (TV series)
Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
, and the notable Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever".
In the 1970s Collins made several movies and then starred in the softcore
Softcore
Softcore pornography is a form of filmic or photographic pornography or erotica that is less sexually explicit than hardcore pornography. It is intended to tickle and arouse men and women. Softcore pornography depicts nude and semi-nude performers engaging in casual social nudity or non-graphic...
film versions of her sister Jackie Collins
Jackie Collins
Jacqueline Jill "Jackie" Collins is an English novelist and former actress. She is the younger sister of actress Joan Collins. She has written 28 novels, all of which have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. In total, her books have sold over 400 million copies and have been...
's racy novels The Stud and The Bitch
The Bitch (film)
The Bitch is a British film released in 1979. It is a sequel to The Stud , and both films were based on novels by British author Jackie Collins. Like its predecessor, the film starred her sister, Joan Collins, as Fontaine Khaled.-Plot:...
. The films were smash hits in England, becoming the most profitable films since the James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
series. Collins has worked with some of the biggest names and movie legends in Hollywood, including Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
, Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey was a Lithuanian-born actor who achieved fame in British and American films.- Early life :Harvey maintained throughout his life that his birth name was Laruschka Mischa Skikne. However, his legal name was Zvi Mosheh Skikne. He was the youngest of three boys born to Ber "Boris" and...
, Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
, James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
, Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
, Eddie Albert
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
, Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
, Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, Sir Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, Sir Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, Rod Steiger
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
, James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
, Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
, Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
, Sir John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
, and Sir Nigel Hawthorne
Nigel Hawthorne
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...
.
Dynasty
In 1981, Collins was offered a role in the second season of the then struggling new soap opera DynastyDynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
(1981–1989) playing Alexis
Alexis Colby
Alexis Colby is a fictional character and the primary antagonist on the American TV series Dynasty....
, the beautiful but vengeful ex-wife of tycoon Blake Carrington
Blake Carrington
Blake Carrington is a fictional character on the American TV series Dynasty. The role was portrayed by John Forsythe from the first episode of the series in 1981 until the finale in 1989. Forsythe returned for the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion...
(John Forsythe
John Forsythe
John Forsythe was an American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the sitcom Bachelor Father ; as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the crime drama Charlie's...
). Her performance is generally credited as one factor in the fledgling show's subsequent rise in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
to a hit rivaling Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
.
In 1985, Dynasty was the #1 show in the US. For her portrayal of Alexis, Collins was nominated six times for a Golden Globe Award (every year from 1982 to 1987), winning once in 1983. Upon accepting the award, Collins thanked Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
for turning down the part of Alexis. Also around this time, aged 49, she also appeared in a twelve page photo layout for Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine shot by George Hurrell
George Hurrell
George Hurrell was a photographer who made a significant contribution to the image of glamour presented by Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
.
In 1983 Collins starred in Making of a Male Model
Making of a Male Model
Making of a Male Model is a 1983 American TV movie starring Joan Collins and Jon-Erik Hexum. It was produced by ABC and released on October 9, 1983.-Plot:...
with young model-actor Jon-Erik Hexum
Jon-Erik Hexum
Jon-Erik Hexum was an American model and actor. He died as a result of a firearms accident on the set of the CBS television series Cover Up in which he played the male lead.-Early life and career:...
, and in 1984 played a soap star in The Cartier Affair
The Cartier Affair
The Cartier Affair is a 1984 NBC TV movie that starred Knight Rider's David Hasselhoff and Dynasty's Joan Collins, which also featured Kojak's Telly Savalas.-Plot:...
with David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
. With Dynasty at the height of its success, Collins began producing and starred in the 1986 CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Sins and Monte Carlo.
In the 2001 E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and well-known public figures...
episode featuring Dynasty, former ABC executive Ted Harbert
Ted Harbert
Edward W. "Ted" Harbert III is currently Chairman, NBC Broadcasting. Before joining NBCUniversal, he was the president and CEO of the Comcast Entertainment Group.-Life and career:...
stated, "The truth is we didn't really believe that we had this thing done as a hit until Joan Collins walked down that courtroom aisle." Co-star Al Corley
Al Corley
Al Corley is an American actor, singer and producer. In the late 1970s, he worked as a doorman at Studio 54. He would later appear in a VH1 Behind the Music special on Studio 54 to recount his experiences....
noted that Collins "just flew" in the role that was "tailor made...just spot on." In Dynasty producer Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
's final press interview he said of Collins: "We didn't write Joan Collins. She played Joan Collins. Am I right? We wrote a character, but the character could have been played by 50 people and 49 of them would have failed. She made it work."
Later career
After the end of Dynasty in 1989, Collins took time off to be with her family. She rejoined her costars for Dynasty: The ReunionDynasty: The Reunion
Dynasty: The Reunion is a 1991 miniseries reuniting the characters from the American prime time television soap opera Dynasty, a series which aired on ABC from 1981 to 1989 and was the highest-rated U.S. series in 1985. The miniseries, like the series, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil...
, a 1991 miniseries that concluded the series which had been left with a cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
ending after its abrupt cancellation. In the 1990s Collins made several guest star appearances on series such as Roseanne
Roseanne (TV series)
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
, The Nanny
The Nanny (TV series)
The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
and Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
while dabbling in films like Decadence
Decadence (film)
Decadence is a 1994 British film starring Joan Collins and Stephen Berkoff, written and directed by Berkoff and based on his play of the same name....
and A Midwinter's Tale
A Midwinter's Tale
A Midwinter's Tale is a 1995 romantic comedy written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Many of the roles in the film were written for specific actors....
. She also appeared as the main characters of films such as Mama's Back and Annie: A Royal Adventure!
Annie: A Royal Adventure!
Annie 2: A Royal Adventure! is a TV sequel to Annie . It was released in the United States in 1995 and internationally in 1996, and is approximately 93 minutes long...
during this period. In 1994, at the age of 60, she launched her only exercise video, titled Joan Collins Personal Workout.
In 1990, Collins played Amanda in a revival of Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. She would later make her Broadway debut in the same play in 1992. In 1991 Collins also appeared in Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Tonight at 8:30
Tonight at 8:30
Tonight at 8.30 is a cycle of ten one-act plays by Noël Coward. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, "A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over padding, deserves a better fate, and if,...
and played eight different women in a series of one act plays written by Coward, including an elderly Victorian spinster. She also guest starred in six episodes of Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
's short lived prime time soap opera Pacific Palisades
Pacific Palisades (TV series)
Pacific Palisades is an American soap opera that aired on Fox during prime time from April to July 1997. Produced by Aaron Spelling, the show was cancelled after just thirteen episodes despite a last-minute attempt to increase ratings by casting Joan Collins.-Plot summary:Set in the Los Angeles...
in 1997. During the early 1990s Joan Collins twice appeared as a celebrity guest star on the hit South African soap opera "Egoli" (City of Gold), playing the role of Catherine Sinclair. Collins was chosen as the cover model for the relaunch of the popular celebrity magazine OK!
OK!
OK! is a British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006...
when it changed from being a monthly to a weekly. In the spring of 2000 she completed an American tour of Love Letters
Love Letters (play)
Love Letters is a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nominated play by A. R. Gurney. The play centers on just two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III...
with the likes of George Hamilton
George Hamilton (actor)
George Stevens Hamilton is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Hamilton was the youngest son of bandleader George "Spike" Hamilton and his first wife, Ann Stevens . He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived in Blytheville, Arkansas...
and Stacy Keach Jr
Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
. Additionally, she appeared in a West End production of Over the Moon with Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
in 2000.
In 1999, Collins was cast in the video version of musical theatre show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
. She played two roles in this video: a pianist and Mrs. Potiphar, the wife of Egyptian millionaire Potiphar.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175790/fullcredits#cast
In 2000, Collins joined the cast of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 comedy film and prequel to 1994's The Flintstones based on the hit cartoon series of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera and distributed by Universal Studios...
, a prequel to the 1994 Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
live action film The Flintstones
The Flintstones (film)
The Flintstones is a 1994 American live-action comedy film based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon television series of the same name about a Stone-Age man, his family and his best friend. The film was directed by Brian Levant, written by Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein and Steven E...
. She played the supporting role Pearl Slaghoople
Pearl Slaghoople
Pearl Pebble Slaghoople is a fictional character on the animated TV show The Flintstones. She was the mother of Wilma Flintstone, who is married to Fred Flintstone. In the original series, she portrayed Fred's stereotypically antagonistic mother-in-law, acting as a nagging irritant...
(Wilma Flintstone's mother) but the film was not a box office success.
In 2001, she costarred in the TV movie These Old Broads
These Old Broads
These Old Broads is a 2001 television film written by Carrie Fisher and starring her mother Debbie Reynolds, as well as Shirley MacLaine, Joan Collins, and Elizabeth Taylor in her final film role...
with Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
, Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
. The movie was written by Reynolds' daughter Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
.
In 2002, Collins returned to soap operas in a limited run on the American daytime soap Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
. She also appeared on South African television, depicting the role of South African journalist Jani Allan
Jani Allan
Jani Allan is a South African columnist and radio commentator. She became a household name as a columnist for the Sunday Times where she worked between 1979-90. She is also known for her alleged affair with an interviewee, the late right-wing political leader Eugène Terre'Blanche...
in a comedic spoof. In 2004 she appeared on a Dutch comedy film Alice in Glamourland (Dutch: Ellis in Glamourland) as a successful writer. Several months later she toured the United Kingdom with a revival of the play Full Circle. In 2005 she served as guest host of the popular British quiz show Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
.
In 2005, actress Alice Krige
Alice Krige
Alice Maud Krige is a South African actress. Her first feature film role was as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon in the 1981 Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire...
portrayed Collins in Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure
Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure
Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure is a 2005 American television movie based on the creation and behind the scenes production of the 1980s prime time soap opera Dynasty...
, a fictionalised television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
based on the creation and behind the scenes production of Dynasty.
In early 2006, Collins toured the United Kingdom in A Evening With Joan Collins, a one-woman show in which she detailed the highs and lows of her roller coaster career and life, directed by her husband Percy Gibson. In 2006, she reunited with her Dynasty co-stars for the non-fiction special Dynasty Reunion: Catfights and Caviar. Later that year, she began a tour of North America in the play Legends! with former Dynasty co-star Linda Evans
Linda Evans
Linda Evans is an American actress. She is known primarily for her roles on television, and rose to fame playing Audra Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley...
, which concluded in May 2007 after a 30-week run.
In 2005, Collins joined the cast of the hit British television series Footballer's Wives for a limited run as a glamorous magazine mogul, named Eva de Wolffe
Eva de Wolffe
Eva de Wolffe is a recurring fictional character on ITV drama, Footballers' Wives. She is played by English actress Joan Collins.-Character history:Eva de Wolffe is a 70 year old publisher, introduced at Heathrow Airport in the middle of the fifth series...
. She also guest-starred in the BBC series Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
in 2006 as a lonely aristocrat desperate for romance.
Collins appeared in an two hour-long episode of the murder-mystery drama Marple
Marple (TV series)
Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
in 2009 ("They Do It with Mirrors
They Do It with Mirrors
They Do It With Mirrors is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1952 under the title of Murder with Mirrors and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 17 in the same year under Christie's original title. The US edition...
"). She played Ruth Van Rydock, an old friend of detective Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
.
On 24 January 2010, it was announced that Collins is joining the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe
Verbotene Liebe
Verbotene Liebe , often abbreviated to VL, is a Rose d'Or Award-winning German television soap opera. The show was created by Reg Watson and first broadcast on Das Erste on 2 January 1995...
(Forbidden Love) for a short run. She will play an aristocratic British woman, Lady Joan, who takes a young Prince in tow. Collins started shooting on 22 February 2010 and appeared on-screen in April 2010.
She made her pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
debut in Dick Whittington as Queen Rat at the Birmingham Hippodrome
Birmingham Hippodrome
The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring West End...
during the 2010 Christmas season
Christmas season
Christmastide is one of the seasons of the liturgical year of most Christian churches. It tends to be defined as the period from Christmas Eve to the evening of 5 January, the day before Epiphany...
, starring alongside Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
, Keith Harris and Julian Clary
Julian Clary
Julian Peter McDonald Clary is an English comedian and novelist, known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style, with a heavy reliance on innuendo and double entendre.-Early life and education:...
.
Gay fans
Collins has acknowledged a massive following of gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
fans. In an August 2007 interview with gay journalist Matthew Hays
Matthew Hays
Matthew Hays is a Canadian film critic, writer, film festival programmer and academic. He won a Lambda Literary Award for his 2007 book The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers....
which appeared in the Canadian gay magazine Xtra!
Xtra!
Xtra! is a gay magazine, on newsprint in tabloid format, published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-History and content :...
, Collins was asked why so many gay men have such a strong connection with her and her Dynasty character: "I think that gay guys--and I have many, many gay friends--like the clothes, the attitude, the ballsiness. Alexis had a man's attitude. She took no prisoners in terms of sex. If she had to use her sexual wiles to get a business deal she did that, too. She was tough in business, but looked good in a negligee."
Personal life
Collins married Irish actor Maxwell ReedMaxwell Reed
Maxwell Reed was a British actor who became a matinee idol during the 1950s with the Rank Organisation in Britain....
on 24 May 1952, and the couple divorced in 1956.
In 1959, Collins' beauty caught the eye of American actor Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
, four years her junior, after he saw her while dining at La Scala in Beverly Hills. Their affair, which would last a year and a half, led to a brief engagement
Engagement
An engagement or betrothal is a promise to marry, and also the period of time between proposal and marriage which may be lengthy or trivial. During this period, a couple is said to be betrothed, affianced, engaged to be married, or simply engaged...
and an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. She said of her younger paramour, "I don't think I can last much longer. He never stops; it must be all those vitamins he takes." When someone later inquired if they really had sex seven times a day, she answered, "Maybe he did, but I just lay there."
Collins married award-winning singer, actor and film composer Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley
Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
on 27 May 1963. She and Newley had two children, a daughter Tara Cynara Newley
Tara Newley
Tara Newley is a singer and the daughter of actress Joan Collins and singer Anthony Newley. Born Tara Cynara Newley in New York City, United States she studied at Boston University. A sister to Sacha Newley, she returned to London when her parents' seven year marriage ended in 1970 and her mother...
and a son, Alexander Anthony "Sacha" Newley. Collins and Newley divorced in 1970.
In March 1972, Collins married her third husband Ron Kass, who had been the president of Apple Records during the reign of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. During their marriage Collins had her third and final child, a daughter, Katyana Kennedy "Katie" Kass. Collins's marriage to Kass ended in divorce in 1983, although they remained very close until his death from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 1986.
At the height of Dynasty
Swedes
Swedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:...
singer Peter Holm
Peter Holm
Peter Holm is a former pop singer and Swedish playboy who was married to actress Joan Collins between 1985-1986...
in a ceremony in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. They were divorced on 25 August 1987, with the lengthy divorce proceedings garnering significant media attention, which prompted her to quip, "I don't need a husband, I need a wife." Collins left Los Angeles and returned to London.
In 2001 Collins met theatrical company manager Percy Gibson, 32 years her junior. They married on 17 February 2002 at Claridge's Hotel
Claridge's
Claridge's is a luxury hotel in Mayfair, central London. It is located at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street.-History:Claridge's is a traditional grand hotel. Its extensive and old connections with royalty have led to it being referred to as an "extension to Buckingham Palace"...
in London and later renewed their vows in 2009. The pair also appeared as contestants on the Christmas Day edition of the ITV game show All Star Mr. & Mrs.
Mr. and Mrs.
Mr. & Mrs. is a television show that originated in Canada in 1963, debuting in Britain shortly afterwards. The Canadian version was produced at CFTO-TV in Toronto and ran on the CTV network for 780 episodes, and was hosted by Roy Ward Dickson, who was also the show's creator...
in 2009.
On 24 October 2003 Collins and her husband were among the passengers on the last transatlantic flight of British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
which she described as the very tragic end of a beautiful bird.
Despite having once been a patron of the UK Independence Party, Collins has become a supporter of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Personal politics
After decades of flirting with British politics, on 24 May 2004 Collins joined the United Kingdom Independence PartyUnited Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
. In October 2004 Collins stated she was not a supporter, but rather a patron, of the party.
In early 2005 Collins commented that she had rejoined the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
stating, "The Labour Party doesn't care about the British people."
She also continues to contribute as The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
Magazine Guest Diarist, something she has done since the late 1990s. Collins also writes occasionally for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, The Lady
The Lady (magazine)
The Lady is Britain's oldest weekly women's magazine. It has been in continuous publication since 1885 and is based in London. It is particularly notable for its classified advertisements for domestic service and child care; it also has extensive listings of holiday properties.The magazine was...
, and in the USA, Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
. In September 2008 Collins signed on to the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
as a weekly opinions columnist through the final quarter of the year before leaving to pursue other projects.
She has commented that she was a huge supporter of former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. Collins is also a staunch monarchist
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
, remaining loyal to the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
.
Charitable work
Collins has publicly supported several charities for several decades. In 1982 Collins spoke before the U.S. Congress about increasing funding for neurological research. In 1983 she was named a patron of the International Foundation for Children with Learning Disabilities, earning the foundation's highest honour in 1988 for her continuing support. Additionally, 1988 also saw the opening of the Joan Collins Wing of the Children's Hospital of Michigan. In 1990, she was made an honorary founding member of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. In 1994 Collins was awarded the lifetime achievement award from the Association of Breast Cancer Studies in Great Britain for her contribution to breast cancer awareness in the UK. In 2003 she became a patron of the Shooting Star Children's Hospice in Great Britain while continuing to support several foster children in India; something she has done for the past 25 years. Collins serves her former school, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, as the Honorary President of the Associates of RADA. She is also patron of Fight for Sight (U.K.)Fight for Sight (U.K.)
Fight for Sight is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to funding world-class research into the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye disease....
.
Books
Collins has also established herself as an author. In addition to her bestselling novels (Prime Time, Love & Desire & Hate, Infamous, Star Quality, and Misfortune's Daughters) she has written six lifestyle books (The Joan Collins Beauty Book, My Secrets, My Friends' Secrets, Joan's Way: The Art of Living Well and "The Joan Collins Cook Book") and memoirs (Past Imperfect, Katy: A Fight for Life and Second Act). To date she has sold over 50 million copies of her books which have been translated into 30 languages.In the 1990s Collins was embroiled in a high-profile legal battle with the publisher Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, which was televised daily on Court TV. Collins had signed a two-book deal with the company for $4 million and they had given her a $1.2 million advance. In September 1991 Collins delivered a 690-page manuscript of a novel entitled The Ruling Passion to Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. However, the publishing firm deemed the manuscript to be of such poor quality that they demanded the return of the $1.2 million advance they had paid to Collins, claiming she had failed to deliver completed books as per her contract. Collins countersued, arguing that her contract required her only to submit a "complete manuscript" not an "acceptable" one. Since she had turned in two novels to the publishing company, A Ruling Passion in 1991 and a second novel, Hell Hath No Fury, in 1992, as her contract stipulated, she felt Random House owed her the rest of the $4 million. She also contended that Random House had not provided the editorial assistance she had expected.
Her Random House contract, negotiated by agent Irving Lazar
Irving Paul Lazar
Irving Paul "Swifty" Lazar was a talent agent and deal-maker, representing both movie stars and authors.Born as Samuel Lazar in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1931...
, required that she was to be paid even if her completed manuscripts were not published. When the case was finally heard in February 1996, a court determined that Collins could keep the advance given to her plus a further $1 million for the first completed manuscript, but that the publisher did not have to pay for the second manuscript since it was essentially a reworking of the first. The Guinness Book of World Records cites Collins as holding the record for retaining the world's largest unreturned payment for an unpublished manuscript.
Memoir
- Past Imperfect: An Autobiography (1978)
- Katy: A Fight for Life, A Memoir (1982)
- Second Act: An Autobiography (1996)
- The World According to Joan (2011)
Non-fiction
- The Joan Collins Beauty Book (1980)
- Portraits of a Star (1987)
- My Secrets (1994)
- Health, Youth and Happiness: My Secrets (1995)
- My Friends' Secrets (1999)
- Joan's Way: Looking Good, Feeling Great (2002)
- The Art of Living Well: Looking Good, Feeling Great (2007)
Fiction
- Prime Time, a novel (1988)
- Love and Desire and Hate, a novel (1990)
- Too Damn Famous, a novel (1995)
- Infamous, a novel (1996)
- Star Quality, a novel (2002)
- Misfortune's Daughters, a novel (2004)
By other authors
- Joan Collins by John Kercher, Gallery Books (1984)
- Joan Collins, Superstar: A Biography by Robert Levine, Dell Publishing (1985)
- A Touch of Collins by Joe Collins, Columbus Books (1986)
- Inside Joan Collins: A Biography by Jay David, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. (1988)
- Hollywood Sisters: Jackie and Joan Collins by Susan Crimp and Patricia Burstein, St. Martin's Press (1989)
- Joan Collins: The Biography of an Icon by Graham Lord, Orion (2007)
TV adverts
Beginning in the early 1950s, Collins appeared as a teenager in a Gas Board Commercial; in the early '70s, Collins appeared in television and magazine advertisements for British AirwaysBritish Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, in which she was referred to as their "Most Frequent Flyer of First Class", a title she has maintained, having promoted the airline for more than three decades. In 1978, she appeared alongside Leonard Rossiter
Leonard Rossiter
Leonard Rossiter was an English actor known for his roles as Rupert Rigsby, in the British comedy television series Rising Damp , and Reginald Iolanthe Perrin, in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin...
in a series of Cinzano TV commercials in which the drink was spilled down her character's dress. This was named as one of the Top 100 British Adverts in a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
poll. In the mid-1980s, Collins appeared in print advertisements for Canada Dry
Canada Dry
Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks owned since 2008 by the Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group. For over a century Canada Dry has been known for its ginger ale, though the company also manufactures a number of other soft drinks and mixers...
Ginger Ale
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger. Dr. Thomas Cantrell, an American apothecary and surgeon, claimed to have invented ginger ale and marketed it with beverage manufacturer Grattan and Company. Grattan embossed the slogan "The Original Makers of Ginger Ale" on its bottles...
and Sanyo
Sanyo
is a major electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle of the market and has over 230 Subsidiaries and Affiliates....
and was the face of Revlon
Revlon
Revlon is an American cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company founded in 1932.-History:Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the Revlon name...
's Scoundrel perfume. In 1988 she appeared in three TV commercials for the Bristol & West Building Society written and directed by Stephen Ward
Stephen Ward
Stephen Thomas Ward was an osteopath and artist who became notorious as one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British public scandal which profoundly affected the ruling Conservative Party government...
, who went on to write the movie
Backbeat
Backbeat (film)
Backbeat is a 1994 British-German drama film directed by Iain Softley. It chronicles the early days of The Beatles in Hamburg, Germany. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon , and also with Sutcliffe's German girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr...
. In 1992 she appeared in internationally broadcast television commercials for Marca Bravaria beer while also acting as the face of the perfume Spectacular. Also around this time, she starred in an advert for the Rover Metro
Rover Metro
The Metro is a supermini car that was produced by the Austin Rover Group division of British Leyland and its successors. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin miniMetro. It was intended to complement the Mini, and was developed under the codename LC8....
. Since 2000 she has appeared in TV ads for UK retailer Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
, Olympus
Olympus Corporation
is a Japan-based manufacturer of optics and reprography products. Olympus was established on 12 October 1919, initially specializing in microscope and thermometer businesses. Its global headquarters are in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, while its USA operations are based in Center Valley, Pennsylvania,...
cameras, Old Navy
Old Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing brand as well as a chain of stores owned by Gap, Inc., with corporate operations in San Francisco and San Bruno, California. It is one of the first major corporations to house headquarters in the new Mission Bay district of San Francisco.Gap, Inc. was run by...
and Marriott
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
hotels. In 2007 Collins fronted two high-profile advertising campaigns. The first was as the face of skincare company Cellex-C's Ageless 15 Skin Serum. The second was as the face of the British Royal Mail's Christmas campaign. In 2008, Collins took part in an online and print advertising campaign for the Dorchester Hotel
Dorchester Hotel
The Dorchester is a luxury hotel in London, opened on 18 April 1931. It is situated on Park Lane in Mayfair, overlooking Hyde Park.The Dorchester was created by the famous builder Sir Robert McAlpine and the managing director of Gordon Hotels Ltd, Sir Frances Towle, who shared a vision of creating...
in London and a Christmas television commercial, once again, for Marks & Spencer. In 2010, Collins was named the face of Alexis Bittar Jewelry for Spring Fashion Week.
Music
In 1959, she performed "It's Great Not To Be Nominated" at the Academy Awards with actresses Angela LansburyAngela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
and Dana Wynter
Dana Wynter
Dana Wynter was a German-born British actress, who was brought up in England and Southern Africa. She appeared in film and television for more than forty years beginning in the 1950s, most notably in the original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.-Early life:Wynter was born as Dagmar...
. In 1962 she sang "Let's Not Be" in the film The Road to Hong Kong
The Road to Hong Kong
The Road to Hong Kong starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Joan Collins, was the last in the long-running Road to … series and the only episode not produced by Paramount Pictures, though reference to the other films in the series are shown in Maurice Binder's opening title sequence...
with Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. Collins teamed up with Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
and her then-husband Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley
Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
in 1963 to record the album Fool Britannia, which made the UK Top 10. In 1968 she sang a zodiac-themed duet with Newley, titled "Chalk & Cheese," in Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?
Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?
Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? is a 1969 British musical film directed by and starring Anthony Newley...
In a 1983 episode of Dynasty, she performed "The Boys in the Back Room", a Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
song from the 1930s film Destry Rides Again
Destry Rides Again
Destry Rides Again is a western starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey, Billy Gilbert, Bill Cody, Jr., and Una Merkel. The original Max Brand novel was translated into an "oater" with the...
. She next sang "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in the TV miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Monte Carlo in 1986. In 2001, Collins performed several musical numbers in These Old Broads
These Old Broads
These Old Broads is a 2001 television film written by Carrie Fisher and starring her mother Debbie Reynolds, as well as Shirley MacLaine, Joan Collins, and Elizabeth Taylor in her final film role...
with Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
and Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, and that same year appeared in Badly Drawn Boy
Badly Drawn Boy
Damon Gough is an English alternative music singer/songwriter. He was born on 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. He grew up in the Breightmet area of Bolton, Lancashire, England....
's music video for "Pissing in the Wind."
In the 1980s, Joan Collins released a solo 7" single with a live recording of her citing John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
s "Imagine
Imagine (song)
"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971...
" supported by the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Titles
In 1997, Collins was granted the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in honour of her contribution to the arts and ongoing charity work.
Awards
- 1956: Most Promising Young Actress.
- 1957: Star of Tomorrow.
- 1957: Motion Picture Magazine Award, Most Promising New Star.
- 1978: Saturn AwardSaturn AwardThe Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
nomination, Best Actress in a Science Fiction film, Empire of the Ants. - 1982: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), DynastyDynasty (TV series)Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
. - 1982: Hollywood Women's Press Club, Female Star of 1982.
- 1982: Golden Apple Award, Female Star of the Year.
- 1983: Emmy Award nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
- 1983: Golden Globe, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
- 1983: Cable ACE Award nomination, Best Actress in a Drama Series, Faerie Tale Theatre's Hansel and Gretel.
- 1983: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Career Achievement.
- 1984: People's Choice Award, Favorite female television performer, Dynasty.
- 1984: Soap Opera Digest Award, Outstanding Villainess in a Primetime Drama Series, Dynasty.
- 1984: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
- 1985: Madam Tussaud's waxwork unveiled in London (second model in Las Vegas)
- 1985: People's Choice Award, nomination Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, Dynasty.
- 1985: Soap Opera Digest Award, Outstanding Villainess in a Primetime Drama Series, Dynasty.
- 1985: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
- 1986: Soap Opera Digest Award nomination, Outstanding Villainess in a Primetime Drama Series and Outstanding Actress in a Comic Relief Role in a Primetime Drama Series, Dynasty.
- 1986: Telegatto award to joan Collins. American TV shows and personalities.
- 1986: People's Choice Award, nomination Favorite female television performer, Dynasty.
- 1986: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
- 1987: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
- 1988: Soap Opera Digest Award nomination, Outstanding Villainess in a Primetime Drama Series, Dynasty.
- 1996: OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II for her contribution to the arts and ongoing charity work. - 1999: Millennium Award of Achievement, Golden Camera Film Council.
- 2001: Golden Nymph, Outstanding Female Actor, Monte Carlo Television Festival.
- 2002: Icon Award, Maxim Magazine UK.
- 2003: TV Land Awards, nomination, Hippest Fashion Plate - Female.
- 2005: Lifetime Achievement Award, San Diego International Film Festival.
- 2008: Legend Award, Los Angeles Italia-Film, Fashion and Arts Festival.
- 2010: New York City International Film Festival, Best Actress, Fetish
- 2010: Beverly Hills Film, TV and New Media Festival, Best Actress, Fetish
- 2011: Cosmetic Executive Women (UK) Lifetime Achievement Award.
Filmography
- Lady Godiva Rides AgainLady Godiva Rides AgainLady Godiva Rides Again is a 1951 British comedy film starring Diana Dors, about a small-town English girl who wins a beauty contest and heads for greater fame. It features Joan Collins in her movie debut as an uncredited beauty contestant...
(1951) - Judgment DeferredJudgment DeferredJudgment Deferred is a 1952 British drama film directed by John Baxter and starring Hugh Sinclair, Helen Shingler and Abraham Sofaer. With the assistance of a journalist a group of refugees try and unmask the criminal who has framed one of their number as a drug dealer.-Selected cast:* Hugh...
(1952) - Cosh BoyCosh BoyCosh Boy is a 1953 British film starring James Kenney, Joan Collins, Hermione Baddeley, Hermione Gingold, Betty Ann Davies and Robert Ayres. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert, and produced by Daniel M...
(1952) - The Woman's AngleThe Woman's AngleThe Woman's Angle is 1952 British drama film directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Edward Underdown, Cathy O'Donnell and Lois Maxwell. It is based on the novel Three Cups of Coffee by Ruth Feiner.-Cast:* Edward Underdown - Robert Mansell...
(1952) - I Believe in YouI Believe in You (film)I Believe in You is a 1952 film directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Celia Johnson and Cecil Parker and is based on the book Court Circular by Sewell Stokes.-Cast:*Celia Johnson as Matty Matheson*Cecil Parker as Henry Phipps...
(1952) - Decameron NightsDecameron NightsDecameron Nights is a 1953 anthology film based on three tales from The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, specifically the ninth and tenth tales of the second day and the ninth tale of the third...
(1953) - Turn the Key SoftlyTurn the Key SoftlyTurn the Key Softly is a 1953 British drama film, directed by Jack Lee and starring Yvonne Mitchell, Joan Collins, Kathleen Harrison and Terence Morgan...
(1953) - The Square RingThe Square RingThe Square Ring is a 1953 British film directed by Basil Dearden and made at Ealing Studios. It stars Jack Warner, Robert Beatty and Bill Owen...
(1953) - Our Girl FridayOur Girl FridayOur Girl Friday is a 1953 British comedy film starring Joan Collins, George Cole, Kenneth More and Robertson Hare...
(1953) - The Good Die YoungThe Good Die YoungThe Good Die Young is a crime thriller made in the United Kingdom by Remus Productions, featuring a number of American characters. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay was based on the book of the same name written by Richard Macaulay....
(1954) - Land of the PharaohsLand of the PharaohsLand of the Pharaohs is a 1955 CinemaScope epic film made by the Continental Company, Ltd and presented by Warner Bros. It was directed and produced by Howard Hawks from a screenplay by Harold Jack Bloom, Harry Kurnitz, and the novelist William Faulkner...
(1955) - The Virgin QueenThe Virgin Queen (film)The Virgin Queen is a 1955 historical drama film starring Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins, Herbert Marshall and Dan O'Herlihy. It focuses on the relationship between Elizabeth I of England and Sir Walter Raleigh....
(1955) - The Girl in the Red Velvet SwingThe Girl in the Red Velvet SwingThe Girl in the Velvet Swing is a film directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Walter Reisch and Charles Brackett, and starring Joan Collins, Ray Milland and Farley Granger...
(1955) - The Opposite SexThe Opposite SexThe Opposite Sex is a 1956 musical film.It is a remake of the 1939 classic comedy The Women. Both films are based on Claire Boothe Luce's original play...
(1956) - The Wayward BusThe Wayward Bus (film)The Wayward Bus is a 1957 drama film released by 20th Century Fox that starred Jayne Mansfield, Joan Collins, Dan Dailey and Rick Jason. The film was based on the novel of the same name by John Steinbeck.-Production background:...
(1957) - Island in the SunIsland in the Sun (film)Island in the Sun is a 1957 film that stars an ensemble cast including James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Dorothy Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie and Harry Belafonte. The cast includes also Diana Wynyard, Patricia Owens and Stephen Boyd. The film is about race relations and interracial romance...
(1957) - Sea WifeSea WifeSea Wife is a British film based on the 1955 James Maurice Scott novel Sea-Wyf and Biscuit. Shot in Jamaica, the film is set around events in 1942 among a group of survivors from a torpedoed British refugee ship.-Plot:...
(1957) - Stopover Tokyo (1957)
- The BravadosThe BravadosThe Bravados is a 1958 western film , directed by Henry King starring Gregory Peck and Joan Collins. The CinemaScope film was based on a novel of the same name written by Frank O'Rourke.-Plot:...
(1958) - Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958)
- Seven ThievesSeven ThievesSeven Thieves is a 1960 20th Century Fox film noir crime drama motion picture. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Rod Steiger and Joan Collins.Directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Sydney Boehm, it was adapted for the screen by Sydney Boehm, based on the novel The Lions At The Kill by Max Catto...
(1960) - Esther and the KingEsther and the KingEsther and the King is a 1960 U.S.A. / Italian film direction, written, and produced by Raoul Walsh. It is a religious epic. It was produced at 20th Century Fox/ Raoul Walsh Productions, and was released by 20th Century Fox. Joan Collins stars as Esther in this melodramatic, routine Biblical story...
(1960) - The Road to Hong KongThe Road to Hong KongThe Road to Hong Kong starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Joan Collins, was the last in the long-running Road to … series and the only episode not produced by Paramount Pictures, though reference to the other films in the series are shown in Maurice Binder's opening title sequence...
(1962) - Hard Time for Princes (1965)
- Warning ShotWarning ShotWarning Shot is a 1967 movie about a police sergeant who kills a man in self-defense while on a stakeout. He must clear his name when the gun pulled on him disappears...
(1967) - Wedding of the Doll (1968) [documentary]
- SubterfugeSubterfuge (1968 film)Subterfuge is a 1968 British espionage film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Gene Barry, Joan Collins and Richard Todd.-Cast:* Gene Barry as Michael A...
(1968) - Besieged (1969)
- Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? is a 1969 British musical film directed by and starring Anthony Newley...
(1969) - If It's Tuesday, This Must Be BelgiumIf It's Tuesday, This Must Be BelgiumIf It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium is a 1969 romantic comedy film made by Wolper Pictures and released by United Artists. It was directed by Mel Stuart, filmed on location throughout Europe, and features many cameo appearances from various stars....
(1969) - The Executioner (1970)
- Up in the Cellar (1970)
- RevengeRevenge (1971 film)Revenge is a 1971 British thriller film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Joan Collins, James Booth and Sinéad Cusack. A family seek brutal revenge on the man who attacked their daughter.-Cast:* Joan Collins - Carol Radford...
(1971)
- Quest for Love (1971)
- Tales from the CryptTales from the Crypt (film)Tales from the Crypt is a British horror movie, made in 1972 by Amicus Productions. It is an anthology film consisting of five separate segments, based on stories from EC Comics. Only two of the stories, however, are actually from EC's Tales from the Crypt...
(1972) - Fear in the NightFear in the Night (1972 film)Fear in the Night is a 1972 British psychological horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster and starring Judy Geeson, Joan Collins and Peter Cushing. A young woman goes to take up a new position working in a boy's boarding school. She soon begins to believe she is losing her mind when a one armed man...
(1972) - Dark PlacesDark PlacesDark Places is a 1973 British horror film directed by Don Sharp and starring Christopher Lee, Joan Collins and Herbert Lom.-Plot:Dr. Mandeville and his wife Sarah try to locate two suitcases of money hidden on a large estate of one of his former patients by posing as a potential heir...
(1973) - Tales That Witness MadnessTales That Witness MadnessTales That Witness Madness is a 1973 British horror film produced by Norman Priggen, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, and written by actress Jennifer Jayne....
(1973) - Football Crazy (1974)
- I Don't Want to Be BornI Don't Want to Be BornI Don't Want to Be Born is a 1975 British horror film, directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Joan Collins, Ralph Bates, Eileen Atkins and Donald Pleasence, which tapped into the 1970s fad for devil-child horror films. The film was originally marketed as a straight-faced and serious product, and as...
(1975) - Alfie DarlingAlfie DarlingAlfie Darling is a 1975 British comedy drama film directed by Ken Hughes. It is the sequel to the 1966 film Alfie. This time Alan Price takes over Michael Caine's role of Alfie....
(1975) - The Cry of the Wolf (1975)
- Il Pomicione (1976)
- The Bawdy Adventures of Tom JonesThe Bawdy Adventures of Tom JonesThe Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Nicky Henson, Trevor Howard and Terry-Thomas. It is an adaptation of the eighteenth century novel Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, which follows the main character in a new series of...
(1976) - Magnum Cop (1977)
- Empire of the AntsEmpire of the Ants (film)Empire of the Ants is a 1977 science fiction horror film by Bert I. Gordon. Based very loosely on Empire of the Ants by H.G. Wells, the film involves a group of prospective land buyers led by a land developer, pitted against giant, mutated ants.-Plot:...
(1977) - Fearless (1977)
- Fatal Charm (1977)
- The Stud (1978)
- The Big SleepThe Big Sleep (1978 film)The Big Sleep was the second film version of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Robert Mitchum in his second feature film portrayal of the detective Philip Marlowe. The cast includes Sarah Miles, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, and...
(1978) - Zero to SixtyZero to SixtyZero to Sixty is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Don Weis. The film never received a theatrical release, but it was later reviewed by TV Guide, which called McGavin "fun to watch" in the film but noted the premise was brought to the screen six years later in a different film, Repo...
(1978) - The BitchThe Bitch (film)The Bitch is a British film released in 1979. It is a sequel to The Stud , and both films were based on novels by British author Jackie Collins. Like its predecessor, the film starred her sister, Joan Collins, as Fontaine Khaled.-Plot:...
(1979) - SunburnSunburn (film)Sunburn is a 1979 British-American detective-comedy film directed by Richard C. Sarafian and starring Farrah Fawcett, Charles Grodin and Art Carney...
(1979) - A Game for VulturesA Game for VulturesA Game for Vultures is a 1979 British thriller film starring Richard Harris, Joan Collins and Richard Roundtree. It was directed by James Fargo and based on a novel by Michael Hartmann.-Plot:...
(1979) - NutcrackerNutcracker (film)Nutcracker is a 1982 British drama film directed by Anwar Kawadri and starring Joan Collins, Carol White and Paul Nicholas. During the Cold War a Soviet ballerina attempts to defect to the West and settle in London.-Cast:* Joan Collins - Laura Carrere...
(1982) - Homework (1982)
- DecadenceDecadence (film)Decadence is a 1994 British film starring Joan Collins and Stephen Berkoff, written and directed by Berkoff and based on his play of the same name....
(1994) - In the Bleak Midwinter (1995)
- The Clandestine MarriageThe Clandestine Marriage (film)The Clandestine Marriage is a 1999 British comedy film directed by Christopher Miles and starring Nigel Hawthorne, Joan Collins, Timothy Spall and Tom Hollander. It is based on the 1766 play The Clandestine Marriage by David Garrick and George Colman....
(1999) (also associate producer) - The Flintstones in Viva Rock VegasThe Flintstones in Viva Rock VegasThe Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a 2000 comedy film and prequel to 1994's The Flintstones based on the hit cartoon series of the same name, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera and distributed by Universal Studios...
(2000) - Ozzie (2001)
- Alice in Glamourland (2004)
- Valentino: The Last EmperorValentino: The Last EmperorValentino: The Last Emperor is a documentary film about the life of Valentino Garavani. It was produced and directed by Matt Tyrnauer, Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine. The film is an exploration of the singular world of one of Italy's most famous men, Valentino Garavani...
(2008) - Banksy's Coming For Dinner (2009)
- Fetish (2010) [short]
- Unforgettable (2011)
- Dogs in Pocketbooks (2011)
Videos released
- The Making of Joan Collins (1981)
- The Dean Martin Celebrity RoastThe Dean Martin Celebrity RoastThe Dean Martin Celebrity Roast is a NBC television special show hosted by entertainer Dean Martin from 1974 to 1984. For a series of 54 specials and shows, Martin would periodically “roast” a celebrity. These roasts were patterned after the roasts held at the New York Friars' Club in New York City...
: Joan Collins (1984) - In Conversation With Joan Collins (1987)
- Joan Collins Personal Workout: Secrets of Fitness & Beauty (1994)
- Joan Collins-THE PERFECT TEN-HEALTHY DIET (1995)
- Coronation Street: Viva Las Vegas!Coronation Street: Viva Las Vegas!Coronation Street: Viva Las Vegas! was a direct-to-video spin off from the British soap opera Coronation Street. It followed Jack, Vera, Fiona and Maxine on their trip to Las Vegas. It was released on VHS in 1997.-Cast:- External links :...
(1997) - Court TV: Random House Vs Joan Collins (1997)
- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamcoatJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamcoatJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
(1999) - Biography - Joan Collins (A & E Home Video) (2000)
Theatrical credits
- 1946, A Doll's HouseA Doll's HouseA Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
at the Arts Theatre, London. - 1952, The Seventh VeilThe Seventh VeilThe Seventh Veil is a 1945 British melodrama film made by Ortus Films, a company established by producer Sydney Box, who here released through General Film Distributors in the UK and Universal Pictures in the United States.-Plot:...
at the Queen's TheatreQueen's TheatreThe Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It opened on 8 October 1907 as a twin to the neighbouring Gielgud Theatre which opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R...
, London. - 1952, Jassey at the Queens's Theatre, London.
- 1953, The Praying Mantis UK Tour.
- 1953, Claudia and DavidClaudia and DavidClaudia and David is a 1946 film directed by Walter Lang. It stars Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young.-Cast:*Dorothy McGuire as Claudia Naughton*Robert Young as David Naughton*Mary Astor as Elizabeth Van Doren*John Sutton as Phil Dexter...
at the Queen's Theatre, London. - 1954, The Skin of Our TeethThe Skin of Our TeethThe Skin of Our Teeth is a play by Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, 1942...
at the Queen's Theatre, London. - 1979, The Last of Mrs. CheyneyThe Last of Mrs. CheyneyThe Last of Mrs. Cheyney is a 1925 Frederick Lonsdale play that was adapted to the screen three times.-Play:Frederick Lonsdale's play, about a jewel thief who passes herself off as a society lady, opened at the St. James's Theatre in London on 22 September, 1925 and ran for 514 performances...
at the Chichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
, ChichesterChichesterChichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
. - 1979, Murder in Mind at the Chichester and Brighton Theatres, Chichester & BrightonBrightonBrighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. - 1981, The Last of Mrs. CheyneyThe Last of Mrs. CheyneyThe Last of Mrs. Cheyney is a 1925 Frederick Lonsdale play that was adapted to the screen three times.-Play:Frederick Lonsdale's play, about a jewel thief who passes herself off as a society lady, opened at the St. James's Theatre in London on 22 September, 1925 and ran for 514 performances...
at the Cambridge TheatreCambridge TheatreThe Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
, London. - 1990–1991, Private LivesPrivate LivesPrivate Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
at the Aldwych TheatreAldwych TheatreThe Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...
, London. - 1991–1992, Private LivesPrivate LivesPrivate Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
at the Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway, New York. - 2000, Love LettersLove Letters (play)Love Letters is a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nominated play by A. R. Gurney. The play centers on just two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III...
USA Tour. - 2001, Over The Moon at the Old Vic Theatre, London.
- 2004, Full Circle UK Tour.
- 2006, An Evening with Joan Collins UK Tour.
- 2006–2007, LegendsLegends (play)Legends is a comedic play written by James Kirkwood, Jr. It toured the United States with Mary Martin and Carol Channing in 1986, but never had a production on Broadway. The play concerns two aging rival film stars...
North American Tour. - 2010, One Night with Joan at Feinsteins at the Regency, New York.
- 2010-2011, Dick Whittington at the Birmingham Hippodrome, UK
- 2011, One Night with Joan at the Leicester Square Theatre, London.
- 2011, One Night with Joan Australian Tour.
Television credits
- The Human JungleThe Human JungleThe Human Jungle is a British TV series about a psychiatrist, made for ABC Weekend Television by the small production company Independent Artists and screened by the ITV Network...
(1963) - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
(1966) (Guest Appearance) - Run for Your LifeRun for Your Life (TV series)Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.-Synopsis:Gazzara plays lawyer...
(1966) (Guest Appearance) - BatmanBatman (TV series)Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
(1967) (Guest Appearance) - Star Trek (1967) (Guest Appearance)
- The VirginianThe Virginian (TV series)The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
(1967) (Guest Appearance) - The Danny Thomas HourThe Danny Thomas HourThe Danny Thomas Hour is an American anthology television series that was broadcast on NBC during the 1967-68 television season.-Synopsis:...
(1967) (Guest Appearance) - Mission: ImpossibleMission: ImpossibleMission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
(1969) (Guest Appearance) - The Persuaders!The Persuaders!The Persuaders! is a 1971 action/adventure series, produced by ITC Entertainment for initial broadcast on ITV and ABC. It has been called "the last major entry in the cycle of adventure series that had begun eleven years earlier with Danger Man in 1960", as well as "the most ambitious and most...
(1972) (Guest Appearance) - The Man Who Came to DinnerThe Man Who Came to DinnerThe Man Who Came to Dinner is a comedy in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. It then enjoyed a number of New York and London revivals. The first London production was staged at The Savoy Theatre starring Robert...
(1972) - Drive Hard, Drive Fast (1973)
- Great Mysteries(1973) (Guest Appearance)
- Ellery QueenEllery Queen (TV series)Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series that ran for one season from 1975 to 1976 on NBC. It starred Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, and David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen...
(1975) - Space: 1999Space: 1999Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
(1975) (Guest Appearance) - Switch (1975) (Guest Appearance)
- Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers (1976) (miniseries)
- BarettaBarettaBaretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
(1976) (Guest Appearance) - Police WomanPolice Woman (TV series)Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
(1976) (Guest Appearance) - Gibbsville (1976) (Guest Appearance)
- The Fantastic JourneyThe Fantastic JourneyThe Fantastic Journey is an American science fiction television series that was originally aired on NBC from February 3 through June 17, 1977.-Premise:...
(1977) (Guest Appearance) - Future CopFuture Cop (TV series)Future Cop is an American science fiction television series which starred Ernest Borgnine and Michael Shannon. It was based on the TV movie of the same name and predated RoboCop by ten years. The series was aired on ABC in 1976 and was re-piloted as "Cops and Robin" on NBC in 1978...
(1977) (Guest Appearance) - Starsky and HutchStarsky and HutchStarsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
(1977) (Guest Appearance) - Police WomanPolice Woman (TV series)Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
(1977) (Guest Appearance) - Tales of the UnexpectedTales of the Unexpected (TV series)Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
(1979–1980) - Fantasy IslandFantasy IslandFantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
(1980) (Guest Appearance) - Bernie (1980) (Guest Appearance)
- DynastyDynasty (TV series)Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
(1981–1989) - Paper DollsPaper DollsPaper Dolls is an American prime time soap opera which aired for 14 episodes on ABC from September 23, 1984 to December 25, 1984. Set in New York's fashion industry, the show centered around top modeling agency owner Racine , her conflicts with the family of cosmetics tycoon Grant Harper , and the...
(1982) - The Wild Women of Chastity GulchThe Wild Women of Chastity GulchThe Wild Women of Chastity Gulch is a made-for-ABC Network comedic western movie starring Priscilla Barnes and Joan Collins from executive producer Aaron Spelling. It premiered on October 31, 1982 and was later syndicated to cable television for rebroadcast. -Synopsis:In Civil War-era Southern...
(1982) - Faerie Tale TheatreFaerie Tale TheatreFaerie Tale Theatre is a live-action children's television anthology series retelling popular fairy tales. Shelley Duvall serves as narrator, host and executive producer of the program, and occasionally stars in episodes...
(1983) (Guest Appearance) - Making of a Male ModelMaking of a Male ModelMaking of a Male Model is a 1983 American TV movie starring Joan Collins and Jon-Erik Hexum. It was produced by ABC and released on October 9, 1983.-Plot:...
(1983) - The Love BoatThe Love BoatThe Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
(1983) (Guest Appearance) - Her Life as a Man (1984)
- The Cartier AffairThe Cartier AffairThe Cartier Affair is a 1984 NBC TV movie that starred Knight Rider's David Hasselhoff and Dynasty's Joan Collins, which also featured Kojak's Telly Savalas.-Plot:...
(1984) - Sins (1986) (also executive producer)
- TV-am Good Morning BritainTV-amTV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
(1986) - Monte Carlo (1986) (also executive producer)
- Collins Meets Coward, Tonight at 8:30 (1991) (also co producer)
- Dynasty: The ReunionDynasty: The ReunionDynasty: The Reunion is a 1991 miniseries reuniting the characters from the American prime time television soap opera Dynasty, a series which aired on ABC from 1981 to 1989 and was the highest-rated U.S. series in 1985. The miniseries, like the series, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil...
(1991) (miniseries) - Mama's Back (1993)
- RoseanneRoseanne (TV series)Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
(1993) (Guest Appearance) - Egoli: Place of GoldEgoli: Place of GoldEgoli: Place of Gold is a long-running bilingual South African soap opera which first aired on M-Net on 6 April 1992. South African television's first daily soap opera, on 3 December 1999 Egoli became the first South African television program in any genre to reach 2,000 episodes. As of 3 August...
(1994) - Annie: A Royal Adventure!Annie: A Royal Adventure!Annie 2: A Royal Adventure! is a TV sequel to Annie . It was released in the United States in 1995 and internationally in 1996, and is approximately 93 minutes long...
(1995) - Hart to HartHart to HartHart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg...
: Two Harts in Three-Quarters Time (1995) - The NannyThe Nanny (TV series)The Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
(1996) (Guest Appearance) - Pacific PalisadesPacific Palisades (TV series)Pacific Palisades is an American soap opera that aired on Fox during prime time from April to July 1997. Produced by Aaron Spelling, the show was cancelled after just thirteen episodes despite a last-minute attempt to increase ratings by casting Joan Collins.-Plot summary:Set in the Los Angeles...
(1997) - Sweet Deception (1998)
- Will and Grace (2000) (Guest Appearance)
- These Old BroadsThese Old BroadsThese Old Broads is a 2001 television film written by Carrie Fisher and starring her mother Debbie Reynolds, as well as Shirley MacLaine, Joan Collins, and Elizabeth Taylor in her final film role...
(2001) - The Guiding Light (2002)
- Slavery and the Making of America (2005) (Guest Appearance)
- Who Wants to be a Millionaire?Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a television game show which offers large cash prizes for correctly answering a series of multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. The format is owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Television International. The maximum cash prize is one million pounds...
(2005) (Celebrity Special with husband, Percy Gibson) - Have I Got News For YouHave I Got News for YouHave I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
(2005) (as Guest Presenter) - The F-WordThe F-WordThe F Word is a British food magazine and cooking show featuring chef Gordon Ramsay. The programme covers a wide range of topics, from recipes to food preparation and celebrity food fads. The programme is made by Optomen Television and aired weekly on Channel 4...
(2005) (Guest Appearance) - Footballers' WivesFootballers' WivesFootballers' Wives is a British television drama surrounding the fictional Premier League Association football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 8 January 2002 to 14 April 2006...
(2006) (Episodes 5 & 6) - Hotel BabylonHotel BabylonHotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
(2006) (Guest Appearance) - Friday Night with Jonathan RossFriday Night with Jonathan RossFriday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
(2006) (Guest Appearance) - The Graham Norton ShowThe Graham Norton ShowThe Graham Norton Show is a British comedy chat show that is broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. It was originally shown on BBC Two from February 2007 to May 2009 until it moved to BBC One from October 2009...
(2007) (Guest Appearance) - The Paul O'Grady ShowThe Paul O'Grady ShowThe Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
(2007) (Guest Appearance) - The Kylie ShowThe Kylie ShowThe Kylie Show is a one-off television special from Australian artist Kylie Minogue that aired on ITV on 10 November 2007 and was recorded at The London Studios...
(2007) (Guest Appearance) - Loose WomenLoose WomenLoose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
(5 September 2008) (Guest Appearance) - Agatha Christie's Marple: They Do It With Mirrors (2009)
- Joan Does Glamour (2009)
- All Star Mr and Mrs (2009) (Christmas Special)
- Piers Morgan's Life StoriesPiers Morgan's Life StoriesPiers Morgan's Life Stories, also known as Life Stories, is a British television chat show presented by journalist Piers Morgan. Filmed in front of a studio audience, each programme is devoted to one special celebrity guest. The interviews are intimate, in-depth and emotionally-charged as Piers...
(2010) (Guest Appearance) - Verbotene LiebeVerbotene LiebeVerbotene Liebe , often abbreviated to VL, is a Rose d'Or Award-winning German television soap opera. The show was created by Reg Watson and first broadcast on Das Erste on 2 January 1995...
(2010) - Rules of Engagement (TV series)Rules of Engagement (TV series)Rules of Engagement is a sitcom that debuted on CBS on February 5, 2007, as a midseason replacement, immediately following Two and a Half Men, in the time slot that was occupied by now-cancelled The New Adventures of Old Christine...
(2010) (Guest Appearance) - Elizabeth Taylor: A Tribute (2011) (BBC Special)