“Alexis had a man's attitude. She took no prisoners in terms of sex,” Joan said in a 2007 interview with Matthew Hays. “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.”
A native of Paddington, England, Joan made her London theatrical debut at age 9 in Ibsen's “A Doll House.” Joan's father, Joseph William Collins, who also represented Tom Jones and the Beatles, was her first agent.
She studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and at age 17 signed a contract with J. Arthur Rank Film Company. While appearing in a number of British movies in the early 1950s, Joan also became a pin-up queen, posing for British magazines in the 1950s.
She journeyed to Hollywood at age 22 and appeared in U.S. Films “The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing” (1955), “Islands in the Sun” (1956) and “Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!” (1958). Over the course of her seven-decade career, she's worked with film greats Richard Burton, Paul Newman, Sir Laurence Olivier and James Stewart, to name a few.
Classic TV Beauties 1980s Countdown
JOAN COLLINS as Alexis Colby in "Dynasty"
As Alexis, the haughty, sexy, ruthless baroness, Joan invented the prototype that inspired every scheming, bitchy woman who has since appeared in prime-time soaps.
Alexis was a television icon; a groundbreaking character: a middle-aged woman – Joan was age 49 when she first appeared on “Dynasty” and 56 when the series ended – who was sexy as well as oversexed; a callous business tycoon who didn't need a man to take care of her.
“We didn't write Joan Collins,” “Dynasty” executive producer Aaron Spelling said. “She played Joan Collins. 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.”
Joan said Alexis was the perfect role for her..
“I think you always have to use certain parts of yourself in any role,” she told the London Telegraph in a 2010 interview. “Quite frankly, I've always preferred playing somebody with balls.
“Krystle Carrington in 'Dynasty'? I would hate that role. To me, she's completely spineless and wimpy – there are lots of those kinds of female roles. But the villian roles are always the most interesting.”
As the ex-wife of millionaire oilman Blake Carrington (John Forsythe),Alexis made her first appearance in the second season (1982) opener, taking the show to new levels of soap opera drama.
As the series progressed, Alexis married three more times, took on a series of lovers, and operated her business like a cold-blooded killer – all the while creating havoc for Blake, Krystle (Linda Evans), or anybody else who stood in her way.
Whether she was causing Krystle to miscarriage by intentionally firing a shotgun to startle the horse Krystle was riding, or whether she was marrying Cecil Colby on his deathbed to acquire his company, Alexis was bad news.
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Joan's film career lagged in the 1960s and 70s. She guest-starred in numerous American TV shows, including “Mission Impossible,” “Police Woman,” “Star Trek,” and she even played a villian named The Siren in “Batman.”
In the late 1970s, she starred in two British films based on her sister Jackie Collins' novels: “The Stud” and its sequel, “The Bitch.” The movies were panned by critics but were commercial successes and were credited for revitalizing Joan's career.
Of her character Fontaine Khaled, a nymphomaniac businesswoman, Joan said, “She appears to have the world by the balls, but underneath she's trying to solve the problem of loneliness, which I think is the universal problem of all rich people.”
Several years later, after Sophia Loren turned down the role of Alexis, “Dynasty” made Joan Collins a television icon. Joan said that she hesitated to accept the part because she didn't want to leave London and uproot her family, but her agent promised her that the gig would only last six weeks.
And Joan solidified herself as an over-50 sex symbol. She appeared in a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine in 1983, and continued to play roles cast as the sexy cougar who seduced and bedded younger men in films like “Making of a Male Model.”
“When I did Playboy I was 49,” she said, “And I said, 'This is the last time I'm going to be photographed in a revealing pose.' I think that you just decide not to compete with the 21-year-olds, or even the 31-year-olds.”
After “Dynasty,” Joan worked in theater, films and more TV, and also established herself as an author. She's written five best-selling novels, as well as six lifestyle books and three memoirs. Her books have sold more than 50 million copies.
“As soon as I did my first show they wanted to sign me up for three years,” she said. “I didn't think it would go for three years because it was very very down in the ratings, but I liked the role so much.”
After Joan joined the show, the ratings for “Dynasty” skyrocketed. The series finished at No. 12, No. 5, and No. 3 the next three seasons before unseating “Dallas” as the top rated TV show 1984-85.
Joan was nominated for a Golden Globe for six straight years (1982-87), winning the award in 1983.
“'Dynasty' was the opportunity to take charge of my career rather than walking around like a library book waiting to be loaned out,” she said.
By the waning seasons of the series, Joan was earning $120,000 per episode. She appeared in just 13 of the season's 22 episodes the final season (1988-89) because the producers told her they couldn't afford to pay her every week.
"I've never chased fame. I came into this business to be a theatre actress. I was nine when I first appeared on stage,” Joan said. “But I can't say I would turn my back on fortune. I'm someone who enjoys the benefits of money. I created a lifestyle for myself. Nobody else did it for me. Everything I have I've bought with my own money."
Although she's now over 80, Joan still hasn't slowed down. Whether it's acting, writing, charitable activities or politics, she continues to work.
“What am I going to do?” she said in the Telegraph interview.. “Sit around and knit. I would be bored out of my mind if I didn't work, but I don't work all the time.
“I live very well, but I think I've earned it. I have a very, very positive attitude towards life and getting on it. That's my motto – get on with it.”
Other "Dynasty" Ladies on the Classic TV Beauties List
