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Joan Collins

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Joan Collins
File:Joanxxx.jpg
Joan Collins with Leonard Simpson, 2007
Born
Joan Henrietta Collins
Years active1951 - present
Spouse(s)Maxwell Reed (1952-1956)
Anthony Newley (1963-1971)
Ronald S. Kass (1972-1983)
Peter Holm (1985-1987)
Percy Gibson (2002-)

Joan Henrietta Collins OBE (born 23 May 1933) is a Golden Globe Award winning English actress and bestselling author.

Early Life

Collins was born in London to Joseph William "Will" Collins (a South African Jewish talent agent, 1902-88) and Elsie (later Elsa) Bessant (a British mother, who died at 56 in 1962). She has one sister, the author Jackie Collins, and a brother Bill Collins. She was educated at the Francis Holland School and then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) with actors such as Sir Roger Moore and Sir Michael Caine.

At the age of 17 Collins was signed to the J. Arthur Rank Film Company, a highly profitable British studio and charm school.

Career

In 1951, she made her feature debut as a beauty contest entrant in Lady Godiva Rides Again and in 1952 she appeared in the film I Believe in You based on the book Court Circular by Sewell Stokes. In the early 1950s, she did double duty by posing for pin-up photos and acting in B-movies in Britain. After mild success, she was signed by 20th Century Fox in 1954 as their answer to Elizabeth Taylor.

After losing such high-profile roles as Cleopatra (Collins was cast when Elizabeth Taylor fell ill, then let go upon Taylor's recovery), Collins continued to work in films and occasionally in television.

Her notable guest appearances on American TV during the 1960s included Batman, Mission: Impossible, Police Woman, and the now widely popular Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever".

In the 1970s, Collins starred in the film versions of her sister Jackie Collins' racy novels The Stud and The Bitch, appearing nude in both. The films were smash hits in England, becoming the most profitable films since the James Bond series.

Dynasty

In the 1980s, Collins' was offered a role in the then-struggling prime time TV soap opera Dynasty (1981 - 1989) by producer Aaron Spelling. In Dynasty, which was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro, Collins was hired to play the role of tycoon Blake Carrington's vengeful ex-wife.

The role of Alexis successfully relaunched Collins as a powerful sex symbol and icon of independence in her 50s. Her performance helped the struggling show and it ultimately became a ratings hit, rivaling Dallas. In 1985, Dynasty was the #1 show in the US, and Collins went on to become the highest-paid actress on television at the time. Dynasty was shown in more than 80 countries and is still internationally syndicated.

With Dynasty at the height of its success, Collins also began producing and starred in two successful CBS mini-series, Sins and Monte Carlo.

She also appeared on the cover of and in a twelve page layout shot by George Hurrell for Playboy magazine at the age of 50 to further establish herself as a sex symbol.

In 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."

Later years

After the end of Dynasty in 1989, Collins worked less frequently, making guest star appearances on series such as Roseanne, The Nanny and Will & Grace while dabbling in films like Decadence and A Midwinter's Tale in the mid 1990s.

In 1992 she made her successful Broadway debut in an adaptation of Noel Coward's Private Lives. She also guest starred in six episodes of Aaron Spelling's prime time soap opera Pacific Palisades in 1997.

In the late 1990s she appeared in several theatrical tours with the likes of George Hamilton and Stacey Keach. Additionally, she appeared in a West End production of Over the Moon with Frank Langella in 2000.

In 2002 she appeared in a limited run on the legendary daytime soap opera Guiding Light to favorable reviews. She also appeared on South African television, depicting the role of South African journalist, Jani Allan in a comedic spoof.

In 2004 she toured the United Kingdom with a revival of the play Full Circle to great success and much critical praise. In 2005 she proved to be a formidable guest host of the popular British quiz show Have I Got News For You, often making quick jokes with the audience.

In early 2006, Collins toured the United Kingdom in A Night 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.

Collins joined the cast of the hit British television series Footballer's Wives for a limited run as a glamorous magazine mogul, aptly named Eva de Wolffe. She also guest starred in the BBC series Hotel Babylon in 2006 as a lonely aristocrat desperate for romance.

Collins has repeatedly noted in the press that she is determined to appear on ABC's Desperate Housewives, noting that she believes it is one of the best series on television[1]

In the summer of 2007, Collins signed on to be the new face of the expensive cosmetic brand, Cellex-C. She will be promoting the product called Cellex-C Age-less 15 Skin Signaling Serum.

Romance, Marriage, Family

In an interview with The Daily Mail on Monday August 20th, Collins was quoted as saying that in her time in Hollywood she went out with 'zillions and zillions' of men. Her sister Jackie was quoted as saying 'I think she did her own thing sexually.' Collins herself admits she was unfaithful 'but only only on location. It doesn't count on location. Everybody was having a little fling, I don't suffer very much from guilt.'

On arrival in Hollywood she was propositioned by studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck who cornered her in a corridor and said 'You haven't had anyone till you've had me. I've got the biggest and the best and I can go all night.' Collins managed to escape from this encounter and at a later stage when he showed her the solid gold life-sized mold of his private parts he liked to show impressionable girls, Collins responded with 'I've seen bigger things crawl out of cabbages.'

By this time Collins had already been married and separated from her first husband, Maxwell Reed. She eventually divorced him in 1956 on her twenty-third birthday after he attempted to sell her to an Arab sheik. Her first serious boyfriend after Reed was Charlie Chaplin's son Sydney Chaplin however she left him for Arthur Loew Jr whom she moved in with after divorcing Reed. She began pestering the rich son of the MGM president to get married but he resisted, pointing out that Collins had said she would never marry again. The relationship was not perfect with Collins resenting that Loew had only given her a 'few pieces of jewelery' despite his wealth and him suspicious of her motives. When she went on location with Richard Burton, Loew assumed she would have an affair with the leading man she had idolized when younger. However she recoiled when she saw Burton's physique close-up, his face already appearing somewhat ravaged at the age of 30. She had an affair with a cameraman instead whom she described as the most exciting lover she had had so far. The relationship with Loew ended in a huge row at a New Year's party with Loew screaming at Collins 'you're a f**king bore' and Collins rejoining with 'and you're a boring f**k'.

Collins then embarked on a three-year period in which she had so many lovers she was referred to as 'The British Open', at one point it was reported she had dated 14 men in a fortnight. She "enjoyed" dalliances with Conrad Hilton Jr., Dennis Hopper (who was only 18 at the time), Ryan O'Neal, Terence Stamp and Warren Beatty.

The gossip mills were set ablaze when Collins walked away from Hollywood and a successful career in the early 1960s to marry Anthony Newley, an award winning singer, actor and film composer. With Newley she had two children, a daughter, Tara (now a British television broadcaster) and a son, Sacha (who is now a highly regarded artist).

In 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 (a photographer). In 1980 Katy was struck by a speeding car and went into a coma. Collins and her husband bought a trailer and parked it in the hospital parking lot in order to be as close to their daughter as possible. Katyana emerged from her coma a few months later, although it would take years for her to fully recover.

Collins' third marriage ended in divorce in 1983, although she and Kass remained very close until his death from cancer in 1986.

In 1985, Collins married Swedish singer Peter Holm in a quickie ceremony in Las Vegas. The marriage lasted a year and the divorce proceedings lasted just as long with a media circus ensuing. Collins left Los Angeles and returned to London where she lived with much younger art dealer Robin Hurlstone for over a decade.

In 2001, Collins and Hurlstone ended their relationship and Collins struck up a romance with theatrical company manager Percy Gibson, a man 32 years her junior. (When questioned about the age difference, Collins quipped "If he dies, he dies.") They married on February 17, 2002 at Claridge's Hotel in London.

Personal politics

After decades of flirting with British politics on May 24, 2004, Collins joined the United Kingdom Independence Party. [1] 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." [2]

She also continues to contribute as The Spectator Magazine Guest Diarist, something she has done since the late 1990s. Collins also writes a recurring column for The Daily Mail, contributing roughly ten columns each year.

She has commented that she was a huge supporter of former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. Collins is also a devout monarchist, remaining loyal to the British Royal Family.

Charitable work

Collins has publicly supported several charities for several decades. 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.

Homes

Collins has lived, at different times, in London, Los Angeles, New York City and St. Tropez. In 2001 Collins sold her Los Angeles penthouse, moving to a luxurious Manhattan condo in the Upper East Side. She now divides her time between her New York City home, an apartment in the fashionable neighbourhood of Belgravia (London), and a villa in La Croix Valmer, a small seaside village outside St. Tropez in the South of France.

Books

Joan Collins' sister, Jackie Collins, emerged as a bestselling novelist in the 1960s, and wrote the novels The Stud and The Bitch, which were both filmed starring Joan Collins in a major role. Both novels. and the films scripted by Jackie and featuring Joan were commercially successful.

Joan Collins has also established herself as an author. In addition to her bestselling novels (Prime Time, Love & Desire & Hate, Infamous, Star Quality, Misfortune's Daughters) she has written lifestyle books (The Joan Collins Beauty Book, My Secrets, My Friends Secrets and Joan's Way: The Art of Living Well) and memoirs, Past Imperfect (1978), Katy: A Fight for Life (1982) and Second Act (1996),.

In September 1991, Joan Collins delivered a 690-page manuscript to Random House. However, the publishing firm later demanded the return of its $1.3 million advance from Collins, claiming she failed to deliver completed books as per her contract. In court, Collins stated that Random House had received her novel, The Ruling Passion, in 1991 plus another novel, Hell Hath No Fury, in September 1992. 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. On February 29, 1996, a jury determined that she could keep the advance for the first novel, but the publisher did not have to pay for the second manuscript since it was a reworking of the first. Judge Ira Gammerman then ruled that Random House owed Collins $925,000 plus interest for a grand total of $1.3 million.

The Guinness Book of World Records cites Collins as holding the record for retaining the world's largest unreturned payment for an unpublished manuscript.

TV adverts

Beginning in the early 1970s, Collins appeared in television and magazine advertisements for British Airways, in which she was referred to as their "Most Frequent Flyer of First Class" a title which she has maintained, having promoted the airline for more than three decades. In the late 1970s, 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, Sanyo and was the face of Revlon's Scoundrel perfume. 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 February 2007 Collins was announced to be the public face of skincare company Cellex-C. Collins' campaign, launched in May of 2007 is based around the company's high end Age-Less 15 anti-aging serum.

Recently, Collins has been announced as the public face of the British Royal Mail Christmas 2007 advertising campaign.

Music

In 1956 she sang in the musical The Opposite Sex.

In 1959 she sang It's Great Not To Be Nominated at the Academy Awards with fellow British actress Angela Lansbury and Dana Wynter.

In 1962 she sang in the film The Road to Hong Kong with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

In 1963 she teamed up with husband, Anthony Newley and Peter Sellers to record the album Fool Britannia which made the UK Top 10.

In 1979 she sang in The Bitch.

In 2001 she was featured in the music video for Badly Drawn Boy's Pissing in the Wind which made the Top 30 in the UK Singles chart.

Titles

In 1997, Collins was granted the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Collins is styled in the following ways for official patronage to several charities:

  • Joan Collins OBE.
  • Joan Collins, Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

Awards

  • 1957: Motion Picture Magazine Award, Most Promising New Star
  • 1978: Saturn Award nomination, Best Actress in a Science Fiction film, Empire of the Ants.
  • 1982: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
  • 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: 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: People's Choice Award: 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: 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: OBE (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.
  • 2005: Lifetime Achievement Award, San Diego International Film Festival.
  • 2005: Fur wearer of the year, awarded for her dedication in wearing vast collections of dead animal skins on a regular basis.

Filmography

Theatrical credits

Television credits

References

  1. ^ Collins Still Wants "Housewives" Role, Contact Music, June 24, 2007
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