Joan Collins Biography Quotes 32 Report mistakes

Early Life and Training
Joan Collins was born in 1933 in London, England, into a family already intertwined with the performing arts. Her father, Joseph (Joe) Collins, was a well-known theatrical agent, and her mother, Elsa, had trained as a dancer. The household was steeped in show business talk and the practical realities of building a career on stage and screen. Joan, the eldest of three, grew up alongside her younger sister, the future bestselling novelist Jackie Collins, and their brother, Bill. From an early age she showed a flair for performance and, after schooling, she enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, refining a presence that blended classical poise with a sharply modern charisma.

Emerging Film Star
Collins began appearing in British films while still a teenager, catching the attention of casting directors with her striking looks and innate camera sense. Her rising profile led to a move to Hollywood in the mid-1950s, where studios were eager to groom new international stars. At 20th Century Fox and other studios, she appeared in a string of eye-catching films that showcased her range in historical epics, dramas, and romantic adventures. Among the highlights of her early career were The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, in which she portrayed Evelyn Nesbit; Land of the Pharaohs, an exotic spectacle guided by a major director of the era; The Virgin Queen, opposite screen legend Bette Davis; and The Bravados, with Gregory Peck. She moved fluidly between high drama and lighter fare, holding her own alongside established American stars such as Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! and later teaming with icons Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in Road to Hong Kong.

Television Stardom and Dynasty
While Collins worked steadily through the 1960s and 1970s, it was television that delivered her signature role. In 1981 she joined Dynasty, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer. Cast as the formidable and glamorous Alexis Carrington Colby, she transformed the series into a global phenomenon. Her chemistry and on-screen sparring with Linda Evans, who played Krystle, and her verbal duels with John Forsythe's Blake Carrington became appointment television. Collins infused Alexis with wit, style, and unapologetic ambition, helping define the decade's prime-time soap opera genre and shaping fashion and popular culture along the way. Her work brought a Golden Globe Award and further nominations, as well as a sustained international profile that extended beyond the series' original run and into reunion specials.

Stage, Writing, and Later Screen Work
In parallel with her screen career, Collins maintained a connection to the stage. She appeared in plays in London's West End, on Broadway, and on touring productions, demonstrating classical timing and comic sharpness in works ranging from sophisticated comedies to contemporary dramas. Her live performances emphasized a command of audience and a love of theatrical tradition learned from her earliest training.

She also developed a second career as an author. Collins wrote candid memoirs, essay collections, and popular novels that drew on her deep knowledge of show business and the rhythms of celebrity life. Her books sold widely and reinforced her reputation as a sharp observer of style, success, and resilience. In later decades she continued to appear in films and guest-star on television series, showing an enduring appetite for work and the ability to tailor her screen presence to new formats and audiences.

Personal Life
Collins's personal life attracted significant public attention, not least because she often moved in the same social circles as the figures shaping film, television, music, and fashion. She married five times. Her first marriage, to actor Maxwell Reed in the 1950s, coincided with her early Hollywood period. In the 1960s she married the multitalented performer Anthony Newley, with whom she had two children, Tara and Alexander; Newley's creativity and career in music and film intersected closely with her own. In the 1970s she married music executive Ron Kass, and they had a daughter, Katyana. Later marriages included a brief union with Swedish singer Peter Holm in the 1980s, and, in 2002, she married theater producer Percy Gibson, a partnership that evolved into a lasting personal and professional alliance; Gibson's work behind the scenes complemented Collins's public-facing roles on stage and television.

Family remained a central thread. Her sister Jackie Collins became a major force in popular fiction, and the sisters' mutual support and affectionate rivalry were frequently noted in the press. The loss of Jackie in 2015 was a profound personal moment for Joan, who often spoke of the strength of their bond. Throughout her life she has credited her parents, her father's practical knowledge of the industry and her mother's artistic discipline, for instilling professionalism and drive.

Honors and Public Profile
Collins's longevity and impact have been formally recognized. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the late 1990s and, in 2015, was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to charity. These honors reflected not only her contribution to entertainment but also decades of advocacy and fundraising on behalf of health and children's causes. Public appearances, interviews, and her written work reveal a performer who treats show business as both craft and enterprise, and who has used celebrity as a platform for philanthropic engagement.

Style, Influence, and Legacy
Joan Collins stands as one of the defining screen personalities of her generation. Her early film roles captured the last flourish of the studio era, while her reinvention on television in the 1980s helped shape the medium's global reach. Collaborations with figures such as Aaron Spelling, Linda Evans, John Forsythe, and Heather Locklear placed her at the center of ensemble storytelling that balanced character, glamour, and serialized intrigue. Beyond particular roles, she became a symbol of elegance and determination: a performer who embraced the demands of hair, wardrobe, and makeup as tools of characterization, and who wielded them with the same discipline she brought to timing and dialogue.

The arc of her career, child of a theatrical agent, RADA-trained actress, Hollywood leading lady, television icon, stage performer, and bestselling author, illustrates a rare adaptability. Through reinvention she stayed relevant across eras that saw profound changes in the entertainment industry, from the decline of the studio system to the rise of international television syndication and contemporary streaming culture. Often imitated but rarely matched, she transformed Alexis Carrington into an archetype while sustaining a body of work that spans genres and generations. As Dame Joan Collins, she remains both a touchstone of screen history and a vivid contemporary presence, admired by colleagues and audiences for her wit, stamina, and unmistakable star power.

Our collection contains 32 quotes who is written by Joan, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Motivational - Friendship - Writing - Parenting.

Other people realated to Joan: Carrie Fisher (Actress), Jimmy Sangster (Screenwriter), Stephanie Beacham (Actress), Heather Locklear (Actress), Diahann Carroll (Actress)