Dame Joan Collins, born on May 23, 1933, in London, England, has led a career that spans over 75 years. From the stage to the screen to a pen in hand, she has mastered the art forms that we all admire. Born the eldest of three children to a theatrical agent father and dance teacher mother, Collins started her acting career in a 1946 stage production of 'A Doll's House' in London while studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1955, she signed with 20th Century Fox and starred in three films that same year: 'The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing,' 'The Virgin Queen,' and 'Land of the Pharaohs.' Her first appearance on screen, however, was in an uncredited role in the 1951 movie 'Lady Godiva Rides Again.' Collins has had roles in dozens of movies and TV shows, though her most notable TV show role remains Alexis Crosby in the critically-acclaimed soap opera 'Dynasty,' which earned her two 'Outstanding Villainess' Soap Opera Digest Awards. The Golden Globe and People's Choice Award winner began her writing journey with her 1978 memoir, 'Past Imperfect: An Autobiography.' Today, she has penned over 15 books, both fiction and nonfiction. In addition to her successful acting career, Collins is a dedicated philanthropist, donating to charities for finding a cure for breast cancer and to various children's organizations. For her charity work, she was awarded damehood by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 after being named Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1997. Look back at her incredible life and career.
Actress Joan Collins circa 1950s.
Before acting became her stellar career path, Collins dabbled with the idea of two very different careers: a fashion designer and a private investigator.
Joan Fontaine and Joan Collins, right, in ‘Decameron Nights’ in 1953.
Hand in hand, Joan Collins and Sydney Chaplin, son of famous English comedian Charlie Chaplin, go out on a picnic near Rome on July 30, 1954. The Eternal City’s gossip writers said that there was a romance brewing between the two, who were working on the same film, “Land of the Pharaohs,” in Rome.
Jackie Collins, left, and Joan Collins, right, catching up on correspondence while on location making the film “Land of the Pharaohs,” circa 1955. Jackie is Joan’s sister, and is a renowned novelist and actress in her own right. All of Jackie’s 32 steamy romance books landed a spot on the New York Times’ Bestsellers List. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2015 from breast cancer after a six-year battle.
Bette Davis, left, as Queen Elizabeth I and Joan Collins as Beth Throgmorton in “The Virgin Queen” in 1955.
Joan Collins at a premiere in Los Angeles, Calif. in 1957.
Collins is one of dozens of talented stars to have graduated from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Since her graduation in 1951, the academy has produced alumni like Anthony Hopkins, Alan Rickman, Corey Mylchreest, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Taron Egerton, Tom Hiddleston and many more. Here she is wearing a nun’s habit during the film, “Sea Wife,” in 1957.
Joan Collins, left, as Alice Chicoy and Jayne Mansfield, right, as Camille Oakes in the film “The Wayward Bus” in 1957.
Joan Collins wearing a strapless red dress and pearl necklace, circa 1960.
Collins helped get two of her sister’s books, “The Stud” and “The Bitch,” get on-screen adaptions—to which she starred in both.
Joan Collins performs a dance in a scene from the film “Seven Thieves” in 1960.
Joan Collins wearing a white swimsuit, circa 1960.
While her role as Alexis Colby in “Dynasty” is arguably the most popular role she has ever taken on, Collins wasn’t the only one considered for the job. Other actresses considered for the beautiful, catty ex-wife included Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch, though Collins remained in the top spot of executive producer Esther Shapiro’s shortlist.
Joan Collins as Esther in the biblical epic “Esther and the King,” circa 1960.
Joan Collins, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope during the filming of “The Road to Hong Kong” at Shepperton Studios in 1961.
Joan Collins wearing a white sleeveless top, smiling in a studio portrait, circa 1965.
Joan Collins photographing her children Sacha Newley and Tara Newley in London, U.K., on Feb. 5, 1968.
Anthony Newley as Heironymus Merkin, and Joan Collins as Polyester Poontang, in “Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness” in 1969.
Joan Collins photographed behind the wheel of a car, circa 1970.
Joan Collins and husband Ron Kass with their family in Marbella, Spain in 1972. Pictured is their new baby Katyana, Joan’s children Tara Newley and Sacha Newley, and Ron’s three boys Robert, David and Jonathan.
Joan Collins works out with the King of Pilates, Kim Lee, at his exercise studio in Beverly Hills, Calif. in April of 1976.
Joan Collins, playing the seductive queen of Halyana, gets close up and personal with a falcon on the set of the science-fiction movie “Fantastic Voyage” in Los Angeles, Calif. in 1977.
Joan Collins and Robert Wagner during the filming of “Switch” in Los Angeles, Calif. on Aug. 1, 1978.
Actress Joan Collins photographed in July 1980.
Joan Collins and daughter Katyana Kass at the grand piano in the living room of their home on Bowmont Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif. in June of 1981.
Despite being nominated for a Golden Globe every year for six years from 1982 to 1987, and winning one in 1983, Collins only ever got nominated for a Primetime Emmy once. Naturally, it was for her role as Alexis Colby in “Dynasty” in 1984 for outstanding lead actress in a drama series.
Emmy winner William Daniels backstage with Joan Collins at the Emmy Awards Show on Sept. 21, 1986, in Pasadena, Calif.
Joan Collins photographed in 1987 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Joan Collins poses for a portrait in 1987 in Los Angeles, Calif.
Sean Rowan, played by James Healey, threatens Alexis Carrington (Joan Collins) with a gun while she is taking a bubble bath in “Colorado Roulette,” the final episode of season eight of the soap opera “Dynasty,” first aired on March 30, 1988.
Joan Collins poses in a Nolan Miller suit with a polka dot wide-shouldered jacket on the set of the TV series “Dynasty” in Hollywood, Calif. in June of 1988.
Diana, Princess of Wales meets Joan Collins at the Aldwych Theatre in London during a production of the play “Private Lives” by Noel Coward in September of 1990.
Joan Collins at home in Beverly Hills, Calif. in November of 1992.
Joan Collins sits on a swing in a red gown in the grounds of the Sugar Bay Resort in Bridgetown, Barbados, in February of 1994. Joan was there to work on a beauty book.
Joan Collins introducing her latest book in New York on Jan. 25, 1995.
Joan Collins working on her novel in the office of her Beverly Hills, Calif. home in November 1995. On the wall behind her are framed magazine covers of Joan from publications around the world.
Joan Collins after her investiture as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) with the OBE at Buckingham Palace on Nov. 3, 1997.
Joan Collins sits at her dresser applying makeup in her West Hollywood, Calif. penthouse apartment in April of 2000.
Joan Collins, along with co-stars Shirley MacLaine and Debbie Reynolds, dance on the Los Angeles, Calif. set during the filming of a 2001 American made-for-television comedy film, “These Old Broads.”
Joan Collins is framed by a collection of fictional and non-fictional books she has authored, photographed at her home in Beverly Hills, Calif. in 2006.
Joan Collins during 2006 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Morton’s in West Hollywood, Calif.
Joan Collins having a picnic on a day out in the English countryside in Middlesex, in June of 2007.
Joan Collins poses in a giant oyster shell during a fashion shoot in Acapulco, Mexico, in March of 2009.
Joan Collins does a little sightseeing at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco during the stage run of Noel Coward’s 1930’s play “Private Lives” at the Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda, Calif., in July of 2009.
Clive Davis and Joan Collins after Joan’s performance at Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency Hotel in New York City on Nov. 16, 2010, in New York City.
Joan Collins reclines on a floating armchair wearing a white swimming costume with wide-brimmed white hat in the pool of her San Tropez villa in the south of France beside her husband Percy Gibson in August of 2013.
Joan Collins wearing a leopard print dress on the patio of her San Tropez villa in the south of France beside her husband Percy Gibson in August of 2013.
Joan Collins performs at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on Nov. 5, 2013, in New York City.
Dame Joan Collins sits on the sofa in her West Hollywood, Calif. penthouse apartment in March 2015 shortly after being awarded a dame hood from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, London.
Joan Collins arrives for the V&A Summer Party at the Victoria and Albert Museum on June 22, 2016, in London, England.
Joan Collins attends the 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019, in New York City.
Joan Collins attends the 2019 Met Gala “Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019, in New York City.
Joan Collins attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 9, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
On the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Dame Joan Collins leads a “Nation’s Toast” on behalf of the women of the nation who sacrificed so much for their country from her London home on May 8, 2020, in London, England.
British actress Joan Collins attends the “Glow & Darkness” photo call at the Westin Palace Hotel on Oct. 26, 2020, in Madrid, Spain.
Joan Collins attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Joan Collins and her husband Percy Gibson take part in the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in front of Buckingham Palace on June 5, 2022, in London, England.
