“You have to eat life or life will eat you.”
— Joan Collins
Joan Collins bridged eras.
She started out in the British film studios of the early 1950s, learning the ropes the old-fashioned way. In her twenties, she packed her bags for Hollywood and made a name for herself on the big screen. Just when many actresses her age were being pushed aside, she staged an unlikely comeback in her late forties with Dynasty, a tv-show that turned her into an international icon. In the years that followed, she didn’t hide from personal hardships. She wrote about them, spoke about them, and reshaped them into stories of survival and resilience.
Table of Contents: Early Years / Education / Career / Alexis: Capitalism with Lipstick / Bestselling Author / Philanthropy / Personal Life / Later Years / Did you know?
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Early Years
Joan Henrietta Collins was born on May 23rd, 1933, in Paddington, London. She grew up in Maida Vale, a beautiful neighbourhood in North-West London.
Her father, Joseph William Collins, was a theatrical agent and his clients later included Shirley Bassey, The Beatles and Tom Jones. Her mother, Elsa Collins (née Bessant), was a dance teacher. Joan’s father was South African and Jewish, while her mother was British and Anglican.
She had two younger siblings. Her sister, Jackie Collins, became a bestselling novelist. Her brother, Bill Collins, worked in property. Show-business was part of daily life in the family.
Joan went on stage at the age of nine in a production of A Doll’s House.
She grew up during the Second World War. London was bombed and the Collins, like everybody else, endured rationing and air raids.
Those early years left her with grit and a taste for glamour: she has said more than once that she wanted beauty and sparkle in her adult life because she had seen enough gray skies as a child.
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