Dame Joan Henrietta Collins DBE ( born 23 May 1933 ) is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in London, Collins grew up during the Second World War. After making her stage debut in the Henrik Ibsen play A Doll's House at the age of nine, she trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. She then signed an exclusive contract with the Rank Organisation and appeared in various British films.
Dame Joan Collins and Sophia Loren
At age 22 in 1955, Collins headed to Hollywood and landed sultry roles in several popular films, including The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955) and Rally Round the Flag, Boys! (1958). While she continued to make films in the US and the UK throughout the 1960s, she also guest-starred in an episode of Star Trek in 1967 named "The City on the Edge of Forever", as Edith Keeler. Her career languished in the 1970s, when she appeared in a number of horror films. Near the end of the decade, she starred in two softcore pornographic films based on best-selling novels by her younger sister Jackie Collins: The Stud (1978) and its sequel The Bitch (1979).
She began appearing on stage, playing the title role in the 1980 British revival of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, and later had a lead role in the 1990 revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives. In 1981, she landed the role of Alexis Colby, the vengeful and scheming ex-wife of John Forsythe's character, in the 1980s soap opera Dynasty, winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 1982; she is credited with the success of Dynasty, which was the most-watched television series in the United States during the 1984–85 broadcast season. Collins also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983 for career achievement.
In 2015, Collins was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to charity. Since the late-1970s, Collins has written several books (including beauty and autobiographical books). In 1988, she published her first novel, Prime Time, and she has continued to publish various kinds of writing. A member of the Conservative Party, Collins was invited to attend the funeral of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in April 2013.
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