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Joan Collins Biography |
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Joan Henrietta Collins OBE (born 23 May 1933) is a Golden Globe Award winning British actress and bestselling author.
Collins was born in London to Joseph William "Will" Collins (a South African Jewish talent agent, 1902-88) and Elsa Bessant (a British mother, 1906-1962). Her father enjoyed a successful career and his clients included Shirley Bassey, The Beatles and Tom Jones. 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. Collins` childhood was spent in and around Maida Vale and was, according to Collins, an idyllic one with plenty of love, comfort and security. However her father was also a strict disciplinarian and exerted a strong hold over her subservient mother who overlooked his philandering. Elsa was said to be in awe and at the total behest of her husband, an attitude which came to irritate her daughters who sought to rebel against it. Collins` has said of her father that `He was detached, cold, hard, critical, difficult, acerbic and everyone had to please him.` He himself said `I love my daughters but I am not the kind of parents who deludes himself that his children are superior to everyone else`s. I did not think of them as outstanding in any way.` Collins has attributed much of her behaviour in later life as a desire to prove herself to a father figure. As an uninhibited and liberated young lady, she pursued men who seemed immune to her charms, then when they succumbed they would be discarded. At the age of 17 Collins was signed to the J. Arthur Rank Film Company, a highly profitable British studio and charm school. Early 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. At the time Joan took the role in The Stud her career was flagging somewhat and the fact that its revival was attributable to her appearing in a film of her sister`s book would be a cause of considerable friction between the two. Jackie felt that Joan should have acknowledged more the part she played in her renewed success, but Joan was unprepared to do this. [edit] 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 B |
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Trivia |
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Quotes Even when you win the rat race, you`re still a rat. The easiest way to convince my kids that they don`t really need something is to get it for them. [on George Peppard] He`s arrogant -- the sort of man who expects women to fall at his feet at the slightest command; who throws his weight around. He gives the impression that he`s the star, what he says goes and that nobody else is very important. [On Italian film director Roberto Rossellini] Rossellini was a stubborn, opinionated genius who had total autonomy over all his productions. After a certain age, you get the face you deserve. I have always tried to live my life with enthusiasm and pleasure. In 1984: "I enjoyed being an adulteress... taking a certain vengeance for the fact that my husband was not being faithful." It is unseemly to undress on stage. I won`t do that. I`ve never been that keen on Shakespeare. I`ve never yet met a man who could look after me. I don`t need a husband. What I need is a wife. The problem with beauty is that it`s like being born rich and getting poorer. The secret of having a personal life is not answering too many questions about it. The unfortunate statistics are that there are far more available and fabulous over-40 women than there are available and fabulous over-40 men. [On Margaret Thatcher`s 80th birthday] "She`s the Iron Lady and I want to be just like that when I grow up".Trivia Her father is South African, and her mother is British. Became a grandmother on 5 October 1998. But Joan, being Joan, refuses to be called "Grandma"; Miel Celeste Adam calls her "DoDo" instead. Children: Tara Cynara Newley (b. 12 October 1963) and Alexander Anthony "Sasha" Newley (b. 8 November 1965) by Anthony Newley; Katyana Kass (born Kennedy "Katy" Kass, b. 20 June 1972) by Ronald S. Kass. First husband Maxwell Reed tried to sell her to an Arab sheik for £10,000, just seven months after their wedding. Has three grandchildren: Miel and Weston by daughter Tara Newley, and Ava Grace Newley (born July 2004), by son Sacha and daughter-in-law Angela Tassoni. Is portrayed by Rachel Scobie in The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) (TV) Met her fifth husband, theatre manager Percy Gibson, when Collins appeared in a touring production of the play "Love Letters" in the United States. Gibson helped edit Collins`s new novel, "Star Quality". She was 68 and he was 36. Pulled in a reported $120,000 per episode as "Dynasty" (1981)`s super- bitch, Alexis. She is allergic to shellfish. The eldest of three children. Turned down Frank Sinatra, Robert F. Kennedy, Darryl F. Zanuck and Dean Martin. Affectionately known as "The British Open" because of her liberal lifestyle. Daughter Tara Newley is a news anchor in England, UK. Son Alexander Newley is an artist. Daughter Katyana Kass is an actress and a theatrical production assistant. [May 2000] Great admirer of former Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher. Has described herself as "right-wing" [politically], although she once collected welfare in the U.S. per her own biography. Her first agent was her father Joe Collins in London. Later in her career her agent was the well-regarded Irving Paul Lazar (aka "Swifty" Lazar), until his death in 1993. Once engaged to Warren Beatty. She had affairs with Dennis Hopper, Arthur Lowe, Sydney Chaplin, `Ryan O`Neal (I)`, and George Englund (Cloris Leachman`s husband). Sister of Jackie Collins. Studied acting at London`s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Two of her childhood wishes came true when she made her debut on Broadway (wish #1) in 1991 in Noel Coward`s "Private Lives" and starred as Amanda (wish #2). | ||
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