Dynasty is an American prime time soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981, to May 11, 1989. The series, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy family residing in Denver. Dynasty stars John Forsythe as oil magnate Blake Carrington, Linda Evans as his new wife Krystle, and later Joan Collins as his former wife Alexis.

Dynasty was conceived by ABC to compete with CBS's prime time series Dallas. Ratings for the show's first season were unimpressive, but a revamp for the second season that included the arrival of Collins as scheming Alexis saw ratings enter the top 20. By the fall of 1982, it was a top 10 show, and by the spring of 1985, it was the #1 show in the United States. The series declined considerably in popularity during its final three seasons, and it was ultimately cancelled in the spring of 1989 after nine seasons and 220 episodes. A two-part miniseries, Dynasty: The Reunion, aired in October 1991. A reboot series with a new cast premiered on The CW in October 2017.

Dynasty was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama every year from 1981 to 1986, winning in 1984. The series spawned a successful line of fashion and luxury products, and also a spin-off series called The Colbys. Other notable cast members included Pamela Sue Martin, Lloyd Bochner, Heather Locklear, Catherine Oxenberg, Michael Nader, Diahann Carroll, Emma Samms, Rock Hudson, Kate O'Mara, and Stephanie Beacham.

Aaron Spelling, already well known for his successful ABC series, including Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Vega$ and Hart to Hart,^[2] took on Richard and Esther Shapiro's vision of a rich and powerful family who "lived and sinned" in a 48-room Denver mansion.^[3] Esther Shapiro said that an inspiration for the show was I, Claudius, a fictionalized depiction of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of Roman emperors.^[4] Shapiro said in 1985, "We wanted to do something that would be fun, an American fantasy. We thought people had seen enough stories where families fell apart. We wanted a strong, nineteenth-century sort of family where people were in conflict but loved each other in spite of everything."^[5]

Intended by ABC to be a competitor for CBS's Dallas,^[6] the working title for Dynasty was Oil.^[7] Initially, the two main families featured in the series were known as the Parkhursts and Corbys. By the time production began, they had been renamed the Carringtons and Colbys. George Peppard was cast as series patriarch Blake Carrington, but ultimately had difficulties dealing with the somewhat unsympathetic role,^[8][9] and was quickly replaced with John Forsythe. Filmed in 1980, the pilot was among many delayed due to a strike precipitated by animosity between the television networks and the partnership of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Dynasty finally premiered on ABC as a three-hour event on January 12, 1981.^[3]

During its run, Dynasty explored issues such as rape, homosexuality, and racial integration,^[10][11] and put middle-aged women in the forefront.^[5] Acknowledging that the show is, however, primarily entertaining, producer Douglas S. Cramer said, "We walk a fine line, just this side of camp. Careful calculations are made. We sense that while it might be wonderful for Krystle and Alexis to have a catfight in a koi pond, it would be inappropriate for Joan to smack Linda with a koi."^[5]

As Dynasty begins, powerful oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) is about to marry the younger Krystle Jennings (Linda Evans), his former secretary.^[3] Beautiful, earnest, and new to Blake's world, Krystle finds a hostile reception in the Carrington household—the staff patronizes her, and Blake's headstrong and promiscuous daughter Fallon (Pamela Sue Martin) resents her. Though devoted to Krystle, Blake himself is too preoccupied with his company, Denver-Carrington, and blind to Krystle's predicament. Her only ally is her stepson Steven (Al Corley), whose complicated relationship with Blake stems from their fundamental political differences and Steven's reluctance to step into his role as future leader of the Carrington empire. Meanwhile, Fallon, better suited to follow in Blake's footsteps, is (as a woman) underestimated by and considered little more than a trophy to her father. She channels her energies into toying with various male suitors, including the Carrington chauffeur Michael Culhane (Wayne Northrop). At the end of the three-hour premiere episode "Oil", Steven finally confronts his father, criticizing Blake's capitalistic values and seemingly amoral business practices.^[12] Blake explodes, revealing the secret of which Steven thought his father was unaware: Blake is disgusted by Steven's homosexuality, and his refusal to "conform" sets father and son at odds for some time.^[12][13]

In counterpoint to the Carringtons are the Blaisdels; Denver-Carrington geologist Matthew (Bo Hopkins)—unhappily married to the emotionally fragile Claudia (Pamela Bellwood)—is Krystle's ex-lover. Returning from an extended assignment in the Middle East, Matthew quits and goes into business with wildcatter Walter Lankershim (Dale Robertson), and as Blake's behavior begins pushing Krystle toward Matthew, the men are set as both business and romantic rivals.^[3] Blake is further enraged when Steven goes to work for longtime friend Matthew, in whom Steven sees qualities lacking in Blake. Though previously in a relationship with another man, Steven finds himself drawn to Claudia, who is putting her life back together after spending time in a psychiatric hospital. Esther Shapiro later said in the DVD commentary of the first season, "The audience told us almost immediately: All they wanted to do was be in the mansion. [They] couldn't care less about the oil fields. They didn't want to see grubby rooms."^[14]

Fallon makes a secret business deal with Blake's old friend and more-powerful business rival Cecil Colby (Lloyd Bochner), marrying his nephew Jeff (John James) to secure Cecil's financial assistance for her father. When Blake stumbles upon Steven in an innocent goodbye embrace with his former lover Ted Dinard (Mark Withers), Blake angrily pushes the two men apart; Ted falls backward and hits his head, the injury proving fatal.^[3][12] Blake is arrested and charged with murder,^[3] and an angry Steven testifies that Ted's death had been the result of malicious intent. A veiled surprise witness for the prosecution appears in the season finale "The Testimony", and Fallon gasps in recognition: "My God, that's my mother!"^[3][13]

The series' first 13 episodes have been seen in retrospect to be Dynasty's "arthouse" era, a brief period before its characters were flattened into the caricatures that came to define the prime-time soap genre thanks to "ratings pressures and the introduction of diva Joan Collins ... [which] put an end to challenging story lines".^[14] The arrival of Collins polarized the series into a "Krystle versus Alexis" while marginalizing supporting characters including Steven, Fallon and Claudia. The first season of Dynasty was "modestly popular" among viewers,^[14] ranking #28 with a 19.0 Nielsen rating, while #1 series Dallas achieved a 31.8 rating that season.^[15] ABC reran season one in summer 1981 at 10:00 PM on Wednesdays, the new time slot for season two and initiated a media blitz to promote the series.^[15]

In the first episode of the second season, titled "Enter Alexis", the mysterious witness removes her sunglasses to reveal British actress Joan Collins as a new arrival to the series.^[3] Collins's Alexis Carrington blazed a trail across the show and its story lines; the additions of Collins and the "formidable writing team" of Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock are generally credited with Dynasty's subsequent rise in the Nielsen ratings.^[3] The Pollocks "soft-pedaled the business angle" of the show and "bombarded viewers with every soap opera staple in the book, presented at such a fast clip that a new tragedy seemed to befall the Carrington family every five minutes."^[3] Alexis's testimony notwithstanding, Krystle is immediately put off by the former Mrs. Carrington's condescending attitude and manipulations; Krystle's subsequent discovery that Alexis had caused her miscarriage by intentionally startling her horse with a gunshot settles Alexis as Krystle's implacable nemesis. Other new characters of the season are the psychiatrist Nick Toscanni (James Farentino), who tries to seduce Krystle while bedding Fallon and plotting against Blake; and Krystle's greedy niece Sammy Jo Dean (Heather Locklear), who marries Steven for his money. The season finale sees Blake left for dead on a mountain after a fight with Nick. By that time, Dynasty had entered the Top 20.^[16][17] Esther Shapiro lamented in the season one DVD commentary, "Had the series been left to us, and been a less huge hit, I think we would have seen these characters realized pretty much the way they are [in season one]. When Alexis came into it, it changed the tenor...And that's the way they are now on television: you have your traditional villain, and I think that plays to a different denominator."^[14]

In the third season (ranked fifth in the ratings), Alexis marries Cecil on his deathbed and acquires his company, ColbyCo. In the meantime, Adam Carrington (Gordon Thomson), the long-lost son of Alexis and Blake who had been kidnapped in infancy, reappears in Denver and almost starts an affair with Fallon before they discover they are siblings. Also introduced are Krystle's ex-husband, tennis pro Mark Jennings (Geoffrey Scott), and Kirby Anders (Kathleen Beller), the daughter of longtime Carrington majordomo Joseph (Lee Bergere). Kirby catches Adam's eye but weds Jeff after his divorce from Fallon. In the middle of the season, news that Steven has been killed in an accident in Indonesia comes to the Carringtons; he survives, but undergoes plastic surgery and returns to Denver (portrayed by Jack Coleman). In the third-season cliffhanger, Alexis lures Krystle to Steven's cabin and the two are locked inside while the cabin is set ablaze by an unseen arsonist, later revealed to be Joseph, who had meant for the fire to kill only Alexis and not Krystle.

With the show's popularity soaring in the fourth season (now the third-most-watched program of 1983–1984), former President Gerald Ford guest-starred as himself in 1983, along with his wife Betty and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.^[18] New characters included the charming and ambitious Farnsworth "Dex" Dexter (Michael Nader), the scheming public relations assistant Tracy Kendall (Deborah Adair), the unscrupulous playboy Peter De Vilbis (Helmut Berger), and Blake's illegitimate African American half-sister, Dominique Deveraux (Diahann Carroll).^[10][11][19] The main story lines included a custody battle between Steven and Blake over Steven and Sammy Jo's son Danny, and a false accusation of illegal weapons dealings orchestrated by Alexis to ruin Blake's financial empire. In the season finale, Fallon disappears just before her second wedding to Jeff (now divorced from Kirby) as her car seemingly collides with a truck on a stormy night (to accommodate the departure of Pamela Sue Martin from the series), while Alexis is arrested for the murder of Mark Jennings.

Driven by the new head writer and producer Camille Marchetta, who had devised the wildly successful "Who Shot J.R.?" scenario on Dallas five years earlier, Dynasty hit No. 1 in the fifth season.^[16][20] In the story, Alexis is exonerated and her secret daughter Amanda Bedford (Catherine Oxenberg) comes to Denver and discovers that Blake is her father. Steven has married Claudia but leaves her for a man and Claudia starts an affair with Adam. The marriage of Blake and Krystle is in crisis after the birth of their daughter Krystina, Dominique struggles to be accepted as a Carrington and loses her husband Brady Lloyd (Billy Dee Williams) in the process, and Sammy Jo discovers she is the heiress to a huge fortune. At the end of the season, an amnesiac Fallon (now portrayed by actress Emma Samms) reappears while the rest of the family go to Europe for the wedding of Amanda and Prince Michael of Moldavia (Michael Praed).

During the season, Dynasty attracted controversy when Rock Hudson's real-life HIV-positive status was revealed after a romantic storyline between his character Daniel Reece and Evans's Krystle. Hudson's scenes required him to kiss Evans and, as news that he had contracted AIDS broke, there was speculation Evans would be at risk.^[21] The event led to a Screen Actors Guild rule requiring the notification of performers in advance of any scenes that require open-mouth kissing.^[22]

Over the run of the series, the rivalry between Alexis and Krystle is a primary driver for the melodrama. Alexis resents Krystle's role as Blake's wife and mistress of the Carrington household, and tries to undermine her at every opportunity, while Krystle makes increasingly bold efforts to keep Alexis from interfering in the lives of their mutual loved ones. The pair have numerous verbal spats that sometimes lead to physical altercations. "Unfortunately, the thing people remember about this show is the catfights," noted Collins in 1991.^[23] Entertainment columnist Sue Cameron said in 2018 that the catfights became so popular that the press were invited to watch the filming of them.^[24] Krystle and Alexis famously brawl for the first time in Alexis's studio,^[25] and then later in a lily pond.^[26] They also hurl mud at each other at a beauty salon,^[3] and slide down a ravine together into a puddle of mud,^[27] before having their final showdown brawl in a fashion studio in the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.^[23] Later in the series, Alexis also has a catfight with Blake's half-sister Dominique (Diahann Carroll),^[28] and then her own cousin Sable (Stephanie Beacham).^[29] She even has a brawl with her on-again, off-again lover and one-time husband, Dex (Michael Nader). Krystle's niece Sammy Jo (Heather Locklear) also has her fair share of catfights, as she first engages in a slap fight with Claudia (Pamela Bellwood) before taking on Amanda (Catherine Oxenberg) in a brawl in a swimming pool.^[30][31] Sammy Jo later fights Fallon (Emma Samms) in a horse trough and the mud around it.^[32] Evans even battles with herself at the climax of a 1985–1986 storyline in which Krystle is imprisoned and replaced by a lookalike named Rita (also played by Evans); Krystle ends up battling Rita in order to escape.^[33] In 2008, Entertainment Weekly termed Alexis and Krystle's catfights "the gold standard of scratching and clawing."^[34]

The so-called "Moldavian Massacre" occurred during the May 15, 1985 fifth-season finale. Amanda and Prince Michael's royal wedding is interrupted by terrorists during a military coup in Moldavia, riddling the chapel with bullets and leaving all of the major characters lying seemingly lifeless. Esther Shapiro later said, "It was a fairy-tale terrorist attack. It was beautifully shot, like a Goya painting."^[5] It was watched by an audience of 25.9 million.^[35][36][37] In 2011, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly named it one of the seven "Unforgettable Cliff-Hangers" of prime time dramatic television.^[38]

When the series resumed on September 25, 1985, it was revealed that only two minor characters had died: Steven's boyfriend Luke Fuller (Billy Campbell), who was mortally wounded saving Claudia's life, and Jeff's love interest Lady Ashley Mitchell (Ali MacGraw).^[37] In the 2006 CBS special Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar, Gordon Thomson stated that it was the follow-up that was the letdown, not the cliffhanger itself. John James stated in the 2001 episode of E! The True Hollywood Story featuring Dynasty that the Moldavian Massacre was when the show "maxed out" and "overdosed" on outrageousness.^[36] Creator Esther Shapiro stated in 2001 that she thought the cliffhanger was "well produced" but that they "could've done something else".^[36]

Joan Collins was absent from the season six opener, as she was in a tense contract renegotiation with the show, seeking an increased salary.^[39] As a result, the first episode had to be rewritten to explain her absence and many of Alexis's scenes were given to Krystle. Collins's demands were met (she reportedly signed a $60,000 per episode contract) and she returned to the series in the season's second episode. Despite her absence, the first episode of season six garnered a 28.1 rating (becoming the most watched episode of the series) as viewers wanted to see who had survived the season five cliffhanger.^[37][40]

Although still a top ten series, Dynasty dropped from first to seventh place in the ratings for its sixth season,^[16][41] which featured a look-alike woman named Rita who poses as Krystle (with both roles played by Linda Evans), introduced Alexis's sister Caress (Kate O'Mara), and launched the spin-off series The Colbys.^[42] Spurned by Blake, Alexis finds his estranged brother Ben (Christopher Cazenove) and the duo successfully plot to strip Blake of his fortune. Steven's budding relationship with the closeted Bart Fallmont (Kevin Conroy) is ruined by Adam's business-motivated public revelation that Bart is gay. Amanda, who has divorced Prince Michael, fights with Sammy Jo for the favors of Clay Fallmont (Ted McGinley). The May 21, 1986, season finale finds Blake strangling Alexis while the rest of the cast is in peril at the La Mirage hotel, which has been accidentally set afire by Claudia.^[31]

As the seventh season begins in September 1986, Blake stops short of killing Alexis, whom he had been strangling in the previous season's cliffhanger, after learning she had bought his mansion and was evicting him and Krystle. Claudia has died in the fire she set, and Amanda (now played by Karen Cellini) is rescued by a returning Michael Culhane, Blake's chauffeur from the first season.^[43][44] Blake turns the tables on Ben and Alexis and recovers his wealth, but loses his memory after an oil rig explosion. Alexis finds Blake and, with everyone believing he is dead, perpetuates the belief that they are still married. Living with a clean slate, Alexis finds herself softening to Blake but ultimately tells him the truth as he reunites with Krystle. Krystina receives a heart transplant but is later temporarily kidnapped by Sarah Curtis (Cassie Yates), the mother of the dead girl from whom Krystina received her new heart; Sammy Jo's marriage to Clay crumbles and she falls into bed with Steven; Amanda leaves town; and Ben's daughter Leslie (Terri Garber) arrives. Adam's season-long romance with Blake's secretary Dana Waring (Leann Hunley) culminates in a wedding, which is punctuated in the May 6, 1987, season finale by Alexis's car plunging off a bridge into a river and the violent return of a vengeful Matthew Blaisdel. Although the first episode of season seven premiered with a high Nielsen rating of a 20.1, the competition with Magnum, P.I., now in the same time slot,^[45] and the constant storyline changes led to Dynasty falling out of the top 20 to No. 25.^[16]

With The Colbys cancelled, Jeff and Fallon return for Dynasty's eighth season, their marriage falling apart again. Matthew, returned from the dead but troubled by headaches, holds the Carringtons hostage in hopes that Krystle will run away with him. Steven ends the siege by reluctantly stabbing his old friend to death. Alexis is saved by a handsome, mysterious stranger, Sean Rowan (James Healey). She later marries him, not realizing that he is Joseph's son and Kirby's brother, bent on revenge. Steven and Sammy Jo's reconciliation is short-lived, and the pursuit of children unravels Adam and Dana's marriage. Sean begins to manipulate and destroy the Carringtons from the inside, and he fights Dex to the death in the March 30, 1988 season finale. Blake, who failed being elected as governor of Colorado, comes home to find Krystle missing and their bedroom in shambles. For the first time since its debut, the show had dropped out of the top 30, to No. 41 in the ratings.^[16]

David Paulsen joined Dynasty as Executive Supervising Producer for its ninth season, and took over the plotting of the series.^[46] In a money-saving move, Evans appeared in only six episodes early in the season as an ailing Krystle seeks brain surgery in Switzerland but is left in an offscreen coma.^[46] Similarly to cut costs, Collins was contracted for only 13 out of the season's 22 episodes.^[46] Former The Colbys character Sable (Stephanie Beacham) was brought in as both a platonic confidante for Blake and a nemesis for Alexis,^[46] and Tracy Scoggins also reprised her Colbys role as Sable's daughter Monica.^[42] A storyline involving a murder and an old secret tying the Carrington, Colby, and Dexter families together spanned the season as Alexis and Sable sparred first over business and then over Dex. The series moved from Wednesday to Thursday, but ratings continued to decline and Dynasty was ranked No. 69 in the United States for the season.^[47][48] In May 1989, new ABC entertainment president Robert A. Iger cancelled Dynasty, making the last episode of season nine the series finale. The show ended on a cliffhanger with Blake, Fallon, Krystina, Alexis, and Dex in mortal peril.^[23][49][50]

As an attempt to wrap up plotlines left unresolved by Dynasty's cancellation, ABC produced a two-part miniseries titled Dynasty: The Reunion, which aired in October 1991.^[18][23]

Many of the cast members, including John Forsythe, Joan Collins, John James, Heather Locklear and Emma Samms agreed to reprise their roles in early 1991. It was unknown during pre-production which characters the reunion film would include. Linda Evans was brought back last-minute, just before the final script was penned, as was Kathleen Beller.^[18] Jack Coleman, who had played Steven Carrington from 1982 to 1988, was unavailable to reprise his role,^[18][51] so he was replaced with Al Corley, who originated the part in 1981.^[18] Gordon Thomson also originally agreed to appear in the film but ABC refused to align the shooting schedule with his work on the daytime series Santa Barbara, and replaced him with Robin Sachs.^[18]

Dynasty: The Reunion aired on October 20 and October 22, 1991.^[18][23] The first night averaged 16.8 million viewers,^[52] the second night averaged 15.3 million.^[53] Both parts ranked in the Top 20 for the week, and second place in their respective time slots, behind the World Series on CBS. Critical reviews were not favorable, with many feeling the script was poor and that the film was merely an attempt of ABC's wish to "cash-in" on an old series.^{[citation needed]}

Dynasty was shot at Warner Hollywood Studios in West Hollywood, California.^[5] The Filoli estate in Woodside, California, was used as the 48-room Carrington mansion in the opening credits, establishing shots, and some outdoor scenes in the pilot episode. Some of the other exterior shots of the Carrington mansion (including the lily pond catfight) were shot at a 17-room Palladian house called Arden Villa in Pasadena, California.^[54]

Costume designer Nolan Miller designed approximately 3,000 costumes over the course of the series, saying "I never want to see them wearing the same outfit twice".^[55] His weekly wardrobe budget was $35,000.^[55]

John Forsythe was the only cast member to appear in all 220 episodes of the series. Linda Evans appeared in 204 of the 220 episodes, leaving the series after appearing in only six episodes of the ninth and final season. Joan Collins, who did not join the cast until the second season, also missed one episode in season 6 and nine episodes in season 9, and was consequently present for a total of 195 episodes. Forsythe and John James were the only two original cast members to appear in the final episode.

Dynasty was a top 30 show from its first through seventh season, reaching No. 1 for the 1984–85 season with a Nielsen rating of 25.0 or an average tune-in audience of 21.2 million homes per episode.^[16][20]

Dynasty was initially syndicated in reruns by Metromedia Producers Corporation in September 1985, on stations such as KTTV in Los Angeles, and WNEW-TV 5 in New York City, while season 6 began airing on ABC. This initial syndication package consisted of all 117 episodes (originally 114 on ABC) that had been produced up to this point.^[62][63][64]

At the height of Dynasty's popularity in 1985, Esther Shapiro said, "we've done important things for women with Dynasty. For middle-aged women. You know, to let them know that it's OK to want power and be romantic."^[5] Collins said in 2018, "Every single person on Dynasty was good-looking. You wanted to see rich, good-looking people fighting with each other."^[65]

In 2012, The New York Times credited the popularity of Nolan Miller's costumes with "setting a trend for thick shoulder pads during a decade of power dressing".^[55] The public often cited the show as popularizing large shoulder pads for women,^[66] and the show was one of a few sources that did help make more appealing to people the large shoulder pads that designers had been trying to get women to wear since 1978. The style of the show's stars in turn influenced the way high-fashion designers presented their outfits, designers like Christian Lacroix, who said in 1985 that the "modern glamour" of Dynasty and Dallas was on his mind when he conceived his mid-eighties collections.^[67]

Dynasty was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama every year from 1981 to 1986, winning in 1984.^[68] Forsythe and Collins were also nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress every year from 1981 to 1986, and Evans was nominated for Best Actress every year from 1981 to 1985. Evans won in 1982 (tying with Barbara Bel Geddes of rival series Dallas), Forsythe won in 1983 and 1984, and Collins won in 1983. John James and Gordon Thomson were also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (James in 1985, and Thomson in 1987).^[69]

The series was nominated for 24 Emmy Awards over the course of its run, but only won once, for Outstanding Costumes for a Series in 1984.^[55] The show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1982. From 1982 to 1984, Forsythe received three consecutive nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Evans and Collins were each nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Evans in 1983, and Collins in 1984); both actresses lost to Tyne Daly for her work on the CBS police drama series Cagney and Lacey.^[70]

Dynasty was also an award winner at the People's Choice Awards. Evans won Favorite Female Performer in a New TV Program in 1982,^[71] and Favorite Female TV Performer in 1983.^[72] In 1984, she won Favorite Female TV Performer, and the series was named Favorite TV Drama in a tie with the NBC drama Hill Street Blues.^[73] Evans and the series again won those same honors in 1985, with Evans sharing the Favorite Female TV Performer prize with her co-star, Collins.^[74] Evans won the award again in 1986, and the series tied with Miami Vice for Favorite TV Dramatic Program.^[75] In 1987, Dynasty tied with the CBS series Dallas for the award Favorite Nighttime Dramatic Serial.^[76] Dynasty won Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1984 and 1985 for Outstanding Primetime Soap. In 1984 Forsythe, Evans and Collins won the awards for Outstanding Lead Actor, Actress and Villainess. John Forsythe won another award for Outstanding Actor in a Mature Role. Evans and Collins won the awards in the same categories in 1985, while Catherine Oxenberg won two awards, for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Female Newcomer.^[77]

A spin-off, The Colbys, debuted in 1985,^[78] as Fallon "returned from the dead" and ex-husband Jeff followed her to Los Angeles, where they became embroiled in the family intrigues of Jeff's wealthy California relatives. Pamela Sue Martin had been asked to reprise the role of Fallon but declined which led to the casting of Emma Samms in the role. Ratings for The Colbys were poor and the show lasted for just two seasons, ending in 1987. Both Fallon and Jeff returned to Dynasty after the series ended.

The cable channel SOAPnet aired repeats of all nine seasons. In January 2004, creator Esther Shapiro participated in a marathon of the show's episodes, called "Serial Bowl: Alexis vs. Krystle", giving behind-the-scenes tidbits and factoids.

On January 2, 2005, ABC aired a fictionalized television movie titled Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure, chronicling the creation and backstage details of Dynasty. It received poor reviews both for content and for historical accuracy, and was criticized by Forsythe, Evans, and Collins in separate press releases.^[79] Filmed in Australia, the movie starred Bartholomew John as Forsythe, Melora Hardin as Evans, and Alice Krige as Collins.^[80] The film begins with a disclaimer noting the inclusion of "time compression and composite and fictionalized characters and incidents," and takes dramatic license with both the historical timeline and events, as well as the fictional storylines originally presented on Dynasty.

On May 2, 2006, a non-fiction television special named Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar aired on CBS.^[81] It assembled former cast members from the series in John Forsythe, Joan Collins and Linda Evans, as well as the four original actors who played the Carrington children (Pamela Sue Martin, Al Corley, Gordon Thomson and Catherine Oxenberg). Heather Locklear, John James, and Diahann Carroll declined to participate,^[82] but cast members Pamela Bellwood, Jack Coleman and Emma Samms were included in prerecorded interviews. The special showed various clips from the series, as the cast reminisced about their time on the show. The special was filmed at the Filoli estate, the location originally used for exterior shots of the Carringtons' mansion in the series.

On January 26, 2015, Home & Family hosted a Dynasty reunion for one episode on the Hallmark Channel.^[83] It assembled former cast members from the series, including Pamela Sue Martin, Al Corley, Gordon Thomson, John James and Pamela Bellwood. The reunion episode focused on the cast's memories of the show, both on and off-screen; a collection of gowns worn by the female characters; as well as members of the cast participating in several cooking, craft and fashion segments. The reunion episode also featured a new opening of the show's iconic theme song, which included Home & Family hosts Mark Steines and Christina Ferrare. Linda Evans did not participate on-air in the reunion episode, but sent a message to the cast, which was read on air.

Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 1983, Collins was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has been recognised for her philanthropy, particularly her advocacy towards causes relating to children, which has earned her many honours. In 2015, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for her charitable services, presented to her by the Prince of Wales.

Collins trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She signed to The Rank Organisation at the age of 17 and had small roles in the British films Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951) and The Woman's Angle (1952) before taking on a supporting role in Judgment Deferred (1952). She went under contract to 20th Century Fox in 1955, and in that same year she starred as Evelyn Nesbit in The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, Elizabeth Raleigh in The Virgin Queen and Princess Nellifer in Land of the Pharaohs, the latter garnering a cult following. Collins continued to take on film roles throughout the late 1950s, appearing in The Opposite Sex (1956), Sea Wife (1957), and The Wayward Bus (1957). After starring in the epic film Esther and the King (1960), she was, upon request, released from her contract with 20th Century Fox.

Collins appeared only in a few film roles in the 1960s, notably starring in Seven Thieves (1960), The Road to Hong Kong (1962), and Warning Shot (1967). She also appeared in an episode of Star Trek (1967) and in Subterfuge (1968). She began to take on local roles again back in Britain in the 1970s, appearing in the films Revenge, Quest for Love (both 1971), Tales from the Crypt, Fear in the Night (both 1972), Dark Places and Tales That Witness Madness (both 1973), as well as Empire of the Ants (1977), which earned her a Saturn Award nomination, The Stud, Zero to Sixty (both 1978), Game for Vultures, and The Bitch (both 1979).

From 1981 to 1989, Collins starred as Alexis Colby in the soap opera Dynasty, which made her an international superstar. It brought her critical acclaim, winning her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama in 1982, and earning her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1984.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Collins worked sporadically in acting. She took fewer film roles, most notably appearing in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) and the TV movie These Old Broads (2001) alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds and Shirley MacLaine. She made her comeback to mainstream television in the 2010s, taking on recurring roles in the series Happily Divorced (2011–2013), The Royals (2014–2018), Benidorm (2014–2017) and American Horror Story: Apocalypse (2018). Her first starring film role since the 1980s was The Time of Their Lives (2017), and she has also appeared in various independent films, which includes the critically acclaimed Gerry (2018).

Collins was born in Paddington, London on 23 May 1933,^[1][2] and brought up in Maida Vale, the daughter of Elsa Collins (née Bessant), a dance teacher, and Joseph William Collins, a talent agent^[3] (whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey, the Beatles and Tom Jones).^[3] Her father, a native of South Africa, was Jewish, and her British mother was Anglican.^[4][5][6][7] She had two younger siblings, Jackie, a novelist, and Bill, a property agent.^[8][9] She was educated at the Francis Holland School, an independent day school for girls in London.^[10] Collins made her stage debut in the Henrik Ibsen play A Doll's House at the age of nine, and at the age of 16 trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. At the age of 17, Collins was signed to the Rank Organisation, a British film studio.^[11]

1950s

After signing with Rank, Collins appeared in many British films. Her feature debut as a film extra playing a beauty contestant in Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951) which featured Diana Dors.^[12][13] Collins followed up with The Woman's Angle (1952) a minor role as a Greek maid. Next was a more significant role as a gangster's moll in Judgment Deferred (1952).

Collins's big break came with a major, highly publicised role as a juvenile delinquent in I Believe in You (1952). Her success in the part led to her initial stardom and the press nickname "Britain's Bad Girl". Her subsequent films whilst under contract to Rank included Decameron Nights (1953) with Joan Fontaine; England's first X certificate drama, Cosh Boy (1953), directed by Lewis Gilbert; Turn the Key Softly (1953), a drama about three women released from prison on the same day; and the boxing saga The Square Ring (1953).

Collins was top-billed in the desert island comedy Our Girl Friday (1953), co starring Kenneth More. She was directed again by Lewis Gilbert in The Good Die Young (1954) with Laurence Harvey and Gloria Grahame. Between films, she appeared in several plays in London including The Seventh Veil (1952), Jassy (1952), Claudia and David (1954), and The Skin of Our Teeth (1954), as well as a UK tour of The Praying Mantis (1953).

In 1954, Collins was chosen by American director Howard Hawks to star as the scheming Princess Nellifer in her first international production, Land of the Pharaohs. The lavish Warner Brothers historical epic was unsuccessful upon release but has been lauded by Martin Scorsese and French critics supporting the auteur theory for numerous elements of its physical production. Danny Peary in his book Cult Movies (1981), selected it as a cult classic.^[14] Collins's sultry performance so impressed 20th Century Fox chief Darryl Zanuck that he signed the young star to a seven-year contract with the Hollywood studio.

Collins made her Hollywood film debut in the lavish historical drama The Virgin Queen (1955). The British newcomer was given equal billing with established stars Bette Davis and Richard Todd. The same year, Collins was cast in the starring role of Evelyn Nesbit in The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing with Ray Milland and Farley Granger. The part had originally been intended for Marilyn Monroe, however problems between Monroe and Fox led to Collins gaining the role.^[15]

MGM borrowed Collins for The Opposite Sex (1956), a musical remake of The Women (1939) in which she was cast as the gold digging Crystal, the role played by Joan Crawford in the original. She then starred as a young nun in Sea Wife (1956), top-billed over co-star Richard Burton, followed by the all-star Island in the Sun (1957), which was a major box-office success. The film earned $5,550,000 worldwide, and finished as the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1957.^[16] In 1957, she was top-billed over Jayne Mansfield in the film version of John Steinbeck's The Wayward Bus, which despite disappointing reviews^[17] was nominated for the Golden Berlin Bear Award at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival.^[18] She then starred opposite Robert Wagner in the espionage thriller Stopover Tokyo (1957), and was Gregory Peck's leading lady in the Western drama The Bravados (1958). The Leo McCarey comedy Rally Round the Flag, Boys (1958) cast Collins as a temptress out to seduce Paul Newman away from Joanne Woodward. Next came the tense crime caper Seven Thieves (1960) opposite Edward G. Robinson and Rod Steiger.

In 1960, Collins became increasingly disillusioned with 20th Century Fox when, having been the original choice to play the title role in Cleopatra, the part went instead to Elizabeth Taylor. Collins withdrew from the studio's production of Sons and Lovers, and requested a release from her contract, but agreed to star in one last film for Fox, top-billed again in the biblical epic Esther and the King (1960).

In 1961, she returned to London to star opposite Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in the last of that film duo's "road" pictures, The Road to Hong Kong (1962). Former "road" leading lady Dorothy Lamour was relegated to a guest appearance in the film. In Italy, Collins starred in Hard Time for Princes (1965); back in the US she played David Janssen's wife in the detective thriller Warning Shot (1967); in the UK she was the leading lady in the spy caper Subterfuge (1968); and made a cameo appearance in the comedy If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969).

In the US, Collins starred opposite then-husband Anthony Newley in his autobiographical musical Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969), a decision she later regretted.^[19] Then came the female lead in the Italian drama L'amore brave (1969), The Executioner (1970), a thriller with George Peppard, and Up in the Cellar (1970), a quasisequel to Three in the Attic. Although she had made several appearances on interview and game shows in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Collins began her television dramatic career with a guest role in The Human Jungle in 1963. Her notable appearances on American television during the 1960s included playing the villainous Siren in Batman, Run For Your Life, The Virginian, Mission: Impossible, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and in Star Trek: The Original Series, she played Edith Keeler in the episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever" (1967), an episode noted by many critics and fans as the best Star Trek episode of the whole franchise ^[20][21]

In the 1970s, Collins remained busy on television. She starred in the TV movies The Man Who Came to Dinner (1972) with Orson Welles and Lee Remick, and Drive Hard, Drive Fast (1973) opposite Brian Kelly. Her many guest appearances during the decade included The Persuaders! alongside Roger Moore and Tony Curtis, Fallen Angels with Susannah York, Space 1999, Orson Welles Great Mysteries, Police Woman, The Moneychangers with Kirk Douglas and Christopher Plummer, Starsky and Hutch, Tattletales, Switch, Future Cop, Ellery Queen, The Fantastic Journey, Baretta and three separate episodes of Tales of the Unexpected. She rounded off the decade playing Cleopatra in an episode of Aaron Spelling's Fantasy Island.

In 1970, Collins returned to Britain and starred in several films, mostly thrillers and horror films: Revenge (1971), as the vengeance-seeking mother of a murdered child; Quest for Love (1971), a romantic science-fiction piece; Tales from the Crypt (1972), a highly successful horror anthology; Fear in the Night (1972), a psychological horror from Jimmy Sangster; Dark Places (1973), a thriller with Christopher Lee; and Tales That Witness Madness (1973), another horror anthology. She went to Italy for the football-themed comedy L'arbitro (1974), to Spain for The Great Adventure opposite Jack Palance and returned to England for yet another horror, playing the mother of a murderous infant in I Don't Want to Be Born (1975).

After two comedies, Alfie Darling (1975) and The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones (1976), Collins returned to the US to make what she now refers to as the nadir of her film career, the giant insect science-fiction piece Empire of the Ants (1977). In Italy she was the leading lady in the thriller Fearless (1978); in the US made the lighthearted Zero to Sixty (1978); and back in the UK appeared with Robert Mitchum in The Big Sleep.

In 1978, Collins was catapulted back to major stardom in the UK when she starred in the film version of her sister Jackie Collins's racy novel The Stud. It was made for $600,000 and went on to gross over $20,000,000 internationally.^[22] At the same time she published her autobiography, Past Imperfect, which went to number 1 in the bestseller charts. The Stud was so successful that a sequel, The Bitch (1979)^[23] was hastily arranged and was also a hit. After shooting Game for Vultures (1979) opposite Richard Harris and Sunburn (1979) with Farrah Fawcett, Collins returned to the stage for the first time in many years to play the title role in The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1980) in London's West End.

The success of The Stud and The Bitch helped Collins to be cast^[24] in the second season of the then-struggling soap opera Dynasty (1981–89), as Alexis Colby, the beautiful and vengeful ex-wife of oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). Dynasty became an enormous worldwide phenomenon, and by 1985 the program was the number-one show in the United States, beating out CBS rival Dallas, which ranked number two.^[25] For her portrayal of Alexis, Collins was nominated six times for a Golden Globe Award (every year from 1982 to 1987), winning in 1983,^[26] the same year she was nominated for an Emmy as Best Actress in a Drama Series.^[27] In accepting the award, Collins thanked Sophia Loren for turning down the part of Alexis.^[28]

Her performance is generally credited as the chief factor in the fledgling show's subsequent rise in the Nielsen ratings^[29] to a hit rivalling Dallas. Co-star Al Corley noted that Collins "just flew" in the role that was "tailor made... just spot on." In Dynasty producer Aaron Spelling's final press interview, he said of Collins: "We didn't write Joan Collins. She played Joan Collins. Am I right? We wrote a character, but the character could have been played by 50 people and 49 of them would have failed. She made it work."^[30] In recognition of her new status, in 1983 Collins was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for career achievement.

Whilst filming Dynasty, Collins starred in the feature film Nutcracker (1982) (an attempt to repeat the success of The Stud and The Bitch)^[31] and the TV movies Paper Dolls (1982), The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch (1982), Making of a Male Model (1983) with Jon-Erik Hexum, Her Life as a Man (1984), and The Cartier Affair (1984) with David Hasselhoff. She made guest star appearances in The Love Boat and Faerie Tale Theatre, and co-hosted an ABC-TV special created for her, Blondes vs. Brunettes. At the age of 50, Collins appeared in a 12-page photo layout for Playboy magazine shot by George Hurrell.^[32] With Dynasty at the height of its success, Collins both produced and starred in the smash hit 1986 CBS miniseries Sins,^[33] and also in the same year, Monte Carlo.^[34][35]

When Dynasty ended in 1989, Collins began rehearsals for her Broadway stage debut, as Amanda in a successful revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives (1990). She subsequently toured the US in the same play and also starred as Amanda in a production in London's West End.^[36] In 1991, she also starred for BBC Television in a series of eight individual Noël Coward plays under the title Tonight at 8.30. In 1991, Collins rejoined her co-stars for Dynasty: The Reunion, a miniseries that concluded the cliffhanger ending left after the show's abrupt 1989 cancellation. In the 1990s, Collins continued to star in films including Decadence (1994) and In The Bleak Midwinter (1995).

On American television she made the TV movies Hart to Hart – Two Harts in 3/4 Time (1995), Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1995) and Sweet Deception (1998). She also made guest-star appearances on series such as Roseanne (1993), The Nanny (1996) and Will & Grace (2000), and played a recurring role in seven episodes of Pacific Palisades (1997). She was selected as the cover star for the relaunch of the popular celebrity magazine OK! when it changed from a monthly to a weekly.^[37] In 1999, Collins was cast in the film version of the musical theatre show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with Donny Osmond. She then starred opposite Nigel Hawthorne in the film The Clandestine Marriage (1999), which she also co-produced.

In 2000, Collins replaced Elizabeth Taylor as Pearl Slaghoople, Wilma Flintstone's mother, in The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, a prequel to the Universal Studios live-action film The Flintstones (1994, Taylor had originated the role in the first film). The following year, Collins co-starred with Taylor, Shirley MacLaine and Debbie Reynolds in the television film These Old Broads, written by Reynolds' daughter Carrie Fisher. In 2002, Collins returned to soap operas in a limited guest run on the American daytime soap Guiding Light.^[38] In 2005, actress Alice Krige impersonated Collins in Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure, a fictionalised television film based on the creation and behind-the-scenes production of Dynasty.^[39]

In 2006, Collins toured the United Kingdom in An Evening with Joan Collins (US title One Night With Joan), a one-woman show in which she related the highs and lows of her career and life. The show was directed by her husband Percy Gibson, whom she married in 2002. She has continued to tour the world with the show and its sequel Joan Collins Unscripted ever since, including appearances in New York, Las Vegas, Dubai, Sydney, and twice at the London Palladium. In 2006–2007 she also toured North America for 30 weeks in the play Legends! with former Dynasty co-star Linda Evans.

In the mid-2000s, Collins's television work included the hit British television series Footballer's Wives as Eva de Wolffe (2005), the BBC series Hotel Babylon (2006) and Dynasty Reunion: Catfights and Caviar, a 2006 special featuring several of her Dynasty co-stars reminiscing about the original series. Collins guest-starred in They Do It with Mirrors, a two-hour episode of the murder-mystery drama Marple in 2009, as Ruth Van Rydock, a friend of detective Miss Jane Marple. In 2009, Collins presented her own reality television series entitled Joan Collins Does Glamour.^[40]

In 2010 she joined the cast of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love) for a short run, playing an aristocratic British woman, Lady Joan, who takes a young German prince in tow.^[41] Famed for her double act with Leonard Rossiter in the Cinzano advertisements, in 2012 she starred in a Europe-wide commercial for Snickers chocolate bars, alongside Stephanie Beacham. Within a short time the advert was re-edited and Beacham's appearance cut.^[42]

She made her first (and, to date, only) venture into pantomime as Queen Rat in Dick Whittington at the Birmingham Hippodrome during the 2010 Christmas season, starring alongside Nigel Havers and Julian Clary.^[43] In 2012–2013, she appeared as herself in the US sitcom Happily Divorced. She also lent her voice to the animated feature film Saving Santa (2013).

From 2013 to 2017, Collins had a recurring guest role in the British sitcom Benidorm as Crystal Hennessy-Vass, the fierce CEO of the fictional Solana Hotel Group. From 2014 to 2018, she played the Grand Duchess of Oxford, mother of fictional British Queen Helena (Elizabeth Hurley) in the E! drama series The Royals.^[44] In 2015, Collins backed the children's fairytales app GivingTales in aid of UNICEF, together with others such as Roger Moore, Ewan McGregor, Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, and Michael Caine.^[45] The same year she starred in the fantasy film Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism.

In 2016, Collins made a cameo appearance as herself in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. The following year she returned to the big screen with the starring role in the British comedy-drama The Time of Their Lives, playing a faded Hollywood star. In 2018 she appeared in a critically acclaimed short film, Gerry, for which she won the Best Actress award at the LA Shorts International Film Festival.

In 2018, Collins joined the cast of Ryan Murphy's series American Horror Story for its eighth season American Horror Story: Apocalypse. She first portrayed Evie Gallant, the glamorous and rich grandmother of Evan Peters' character, and later portrayed witch actress Bubbles McGee. In 2019 she guest-starred in an episode of the new Hawaii Five-O TV-series.^[46]

She had a co-starring role in the 2020 film The Loss Adjuster opposite Luke Goss and Martin Kemp.^[47] In 2021, Collins appeared in a short comedy spoof for Comic Relief entitled 2020: The Movie, in which she played Maggie Keenan, the first person to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.^[48] Collins starred as Adelaide of Maurienne in the historical drama miniseries Glow and Darkness (2021), alongside Jane Seymour and Denise Richards.^[49] She is the subject of the feature-length TCM documentary This Is Joan Collins (2022), in which she narrates her own story. Collins had a role in the 2022 musical Tomorrow Morning, based on the acclaimed musical play of the same name.^[50] She is set to portray Wallis Simpson in a movie under a working title The Bitter End. Filming on the movie began in May 2025, taking place in London and Paris.^[51]

Collins has publicly supported several charities for several decades. In 1982, Collins spoke before the U.S. Congress about increasing funding for neurological research. In 1983, she was named a patron of the International Foundation for Children with Learning Disabilities, earning the foundation's highest honour in 1988 for her continuing support. Additionally, 1988 also saw the opening of the Joan Collins Wing of the Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. In 1990, she was made an honorary founding member of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

In 1994, Collins was awarded the lifetime achievement award from the Association of Breast Cancer Studies in Great Britain for her contribution to breast cancer awareness in the UK. Collins is patron of Fight for Sight; in 2003, she became a patron of the Shooting Star Chase Children's Hospice in Great Britain, while continuing to support several foster children in India, something she has done for the past 35 years. Collins serves her former school, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, as the Honorary President of the RADA Associates.^[52]

Since the late 1990s, Collins has been a regular guest diarist for The Spectator. In 2008, she had a weekly opinions column in The Sunday Telegraph. She continues to write occasionally for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Lady in the United Kingdom, and Harper's Bazaar in the United States.

Collins has established herself as a successful author, although doing so annoyed her sister Jackie, whose books had helped Joan's career.^[24] In addition to her bestselling novels, including Prime Time and Love & Desire & Hate, she has also written six lifestyle books, including The Joan Collins Beauty Book, as well as memoirs, including Past Imperfect. To date, she has sold over 50 million copies of her books, which have been translated into 30 languages.^[53]

Marriages and family

Collins has been married five times, with her current marriage lasting almost as long as the previous four combined.^[54] Her first husband was Irish actor Maxwell Reed, whom she wed on 24 May 1952 after he date raped her.^[55][56] She was 19 and he was 33.^[57] Collins divorced Reed on 29 May 1956, following a two-year separation.^[58] From 1955 to 1957, she was in a relationship with producer Arthur Loew Jr.^[59] In 1959, Collins began a romance with the then-unknown actor Warren Beatty. They became engaged in 1960, but his infidelity led to their split the same year.^[60]

In 1961, she began dating singer-songwriter Anthony Newley; they married on 27 May 1963 when Collins was five months pregnant. They had two children, Tara (born 12 October 1963) and Alexander (born 8 September 1965). The couple divorced on 13 August 1971. Collins wed her third husband, American businessman Ron Kass, on 11 March 1972 when she was six months pregnant with their daughter Katyana (born 20 June 1972).^[61] Collins and Kass divorced on 6 May 1983. She married former singer Peter Holm on 6 November 1985.^[62] Collins sought an annulment in December 1986,^[63] but was instead granted a divorce 24 August 1987.^[64]

Between marriages, Collins dated Mercedes-Benz heir Friedrich Christian Flick, realtor Bill Wiggins, director George Englund, art dealer Robin Hurlstone, producer Robert Evans and actors Gardner McKay, Harry Belafonte, Dennis Hopper, Sydney Chaplin and Ryan O'Neal.^[56]

Collins has been married to her fifth husband Percy Gibson, who is 32 years her junior, since 17 February 2002.^[65][66] The couple met in 2000 when Collins and her ex-boyfriend George Hamilton performed the play Love Letters at the Marines' Memorial Theatre in San Francisco and Gibson was the producer.^[67] The wedding took place at Claridge's Hotel in London.^[68] Collins has four grandchildren.^[69]

Collins maintains residences in Belgravia, Beverly Hills, and Saint-Tropez,^[70] describing her life in 2010 as being "that of a gypsy".^[71] In 2019, Collins and Gibson escaped a "terrifying" fire at her London flat in Eaton Place. Gibson was able to contain the blaze using a fire extinguisher before the emergency services arrived. Collins was treated for smoke inhalation but was otherwise unharmed and thanked the emergency response crews on social media.^[72][73] In 2021, she sold her condo in New York City for $2 million.^[74]

Collins was a supporter of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and was invited to attend her funeral on 17 April 2013.^[75] She also said: "I'm a big monarchist and I love the Queen."^[76] In 2004, it was announced she had become a Patron of the UK Independence Party, though she later said this did not necessarily mean she would vote for the party.^[77] In 2013, she supported British withdrawal from the European Union.^[78]

Collins was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1997 New Year Honours for services to drama^[79] and advanced to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to charity.^[80]

She was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983.

Memoir

• Past Imperfect: An Autobiography – UK version (1978)
• Katy: A Fight for Life, A Memoir (1982)
• Past Imperfect: An Autobiography – US version (1984)
• Second Act: An Autobiography (1996)
• The World According to Joan (2011)
• Passion For Life: An Autobiography (2013)^[81]
• My Unapologetic Diaries by Joan Collins (2021)^[82]
• Behind the Shoulder Pads: Stories I Only Tell my Friends (2023)^[83]

Nonfiction

• The Joan Collins Beauty Book (1980)
• My Secrets (1994)
• Health, Youth and Happiness: My Secrets (1995)
• My Friends' Secrets (1999)
• Joan's Way: Looking Good, Feeling Great (2002)
• The Art of Living Well: Looking Good, Feeling Great (2007)

Fiction

• Prime Time, a novel (1988)
• Love and Desire and Hate, a novel (1990)
• Too Damn Famous, a novel (1995) retitled Infamous for US (1996)
• Star Quality, a novel (2002)
• Misfortune's Daughters, a novel (2005)
• The St. Tropez Lonely Hearts Club, a novel (2015)

By other authors

• Joan Collins by John Kercher, Gallery Books (1984)
• Joan Collins: The Unauthorised Biography by Jeff Rovin, Bantam Books (1984)
• Joan Collins, Superstar: A Biography by Robert Levine, Dell Publishing (1985)
• A Touch of Collins by Joe Collins, Columbus Books (1986)
• Portraits of a Star by Eddie Sanderson, Hodder & Stoughton (1987)
• Inside Joan Collins: A Biography by Jay David, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. (1988)
• Hollywood Sisters: Jackie and Joan Collins by Susan Crimp and Patricia Burstein, St. Martin's Press (1989)
• Joan Collins: The Biography of an Icon by Graham Lord, Orion (2007)