ACTOR
Joan Collins
51 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (51)
- #001
Joan Collins's first husband, Maxwell Reed, tried to sell her to an Arab sheikh for £10,000 just seven months after their wedding.
- #002
In the final season of Dynasty (1981), she appeared in only 13 of the 22 episodes because the producers told her they could not pay her every week.
- #003
At the start of the 1985-86 season, Joan Collins refused to return to work on Dynasty (1981) until she was given a raise, and the writers were forced to write her out of the season's first episode. It was a bold move on her part because the previous season's cliffhanger was the famous "Moldavian Massacre," in which all the characters were shot. It would have been very easy for the producers to fire her and eliminate the character of Alexis by having her killed in the shootout. However, she successfully negotiated a raise of about $60,000 per episode and returned to work, missing only one episode.
- #004
She replaced Marilyn Monroe in the film The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955). The girl was supposed to be 17 years old, while Marilyn was considered too old at 29.
- #005
When she was 16, the 19-year-old Larry Hagman courted her. He had to be very respectful and report to her father.
- #006
She turned down Frank Sinatra, Robert F. Kennedy, Darryl F. Zanuck and Dean Martin.
- #007
On 13 August 1969, she attended Sharon Tate's funeral, and 19 months earlier she had been among the guests at Tate's wedding to Roman Polanski.
- #008
She was appointed OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1997 Queen's New Year Honours for her services to drama.
- #009
The second volume of her autobiography was titled "Second Act" and premiered in 1996 after she won a successful court battle against her publisher, Random House. The company had claimed her submissions were "substandard" and demanded that Joan repay the $2 million advance it had given her for two novels. A New York judge ruled in her favour.
- #010
She is the older sister of Jackie Collins.
- #011
She was a close friend of Dame Shirley Bassey for many years. Shirley sang at her wedding to Percy Gibson.
- #012
She was the fourth choice to play the role of Alexis Carrington in Dynasty (1981). The other contenders were Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Jessica Walter.
- #013
She is the godmother of the supermodel and actress Cara Delevingne.
- #014
On 14 December 1983, she was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
- #015
She was one of many actresses, including Joanne Woodward, who screen-tested for the lead role in Cleopatra (1963). The role went to Dame Elizabeth Taylor.
- #016
She is a great admirer of former Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher.
- #017
Joan Collins permanently left her first husband, Maxwell Reed, on her 21st birthday.
- #018
Joan Collins has three children: Tara Newley Arkle (born 12 October 1963) and Alexander Newley (born 8 September 1965) with Anthony Newley, and Katyana Kass (born 20 June 1972) with Ronald S. Kass.
- #019
Joan Collins was appointed DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2015 Queen's New Year Honours for her services to charity. She is a philanthropist and charity campaigner.
- #020
Joan Collins lived with Robin Hurlstone between 1988 and 2001.
- #021
Joan Collins became a grandmother on 5 October 1998. However, she refuses to be called "Grandma"; Miel Celeste Adam calls her "DoDo" instead.
- #022
According to her autobiography, although she once raised funds for social welfare in the United States, Joan Collins described herself as politically "right-wing."
- #023
Joan Collins was reportedly paid $120,000 per episode for her role as Alexis Carrington Colby on Dynasty (1981).
- #024
Joan Collins is allergic to shellfish.
- #025
Joan Collins's first agent was her father, Joseph Collins, in London. Later in her career her manager was the respected Swifty Lazar (also known as "Swifty" Lazar) until his death on 30 December 1993.
- #026
Joan Collins was considered for the role of Elaine Robinson in Mike Nichols's The Graduate (1967). The role went to Katharine Ross.
- #027
Joan Collins's daughter Tara Newley Arkle is a newsreader in England. Her son Alexander Newley is an artist. Her daughter Katyana Kass is a theatre production assistant.
- #028
Joan Collins trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, England, joining at the age of 15.
- #029
Joan Collins is best known to the public for her role as Alexis Carrington Colby on Dynasty (1981).
- #030
Joan Collins has four grandchildren: Miel and Weston through her daughter Tara Newley Arkle, and Ava and Deia through her son Alexander Newley.
- #031
In 1991, when Joan Collins made her Broadway debut in Noël Coward's "Private Lives" (wish #1), two of her childhood wishes came true, and she took on the role of Amanda (wish #2).
- #032
In 1982 Joan Collins was hired to play the lead in the horror film "The Pike," adapted from Cliff Twemlow's novel of the same name. The film centred on a giant man-eating pike terrorising a village on a British lakeside; Collins's involvement drew much press attention, but due to financial problems and mechanical issues with the "pike" creature, production was halted before shooting began and the film was never made.
- #033
In Italy, almost all of Joan Collins's films were dubbed by Dhia Cristiani, except for Land of the Pharaohs (1955) and Sea Wife (1957), in which she was dubbed by Clelia Bernacchi and Lydia Simoneschi respectively.
- #034
Joan Collins's brother, William Collins Jr. (born 1946), is a real estate agent.
- #035
Joan Collins turned down a role in Casino Royale (1967).
- #036
Joan Collins's youngest daughter, Katyana Kass, was in a serious car accident at the age of 8 that left her in a coma for a long time.
- #037
Joan Collins is the former stepmother of Robert Kass.
- #038
Joan Collins turned down the role of Jill Masterson in Goldfinger (1964) because she was pregnant. The role went to Shirley Eaton instead.
- #039
In October 2003, Joan Collins was on the last Concorde flight from New York to London.
- #040
Joan Collins was at one time a guest editor for the American magazine Marie Claire.
- #041
In 2016, Collins was offered the role of Tabitha "Tabby" Maxwell-Brown in Hollyoaks (1995), but she turned it down. Linda Gray was cast instead.
- #042
In 1983, at the age of 49, Joan Collins posed nude for Playboy magazine.
- #043
Collins was set to play Lady Delia Morrison in The Wicker Tree (2011) alongside Sir Christopher Lee, who was originally to play her husband Sir Lachlan Morrison. When Lee injured himself and was replaced by the much younger Graham McTavish, Collins was replaced by a younger actress, Jacqueline Leonard.
- #044
Joan Collins is one of the last surviving major stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
- #045
For decades, Joan Collins has dedicated herself to supporting children's charities, including serving as vice president of the Shooting Star Children's Hospices and as patron of the International Foundation for Children with Learning Difficulties.
- #046
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Joan Collins appeared with Leonard Rossiter in several famous television commercials for the Italian wine Cinzano.
- #047
In the 1980s, Joan Collins was the highest-paid actress on television.
- #048
Joan Collins and her husband Percy divided their time among homes in London, Saint-Tropez and Los Angeles.
- #049
Joan Collins was present at the impromptu Apple Corps rooftop concert held in London on 30 January 1969, the Beatles' famous final public performance.
- #050
Joan Collins is known as the British Marilyn Monroe.
- #051
In the 1950s, Collins made her name in films as "Britain's Bad Girl".
Continue through the archive
- The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegasas Pearl Slaghoople
- Tales from the Cryptas Joanne Clayton (segment: And All Through the House)
- Dynastyas Alexis Morell Carrington Colby
- The Persuaders!as Sidonie
- The Big Sleepas Agnes Lozelle
- The Studas Fontaine Khaled
- Sunburnas Nera Ortega
- Quest for Loveas Ottilie Harsham Trafford
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work