Joan Collins

Dame Joan Collins, is an English actress, author and columnist. After making her stage debut in 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.

At the age of 22, 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). Her career languished in the 1970s, when she appeared in a number of horror flicks. 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).

In 1981, she landed the role of Alexis Carrington Colby, the vengeful ex-wife of John Forsythe's character, in the 1980s television soap opera Dynasty, winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 1982; 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.