Dame Joan Collins turns 90 on Tuesday – and she’s determined to continue living in the fast lane.
With five husbands, three children and a dazzling career to her name, the Dynasty actress’s life story is as rich as Alexis Carrington Colby and as full as the scheming socialite’s shoulder pads.
And as she enters her 10th decade, the glamorous star shows no signs of slowing down – fresh from a starring role at the King’s Coronation concert, she’s about to embark on a one-woman nationwide tour.
Beauty, brains and a tireless work ethic are all trademarks of this elegant dame, according to Dynasty co-star Emma Samms, who played Alexis’s daughter Fallon Carrington in the hit US soap from 1985 to 1991.
Already a celebrated film star, Joan was 48 when she accepted the role of the vengeful super-bitch in Dynasty, bringing her star power to revive the fortunes of the ailing drama.
Emma, 62, hails Joan’s performance in the series for changing perceptions of middle-aged women worldwide.
She says: “It is unbelievable that she is going to be 90, but it is also very inspirational.
“She was the first genuinely popular woman of a certain age to be deemed powerful and sexy.
“She brought so much to the show and to women of my generation. As a woman of a certain age myself now I am extremely grateful she carved that path.
“Women can be seen as powerful and strong and sexy all at the same time. And I don’t think that was necessarily the case before Alexis Carrington. I think that role changed the world... and all for the better.”
Born in Paddington, West London, in 1933, Joan Henrietta Collins was nine when she made her stage debut, before training at London stage school RADA and being signed by the Rank Organisation at 17.
Quickly she became the toast of the British movie scene, then Hollywood beckoned and she blossomed into one of the world’s most sought-after stars.
A role in the film version of her sister Jackie Collins’s novel The Stud cemented Joan as movie royalty.
When Emma took the role of Fallon aged 25, she was terrified of meeting the show’s main star, she admits.
“I am still nervous of Joan now,” she laughs.
“She was very scary. You didn’t want to mess up your lines when you were working with Joan, that’s for sure.
“She is a powerful person and I think that is why Alexis came across as so plausible. Obviously Joan is not like Alexis, but she does have that element of being able to walk into a room and attract everyone’s attention.
“There was something very special about her, and the show being what it was absolutely took advantage of that.”
Emma worried about whether the older actress would like her, being brunette, English and a bit younger – but Joan proved gracious and kind.
Her co-star adds: “We mainly talked about English things, like our love of Marmite, because those were the things we had in common.”
Emma says the combination of Joan’s incredible acting skills, Aaron Spelling’s script and Alexis’s killer wardrobe, designed by Nolan Miller, came together to elevate her extraordinary performance and make Alexis iconic.
And there was something else in the mix – the star’s superb comic timing and masterful use of props on set.
Emma says: “Give her a glass of champagne, or an apple, or a fan, something to pick up to use to enhance the scene, she will absolutely do better than any of us.”
A philanthropist, Joan was made a dame by the late Queen in recognition of her charity work.
She’s also a best-selling author, with her books selling more than 50 million copies worldwide.
“I think she is probably what we [all] aspire to be in many ways,” adds Emma. “She has done it all. She still presents as this very glamorous woman. Always when she walks in you think, ‘Look how great she looks’.
“I have obviously seen her with no make-up on at all and she was, and I am sure she still is, stunningly beautiful. And that is something she has worked at and preserved.
“But that is not all she has to offer. She has a wit about her, she is very funny. It is a joy to watch her work a room, but of course she doesn’t have to move – people come to her.
“I am a huge fan and I will be sending her a little happy birthday message.”
