Joan Collins Biography

Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE (born 23 May 1933), is an English actress, author and columnist. Born in Paddington and brought up in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. After making her stage debut in A Doll's House at the age of 9, she was trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. After eighteen months at the drama school, she was signed to an exclusive contract by 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). While she continued to make films in the US and the UK throughout the 1960s, her career languished in the 1970s, where she appeared in a number of horror flicks. Near the end of the decade, she starred in two films based on best-selling novels by her younger sister Jackie Collins: The Stud (1978) and its sequel The Bitch (1979). Returning to her theatrical roots, she played the title role in the 1980 British revival of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney and later had a lead role in the 1990 revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives. In 1981, Collins landed Alexis Carrington Colby, the role for which she is perhaps best known, in the long-running 1980s television soap opera Dynasty.

By the time the soap opera had been cancelled, Collins followed in her sister's footsteps and published her first novel Prime Time (1988) which became a bestseller despite critical pans. Despite a protracted legal battle with Random House in 1996, she has since published many books: both fictional, non-fictional and autobiographical. Flamboyant in her personal life and in roles she pursues, Collins continues to act in theatre, film and television in a career that has spanned more than 60 years.

Early life

Collins was born in Paddington, London, the daughter of Elsa Collins (née Bessant), a dance teacher and nightclub hostess, and Joseph William Collins (died 1988), an agent whose clients would later include Shirley Bassey, the Beatles and Tom Jones. Her father, a native of South Africa, was Jewish, and her British mother was Anglican. She has one sister, author Jackie Collins, and one brother, Bill Collins. Joan was educated at the Francis Holland School and then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

At the age of 17, Collins was signed to the J. Arthur Rank Film Company, a British film studio. She trained at the Rank Organisation's "charm school".

Career

Early film career

She made her feature debut as a beauty contest entrant in Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951) and had a number of other minor film appearances in the UK. She was next signed by 20th Century Fox in 1955 as their answer to MGM's Elizabeth Taylor. She actually screen tested for the title role in Cleopatra which eventually went to Taylor. According to an article in Picture Post, Collins was frustrated by her time at Rank. Collins told the popular Hulton Press Weekly 'they're always carrying on about there being no women of star material in England. They don't bother to build us up. They concentrate on building the men'. She made her Hollywood debut in Howard Hawks's Land of the Pharaohs (1955) and appeared in Island in the Sun (1957).

Collins was popular as a magazine pin-up in the UK throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, with cover appearances on titles such as Span and 66.

Her notable guest appearances on American television during the 1960s and 1970s included Batman, The Virginian, Mission: Impossible, Police Woman and the notable Star Trek episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever".

In the 1970s, Collins made several films and then starred in the softcore film versions of her sister Jackie Collins's racy novels The Stud and The Bitch. The films were extremely successful financially. The Stud, made for $600,000 went on to gross over $20,000,000 internationally.

She also appeared in an all-star horror classic in Britain around this time. In the 1972 Amicus film adaptation of Tales From The Crypt, based on American E.C. horror comics from the 50s, Joan played a murderous wife in "And All Through The House" a story that originally appeared in the comic book The Vault of Horror #35 and was written and illustrated by Johnny Craig.

Dynasty

In 1981, Collins was offered a role in the second season of the then struggling new soap opera Dynasty (1981"89) playing Alexis Carrington, the beautiful but vengeful ex-wife of tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). Her performance is generally credited as one factor in the fledgling show's subsequent rise in the Nielsen ratings to a hit rivaling Dallas.

In 1985, Dynasty was the #1 show in the United States, beating out Dallas which ranked at #2. For her portrayal of Alexis, Collins was nominated six times for a Golden Globe Award (every year from 1982 to 1987), winning once in 1983, the same year she was nominated for an Emmy as Best Actress in a Drama Series. Upon accepting the award, Collins thanked Sophia Loren for turning down the part of Alexis. At the age of 50, Collins appeared in a twelve page photo layout for Playboy magazine shot by George Hurrell.

In 1983, Collins starred in Making of a Male Model with young model-actor Jon-Erik Hexum, and in 1984, played a soap star in The Cartier Affair with David Hasselhoff. In the same year, she also co-hosted the ABC-TV special Blondes vs. Brunettes. With Dynasty at the height of its success, Collins began producing and starred in the 1986 CBS miniseries Sins and Monte Carlo.

In the 2001 E! True Hollywood Story episode featuring Dynasty, former ABC executive Ted Harbert stated, "The truth is we didn't really believe that we had this thing done as a hit until Joan Collins walked down that courtroom aisle." 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."

Later career

After the end of Dynasty in 1989, Collins took time off to be with her family. She rejoined her co-stars for Dynasty: The Reunion, a 1991 miniseries that concluded the series which had been left with a cliffhanger ending after its abrupt cancellation. In the 1990s, Collins made several guest star appearances on series such as Roseanne, The Nanny and Will & Grace while dabbling in films like Decadence and A Midwinter's Tale. She also appeared as the main characters of films such as Mama's Back and Annie: A Royal Adventure! (in the latter of which she plays the main antagonist, Lady Edwina Hogbottom) during this period. In 1994, at the age of 60, she launched her only exercise video, titled Joan Collins Personal Workout.

In 1990, Collins played Amanda in a revival of Noël Coward's Private Lives in the West End co-starring with Keith Baxter. She would later make her Broadway debut in the same play in 1992 starring opposite Simon Jones. In 1991 Collins also appeared in Noël Coward's Tonight at 8:30 and played eight different women in a series of one act plays written by Coward, including an elderly Victorian spinster. She also guest starred in six episodes of Aaron Spelling's short lived prime time soap opera Pacific Palisades in 1997. In 1990 also, Collins appeared in writer-director Michael Feeney Callan's television series, My Riviera, hosting friends around her home and favourite locales in the South of France. During the early 1990s Joan Collins twice appeared as a celebrity guest star on the hit South African soap opera "Egoli" (City of Gold), playing the role of Catherine Sinclair. Collins was chosen as the cover model for the relaunch of the popular celebrity magazine OK! when it changed from being a monthly to a weekly. In the spring of 2000, she completed an American tour of Love Letters with the likes of George Hamilton and Stacy Keach Jr. Additionally, she appeared in a West End production of Over the Moon with Frank Langella in 2000.

In 1999, Collins was cast in the video version of musical theatre show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She played two roles in this video: a pianist and Mrs. Potiphar, the wife of Egyptian millionaire Potiphar.

In 2000, Collins joined the cast of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, a prequel to the 1994 Universal Studios live action film The Flintstones. She played the supporting role Pearl Slaghoople (Wilma Flintstone's mother) but the film was not a box office success.

In 2001, she costarred in the television film These Old Broads with Debbie Reynolds, Shirley MacLaine and Elizabeth Taylor. The film was written by Reynolds' daughter Carrie Fisher.

In 2002, Collins returned to soap operas in a limited run on the American daytime soap Guiding Light. She also appeared on South African television, depicting the role of South African journalist Jani Allan in a comedy spoof. In 2004 she appeared on a Dutch comedy film Alice in Glamourland (Dutch: Ellis in Glamourland) as a successful writer. Several months later she toured the United Kingdom with a revival of the play Full Circle. In 2005 she served as guest host of the popular British quiz show Have I Got News For You. In 2005, actress Alice Krige portrayed Collins in Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure, a fictionalised television film based on the creation and behind the scenes production of Dynasty.

In early 2006, Collins toured the United Kingdom in An Evening With Joan Collins, a one-woman show in which she detailed the highs and lows of her roller coaster career and life, directed by her husband Percy Gibson. In 2006, she reunited with her Dynasty co-stars for the non-fiction special Dynasty Reunion: Catfights and Caviar. Later that year, she began a tour of North America in the play Legends! with former Dynasty co-star Linda Evans, which concluded in May 2007 after a 30-week run.

In 2005, Collins joined the cast of the hit British television series Footballer's Wives for a limited run as a glamorous magazine mogul, named Eva de Wolffe. She also guest-starred in the BBC series Hotel Babylon in 2006 as a lonely aristocrat desperate for romance.

Collins appeared in a two-hour episode of the murder-mystery drama Marple in 2009 ("They Do It with Mirrors"). She played Ruth Van Rydock, an old friend of detective Miss Marple.

On 24 January 2010, it was announced that Collins was joining the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love) for a short run. She played an aristocratic British woman, Lady Joan, who takes a young prince in tow. Collins started shooting on 22 February 2010 and appeared on-screen in April 2010.

She made her pantomime debut in Dick Whittington as Queen Rat at the Birmingham Hippodrome during the 2010 Christmas season, starring alongside Nigel Havers, Keith Harris and Julian Clary.

In May 2013 Collins announced on her Twitter profile that she would be joining the cast of British TV sitcom Benidorm in a guest role adding she would be playing Crystal "but not the Dynasty one".

Personal and public life

Family and personal life

Collins has been married five times, firstly to Irish actor Maxwell Reed, whom she married on 24 May 1952 and divorced in 1956. Collins married award-winning singer, actor and film composer Anthony Newley on 27 May 1963. She and Newley had two children, a daughter Tara Cynara Newley and a son, Alexander Anthony "Sacha" Newley. Collins and Newley divorced in 1970. In March 1972, Collins married her third husband Ron Kass, who had been the president of Apple Records during the reign of the Beatles. During their marriage Collins had her third and final child, a daughter, Katyana Kennedy Kass. Collins's marriage to Kass ended in divorce in 1983, although they remained very close until his death from cancer in 1986. At the height of Dynasty's popularity on 3 November 1985, Collins married Swedish singer Peter Holm in a ceremony in Las Vegas. They were divorced on 25 August 1987, with the lengthy divorce proceedings garnering significant media attention, prompting Collins to quip, "I don't need a husband, I need a wife" and that Holm was "a bit of a loser", with Collins successfully enforcing her prenuptial agreement. In 2001 Collins met theatrical company manager Percy Gibson, 32 years her junior. They married on 17 February 2002 at Claridge's Hotel in London and later renewed their vows in 2009. The pair also appeared as contestants on the Christmas Day edition of the ITV game show All Star Mr. & Mrs. in 2009.

By her daughter Tara Newley, Collins has two grandchildren and by her son Sacha Newley has a further grandchild.

Collins maintains residences in London, Los Angeles, New York and the South of France, describing her life as being "that of a gypsy".

Political views

After decades of flirting with British politics, on 24 May 2004 Collins joined the United Kingdom Independence Party.

In early 2005 Collins commented that she had rejoined the Conservative Party stating, "The Labour Party doesn't care about the British people."

She also continues to contribute as The Spectator magazine guest diarist, something she has done since the late 1990s. Collins also writes occasionally for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Lady, and in the USA, Harper's Bazaar. In September 2008, Collins signed on to the Sunday Telegraph as a weekly opinions columnist through the final quarter of the year before leaving to pursue other projects.

She has commented that she was a huge supporter of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, and was one of the handful of guests to be invited to her funeral on 17 April 2013. Collins is also a staunch monarchist, stating "I'm a big monarchist and I love the Queen."

Charitable work

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, Detroit, Michigan, USA. 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 Children's Hospice in Great Britain while continuing to support several foster children in India; something she has done for the past 25 years. Collins serves her former school, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, as the Honorary President of the RADA Associates.

Books

Collins has also established herself as an author. In addition to her bestselling novels (Prime Time, Love & Desire & Hate, Infamous, Star Quality, and Misfortune's Daughters) she has written six lifestyle books (The Joan Collins Beauty Book, My Secrets, My Friends' Secrets, Joan's Way: The Art of Living Well and "The Joan Collins Cook Book") and memoirs (Past Imperfect, Katy: A Fight for Life and Second Act). To date she has sold over 50 million copies of her books which have been translated into 30 languages.

In the 1990s, Collins was embroiled in a high-profile legal battle with the publisher Random House, which was televised daily on Court TV. Collins had signed a two-book deal with the company for $4 million and they had given her a $1.2 million advance. In September 1991 Collins delivered a 690-page manuscript of a novel entitled The Ruling Passion to Random House. However, the publishing firm deemed the manuscript to be of such poor quality that they demanded the return of the $1.2 million advance they had paid to Collins, claiming she had failed to deliver completed books as per her contract. Collins countersued, arguing that her contract required her only to submit a "complete manuscript" not an "acceptable" one. Since she had turned in two novels to the publishing company, A Ruling Passion in 1991 and a second novel, Hell Hath No Fury, in 1992, as her contract stipulated, she felt Random House owed her the rest of the $4 million. She also contended that Random House had not provided the editorial assistance she had expected.

Her Random House contract, negotiated by agent Irving Lazar, required that she was to be paid even if her completed manuscripts were not published. When the case was finally heard in February 1996, a court determined that Collins could keep the advance given to her plus a further $1 million for the first completed manuscript, but that the publisher did not have to pay for the second manuscript since it was essentially a reworking of the first. The Guinness Book of World Records cites Collins as holding the record for retaining the world's largest unreturned payment for an unpublished manuscript.

Memoir

• Past Imperfect: An Autobiography (1978)
• Katy: A Fight for Life, A Memoir (1982)
• Second Act: An Autobiography (1996)
• Passion For Life: An Autobiography (2013)

Non-fiction

• The Joan Collins Beauty Book (1980)
• Portraits of a Star (1987)
• 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)
• The World According to Joan (2011)

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 (2004)

By other authors

• Joan Collins by John Kercher, Gallery Books (1984)
• Joan Collins, Superstar: A Biography by Robert Levine, Dell Publishing (1985)
• A Touch of Collins by Joe Collins, Columbus Books (1986)
• 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)

TV adverts

Beginning in the early 1950s, Collins appeared as a teenager in a Gas Board Commercial; in the early '70s, Collins appeared in television and magazine advertisements for British Airways, in which she was referred to as their "Most Frequent Flyer of First Class", a title she has maintained, having promoted the airline for more than three decades. In 1978, she appeared alongside Leonard Rossiter in a series of Cinzano TV commercials in which the drink was spilled down her character's dress. This was named as one of the Top 100 British Adverts in a Channel 4 poll. In the mid-1980s, Collins appeared in print advertisements for Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Sanyo and was the face of Revlon's Scoundrel perfume. In 1988 she appeared in three TV commercials for the Bristol & West Building Society written and directed by Stephen Ward, who went on to write the film Backbeat. In 1991, Collins appeared in a television commercial for British Gas In 1992 she appeared in internationally broadcast television commercials for Marca Bravaria beer while also acting as the face of the perfume Spectacular. Also around this time, she starred in an advert for the Rover Metro. Since 2000 she has appeared in TV ads for UK retailer Marks & Spencer, Olympus cameras, Old Navy and Marriott hotels. In 2007 Collins fronted two high-profile advertising campaigns. The first was as the face of skincare company Cellex-C's Ageless 15 Skin Serum. The second was as the face of the Royal Mail's Christmas campaign. In 2008, Collins took part in an online and print advertising campaign for the Dorchester Hotel in London and a Christmas television commercial, once again, for Marks & Spencer. In 2010, Collins was named the face of Alexis Bittar Jewelry for Spring Fashion Week. In 2012 she appeared in an advert for Snickers chocolate bar alongside Stephanie Beacham.

Music

In 1959, she performed "It's Great Not To Be Nominated" at the Academy Awards with actresses Angela Lansbury and Dana Wynter. In 1962, she sang "Let's Not Be" in the film The Road to Hong Kong with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Collins teamed up with Peter Sellers and her then-husband Anthony Newley in 1963 to record the album Fool Britannia, which made the UK Top 10. In 1968, she sang a zodiac-themed duet with Newley, titled "Chalk & Cheese", in Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?

In a 1983 episode of Dynasty, she performed "The Boys in the Back Room", a Marlene Dietrich song from the 1930s film Destry Rides Again. She next sang "The Last Time I Saw Paris" in the television miniseries Monte Carlo in 1986. In 2001, Collins performed several musical numbers in These Old Broads with Debbie Reynolds and Shirley MacLaine, and that same year appeared in Badly Drawn Boy's music video for "Pissing in the Wind."

In the 1980s, Joan Collins released a solo 7" single with a live recording of her citing John Lennon's "Imagine" supported by the London Symphony Orchestra, in the Netherlands.

Honours

In 1997, Collins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) at Buckingham Palace by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in honour of her contribution to the arts and ongoing charity work.

Awards

• 1956: Golden Globe Most Promising Young Actress Award.
• 1957: Star of Tomorrow.
• 1957: Motion Picture Magazine Award, Most Promising New Star.
• 1978: Saturn Award nomination, Best Actress in a Science Fiction film, Empire of the Ants.
• 1982: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
• 1982: Hollywood Women's Press Club, Female Star of 1982.
• 1982: Golden Apple Award, Female Star of the Year.
• 1983: Emmy Award nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
• 1983: The Hollywood International Spotlight Award.
• 1983: Golden Globe, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
• 1983: Cable ACE Award nomination, Best Actress in a Drama Series, Faerie Tale Theatre's Hansel and Gretel.
• 1983: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Career Achievement.
• 1984: People's Choice Award, Favorite female television performer, Dynasty.
• 1984: Soap Opera Digest Award, Outstanding Villainess in a Primetime Drama Series, Dynasty.
• 1984: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
• 1985: Madam Tussaud's waxwork unveiled in London (second model in Las Vegas).
• 1985: People's Choice Award, nomination Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, Dynasty.
• 1985: Soap Opera Digest Award, Outstanding Villainess in a Primetime Drama Series, Dynasty.
• 1985: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
• 1986: Soap Opera Digest Award nomination, Outstanding Villainess in a Primetime Drama Series and Outstanding Actress in a Comic Relief Role in a Primetime Drama Series, Dynasty.
• 1986: Telegatto award to joan Collins. American TV shows and personalities.
• 1986: People's Choice Award, nomination favourite female television performer, Dynasty.
• 1986: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
• 1987: Golden Globe nomination, Best Actress in a TV Series (Drama), Dynasty.
• 1988: Soap Opera Digest Award nomination, Outstanding Villainess in a Primetime Drama Series, Dynasty.
• 1996: OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II for her contribution to the arts and ongoing charity work.
• 1999: Millennium Award of Achievement, Golden Camera Film Council.
• 2001: Golden Nymph, Outstanding Female Actor, Monte Carlo Television Festival.
• 2002: Icon Award, Maxim Magazine, UK.
• 2003: TV Land Awards, nomination, Hippest Fashion Plate - Female.
• 2005: Lifetime Achievement Award, San Diego International Film Festival.
• 2008: Legend Award, Los Angeles Italia-Film, Fashion and Arts Festival.
• 2010: New York City International Film Festival, Best Actress, Fetish
• 2010: Beverly Hills Film, TV and New Media Festival, Best Actress, Fetish.
• 2011: Cosmetic Executive Women (UK) Lifetime Achievement Award.
• 2012, Shorts Awards, Visionary Actress, Fetish
• 2013, Lifetime Achievement Award, Sedona International Film Festival

Credits

Filmography

• Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
• Judgment Deferred (1952)
• Cosh Boy (1952)
• The Woman's Angle (1952)
• I Believe in You (1952)
• Decameron Nights (1953)
• Turn the Key Softly (1953)
• The Square Ring (1953)
• Our Girl Friday (1953)
• The Good Die Young (1954)
• Land of the Pharaohs (1955)
• The Virgin Queen (1955)
• The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955)
• The Opposite Sex (1956)
• The Wayward Bus (1957)
• Island in the Sun (1957)
• Sea Wife (1957)
• Stopover Tokyo (1957)
• The Bravados (1958)
• Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958)
• Seven Thieves (1960)
• Esther and the King (1960)
• The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
• Hard Time for Princes (1965)
• Warning Shot (1967)
• Wedding of the Doll (1968) [documentary]
• Subterfuge (1968)
• Besieged (1969)
• Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969)
• If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
• The Executioner (1970)
• Up in the Cellar (1970)
• Revenge (1971)
• Quest for Love (1971)

• Tales from the Crypt (1972)
• Fear in the Night (1972)
• Dark Places (1973)
• Tales That Witness Madness (1973)
• Football Crazy (1974)
• I Don't Want to Be Born (1975)
• Alfie Darling (1975)
• The Cry of the Wolf (1975)
• The Great Adventure (1975)
• Il Pomicione (1976)
• The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones (1976)
• Magnum Cop (1977)
• Empire of the Ants (1977)
• Fearless (1977)
• Fatal Charm (1977)
• The Stud (1978)
• The Big Sleep (1978)
• Zero to Sixty (1978)
• The Bitch (1979)
• Sunburn (1979)
• A Game for Vultures (1979)
• Nutcracker (1982)
• Homework (1982)
• Faerie Tale Theatre Presents: Hansel and Gretel (1983)
• Decadence (1994)
• In the Bleak Midwinter (1995)
• The Clandestine Marriage (1999) (also associate producer)
• The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
• Ozzie (2001)
• These Old Broads (2001)
• Alice in Glamourland (2004)
• Valentino: The Last Emperor (2008)
• Banksy's Coming For Dinner (2009)
• Fetish (2010) [short]
• Saving Santa (2013) (voice)
• Molly Moon: The Incredible Hypnotist (2013)

Videos released

• The Making of Joan Collins (1981)
• The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Joan Collins (1984)
• In Conversation With Joan Collins (1987)
• Joan Collins Personal Workout: Secrets of Fitness & Beauty (1994)
• Joan Collins-THE PERFECT TEN-HEALTHY DIET (1995)
• Coronation Street: Viva Las Vegas! (1997)
• Court TV: Random House Vs Joan Collins (1997)
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999)
• Biography - Joan Collins (A & E Home Video) (2000)

Theatre

• 1946, A Doll's House at the Arts Theatre, London.
• 1952, The Seventh Veil at the Queen's Theatre, London.
• 1952, Jassey at the Queens's Theatre, London.
• 1953, The Praying Mantis UK Tour.
• 1953, Claudia and David at the Queen's Theatre, London.
• 1954, The Skin of Our Teeth at the Queen's Theatre, London.
• 1979, Murder in Mind at the Chichester and Brighton theatres, Chichester & Brighton.
• 1980, The Last of Mrs. Cheyney at the Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester.
• 1981, The Last of Mrs. Cheyney at the Cambridge Theatre, London.
• 1990"1991, Private Lives at the Aldwych Theatre, London.
• 1991"1992, Private Lives at the Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway, New York.
• 2000, Love Letters USA Tour.
• 2001, Over the Moon at the Old Vic Theatre, London.
• 2004, Full Circle UK Tour.
• 2006, An Evening with Joan Collins UK Tour.
• 2006"2007, Legends North American Tour.
• 2010, One Night with Joan at Feinsteins at the Regency, New York.
• 2010-2011, Dick Whittington at the Birmingham Hippodrome, UK
• 2011, One Night with Joan Australian Tour.
• 2011-2012, One Night with Joan at the Leicester Square Theatre, London.
• 2012, One Night with Joan at the Alban Arena, St Alban's, Hertfordshire, UK.
• 2012, Joan Collins: One Night in the Hay at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London.
• 2012, One Night with Joan at the De La Mar Theatre, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• 2013, One Night with Joan UK Tour.

Television

• The Human Jungle (1964) (ABC)
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1966) (Guest Appearance) (NBC)
• Run for Your Life (1966) (Guest Appearance)
• Batman (1967) (Guest Appearance) (ABC)
• Star Trek (1967) (Guest Appearance)(NBC)
• The Virginian (1967) (Guest Appearance) (NBC)
• The Danny Thomas Hour (1967) (Guest Appearance) (NBC)
• Mission: Impossible : Nicole (1969) (Guest Appearance) (CBS)
• The Persuaders! (1972) (Guest Appearance) (ITV/ABC)
• The Man Who Came to Dinner (1972)
• Drive Hard, Drive Fast (1973)
• Great Mysteries(1973) (Guest Appearance)
• Ellery Queen (1975) (NBC)
• Space: 1999 (1975) (Guest Appearance) (ITV)
• Switch (1975) (Guest Appearance) (CBS)
• Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers (1976) (miniseries) (NBC)
• Baretta (1976) (Guest Appearance) (ABC)
• Police Woman (1976) (Guest Appearance) (NBC)
• Gibbsville (1976) (Guest Appearance)
• The Fantastic Journey (1977) (Guest Appearance)
• Future Cop (1977) (Guest Appearance) (ABC)
• Starsky and Hutch (1977) (Guest Appearance) (ABC)
• Police Woman (1977) (Guest Appearance) (NBC)
• Tales of the Unexpected (1979"80)
• Fantasy Island (1980) (Guest Appearance) (ABC)
• Bernie (1980) (Guest Appearance)
• Dynasty (1981"89) (ABC)
• Paper Dolls (1982) (ABC)
• The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch (1982) (ABC)
• Faerie Tale Theatre (1983) (Guest Appearance) (Showtime)
• Making of a Male Model (1983) (ABC)
• The Love Boat (1983) (Guest Appearance) (ABC)
• Her Life as a Man (1984) (ABC)
• Blondes vs. Brunettes
• The Cartier Affair (1984) (NBC)
• Sins (1986) (also executive producer) (CBS)
• TV-am Good Morning Britain (1986)
• Monte Carlo (1986) (also executive producer) (CBS)
• Collins Meets Coward, Tonight at 8:30 (1991) (also co producer) (BBC)
• Dynasty: The Reunion (1991) (miniseries) (ABC)
• Mama's Back (1993) (BBC)
• Roseanne (1993) (Guest Appearance) (ABC)
• Egoli: Place of Gold (1994)
• Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1995) (Family Channel)
• Hart to Hart: Two Harts in Three-Quarters Time (1995) (Family Channel)
• The Nanny (1996) (Guest Appearance) (CBS)
• Pacific Palisades (1997) (FOX)
• Sweet Deception (1998) (Lifetime TV Film)
• Will and Grace (2000) (Guest Appearance)
• These Old Broads (2001) (ABC TV Film)
• The Guiding Light (2002) (CBS)
• Slavery and the Making of America (2005) (Guest Appearance) (PBS)
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2005) (Celebrity Special with husband, Percy Gibson)
• Have I Got News For You (2005) (as Guest Presenter)
• The F-Word (2005) (Guest Appearance) (ITV)
• Footballers' Wives (2006) (Episodes 5 & 6) (ITV)
• Hotel Babylon (2006) (Guest Appearance) (BBC)
• Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2006) (Guest Appearance)
• The Graham Norton Show (2007) (Guest Appearance)
• The Paul O'Grady Show (2007) (Guest Appearance)
• The Kylie Show (2007) (Guest Appearance)
• Loose Women (5 September 2008) (Guest Appearance) (ITV)
• Agatha Christie's Marple: They Do It With Mirrors (2009) (ITV)
• Celebrity Ghost Stories (2009) (Guest Appearance) (A&E)
• Joan Does Glamour (2009) (ITV Special)
• All Star Mr & Mrs (2009) (Christmas Special)
• Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2010) (Guest Appearance) (ITV)
• Verbotene Liebe (2010) (Das Erste)
• Rules of Engagement (TV series) (2010) (Guest Appearance) (CBS)
• Elizabeth Taylor: A Tribute (2011) (BBC Special)
• Elizabeth Taylor: Auction of a Lifetime (2012) (Channel 4 Documentary)
• This Morning (2012) (ITV Diamond Jubilee Special)
• Watch What Happens: Live (2012) (Bravo)
• Inside Claridges (2012) (BBC Documentary)
• Celebrity Deal or No Deal (1 Jan 2013) (Channel 4 Charity Special)
• Happily Divorced (2012-2013) (Recurring) (TV Land)
• Dead Rich (2013) (Based on Louise Fennell novel)
• Benidorm (2013) (Guest Appearance) (ITV)