Born in London, England, Joan Collins was destined to be in the Entertainment Industry.  Her father was a talent agent with a roster of actors, actresses, and musical performers, her two aunts were vaudeville performers, and her grandmother entertained troops in South Africa during the Boar War.  Her first stage performance was at the age of three in Why the Fairies Cried and was followed by Ibsen's A Doll House.  It seemed only natural that she would want to enter "the family business," and at 16 convinced her father to let her audition for The Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts.  She was accepted and began classes.

     A photographer came through and plucked her out of the Academy to introduce her to the worlds of modeling and acting.  Her first role was a non-speaking part in the film Lady Godiva Rides Again and was quickly followed with a string of films including Cosh Boy, I Believe in You, The Good Die Young, Our Girl Friday, Turn The Key Softly, Decameron Nights, and The Square Ring.  Then came one of the roles that would change her life.

     Howard Hawks was known for his epic films and Joan was cast as Princess Nellifer in Land of the Pharaohs.  It was a role that she would parlay into a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox, and it would also help prepare her for the role she would be forever linked with.

     Upon arriving in Hollywood, Joan was dropped into the thick of the acting community and in rapid succession made films with Gregory Peck, Paul Newman, Robert Wagner, Bette Davis, Ray Milland, Harry Belafonte, Jayne Mansfield, Edward G. Robinson, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Orson Welles, and literally dozens of other members of Hollywood's elite. 

     Television guest appearances were made in a variety of shows including Star Trek, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Ellery Queen, Tales from the Crypt, The Twilight Zone, Batman, The Persuaders, Space 1999, Switch, Police Woman, and many others. 

     In 1977, Joan starred in the film The Stud, based on a book written by her younger sister Jackie Collins.  The film was a massive success and was followed a few years later by The Bitch.  When she made the movie, Joan had no idea that she was about to become the "Queen Bitch" of television history.

     1981 was the year that the name Joan Collins would become engraved in the minds of television viewers around the world.  On November 4th, "Alexis Carrington" walked into a courtroom in Denver, Colorado and set the world on its ear.  Dynasty was ABC's competition for Dallas, but was suffering from low ratings after the first season.  Dallas had the ultimate villain in "J.R. Ewing" and on that fateful November evening, Dynasty answered back with Alexis.  As soon as she delivered the line, "I'm glad to see your father had your teeth fixed, if not your mouth." to her "daughter" Pamela Sue Martin, ratings soared and Joan Collins became the woman the world loved to hate.

     She has appeared on the covers of hundreds of magazines, she's made countless television and film appearances around the world, and she's topped the list of the most beautiful women in the world for decades.  

     Joan is also an accomplished author, having written two autobiographies, five fiction novels, three beauty books, and an account of her youngest child's fight for life after being hit by a car.  Her latest installment in the literary genre is a fabulous look at today's culture as she sees it in The World According to Joan, which The Hollywood Show Vegas is thrilled to be able to exclusively present to her U.S. fans.