Dame & fortune
Joan Collins has been one of showbiz’s most glamorous figures since the 50s but all this style costs money – lots of it
SHE’S not exactly pleading poverty but for someone who claimed this week not to be a rich woman, Joan Collins certainly does a fabulous impression of one.
The 83-year-old actress, author and charity campaigner sparkled with all the Hollywood glitz of a woman more than half her age – and twice her reputed £24million bank balance – at last night’s premiere of her film Time of Their Lives.
Ahead of the launch of the movie, with Pauline Collins and Franco Nero, she had caused a stir by claiming that she was “not exactly rich” because, in the words of soap star pal Robert Wagner, she didn’t have “f*** you money.” And Dame Joan argued she has a “lifestyle” to maintain with that cash.
Famed for her Riviera to Hollywood lifestyle, shoulder pads and chandelier earrings, it’s the kind of comment that could hurt the image of most lavish living or deluded divas.
But from Star Trek to Dynasty and The Stud, she is also one of the few public figures to navigate being part of the celebrity social elite while retaining enough self-awareness and sense of humour – as seen in as her Snickers ad – to never lose the popular vote either.
Which is impressive when you consider that her idea of cost cutting during the credit crunch was to list a Manhattan apartment for sale for $3million because she could “no longer afford to live there”, leaving her forced to split her time instead between her London flat, Hollywood pad and a St Tropez holiday home.
She said at the time: “‘Many people have said to us, “How on earth can you afford to keep four homes?” And the fact is, in this day and age, we can’t.’
In a TV, film and stage career spanning 60 years, Joan has been one of the most glamourous icons for several generations.
Through the swinging 60s, sexy 70s, shoulderpadded 80s right up to the present day, fur coats and diamonds are her uniform.
But she is unapologetic and unwavering, and is one of the hardest working showbiz figures around, producing a succession of books, films, adverts, TV programmes and stage shows to keep the cash flowing in.
Along with ( fifth) husband Percy Gibson, 51, Joan splits her time between a gorgeous Belgravia flat and her bolthole in the hills of La CroixValmer, near St Tropez, while she recently listed a Hollywood apartment valued at $5million.
The actress’s career took off in the 50s, with Hollywood contracts and
I’ve never chased fame but I am someone who enjoys the benefits of money JOAN COLLINS
exciting roles around the world, and she kept busy during the 60s, before establishing shock star credentials with the raunchy film adaptations of her sister Jackie’s novels The Stud and The Bitch in the 70s. But Joan really arrived in the 80s with her defining role as Alexis ColbyCarrington in US mega soap Dynasty. The big hair, big names and big shoulders were only dwarfed by her massive personality as she made the show her own and became a style and cultural pin-up for the era. She earned the equivalent of nearly $100,000 an episode for the show, which ran from 1981 to 1989. However, she added: “I was the highest-paid woman on television with that. I think they pay the maids on sitcoms more now.”
Off screen, she was just as well groomed as her character, with a love of Manolo Blahnik shoes (£1000 a pair) and John Galliano dresses which came with a hefty price tag too.
The money is a perk of the job. She said: “I’ve never chased fame. I came into this business to be a theatre actress. I was nine when I first appeared on stage. But I can’t say I would turn my back on fortune.
“I’m someone who enjoys the benefits of money. I created a lifestyle for myself. Nobody else did it for me. Everything I have I’ve bought with my own money.’
Joan, always one to try to hold back the hands of time, enjoys a luxurious beauty regime and is a fan of the best make-up and sun block money can buy – sun block is one of her antiageing tips and she says her face hasn’t seen sunlight in decades.
She turned her love of make-up into another income thread, with her own range, Timeless Beauty, which is sold on QVC and by Marks & Spencer. She has also written a host of books on style and beauty and fans are happy to snap them up. And books were also a source of income when roles weren’t coming in.
She has published six novels, four autobiographies and eight non-fiction lifestyle guides.
Her first novel, Prime Time, was sold for a reported $3million in 1988. Her books have enjoyed varying degrees of success, if not critical acclaim, but one of her book deals also proved an additional money spinner.
When publisher Random House rejected one of her novels as not good enough and sued for a return of their advance, she fought them and launched her own counter suit.
She won both and walked off with an extra £1million.
All that money in the bank almost demands lavish taste and Joan isn’t one to dissappoint.
A recent auction of her gowns, accessories, souvenirs and general hoardings hold some clues to how she likes to spend her cash.
Eighteen months ago, she put up 1000 items for sale. From Warren Beatty’s love letters to earrings, the list gave a glimpse into her luxuries.
Included was an 18-carat goldfish skeleton pendant, estimated at up £25000, and a set of Louis Vuitton travelling cases, valued at £5000 each.
Of her clothes, an Emanuel original was valued at up to £2980, there was a £800 fur and leather cape and a set of Yves Saint Laurent earrings were priced at £16000.
She made an incredible £250,000 from the auction and donated a percentage to charity.
Just six months ago she held another sale featuring Manolo Blahnik heels and John Galliano dresses, silky kaftans and a Chanel handbag.
The lot was valued at more than £10,000 and the money went to the children’s hospice Shooting Star Chase.
While Dame Joan might know how to spend, she also knows how to give back.