The original B*tch!
1. Born on May 23, 1933, in Paddington, London, Joan was the daughter of dance teacher Ella and celebrity agent Joseph, whose clients would include singers Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey.
2. She had a younger sister, Jackie, who would go on to become a best-selling author, writing 32 novels and selling 500million books. She died aged 77 in 2015. They also had a brother called Bill.
3. Joan went to private school and toyed with becoming a fashion designer or private detective before studying acting at RADA.
4. She got her first movie role in 1951’s Lady Godiva Rides Again as a beauty contestant. Her big break came playing a bad girl in 1952’s I Believe In You.
5. Soon a sex symbol, hailed as Britain’s answer to Ava Gardner, she got a string of movie roles but lost the part of Cleopatra in the 1963 Hollywood blockbuster after refusing to sleep with a studio boss.
She also appeared in the 1960s TV series Star Trek and Batman.
6. Joan stripped off in the erotic 1978 movie The Stud, based on her sister Jackie’s book.
As sex-mad Fontaine Khaled, Joan said she got drunk to cope with an orgy scene. A sequel, The Bitch, followed.
7. The role led to her being cast as the shoulder-pad-clad “superbitch” Alexis Carrington in Dynasty, boosting the ratings.
8. She played the part for a decade and battled for equal pay with co-star John Forsythe, who played Blake Carrington.
9. Joan’s first marriage was to actor Maxwell Reed in 1952, who she claimed date-raped her. They split in 1956.
10. Hollywood star Warren Beatty proposed to her with a ring hidden in a carton of chopped liver. She claimed he wanted sex seven times a day.
11. The actress would later marry and divorce singer Anthony Newley, tycoon Ron Kass and singer Peter Holm before marrying Percy Gibson in 2002. He is 31 years her junior.
12. Joan has two children, Tara and Alexander, by Newley, plus daughter Katyana by Kass. She is godmother to Cara Delevingne.
13. Worth £20m, she’s written 20 books and launched a beauty line and wig business.
14. She is allergic to shellfish.
15. Joan posed for Playboy aged 50 and puts her looks down to “good genes.”