Joan Collins

With her modelesque looks and regal air of authority, Joan Collins remained an icon for decades. Born in London in 1933, Collins attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She made her film debut at age 19 with a small role in "The Woman's Angle" (1952) and landed a more significant role in the British drama "I Believe in You" (1952) later that same year, which helped her attract buzz as an actor. She was steadily becoming a top name in English cinema when, in 1955, she was chosen by Howard Hawks to make the jump to Hollywood where she would co-star in the period epic "Land of the Pharaohs" (1955) as the plotting Princess Nellifer. Though there would be many exceptions, Collins' persona as a tough, often calculating villainess was already beginning to take hold, and audiences loved it. As a studio contract player, Collins would appear in many films over the next few years, notably the biblical epic "Esther and the King" (1960). However, she opted to take a step back from acting during the early '60s to focus on her family. When she returned in the late '60s, it was mainly in the realm of television, appearing on shows like "Star Trek" (NBC, 1966-69) and "Batman" (ABC, 1966-68). Collins would eventually return to films as well, starring in movies like the "Alfie" (1966) sequel "Alfie Darling" (1975) and the sci-fi adventure "Empire of the Ants" (1977). Then in 1981, Collins took on a TV role that would cause her fame to skyrocket. She began portraying the cunning Alexis Carrington Colby on the night time soap "Dynasty" (ABC, 1981-89), a character that made her a massive star on a greater scale than she had ever experienced, and cemented her as a figure of major glamor in the public consciousness. She stuck with the series until it finally wrapped in 1989 and then comfortably began picking up new and interesting TV roles, co-starring on series like "Pacific Palisades" (Fox, 1997-98) and in a seven-episode guest run on soap opera "Guiding Light" (CBS, 1952-2009). In 2018, Collins picked up a new generation of fans when she co-starred on the eighth season of the hugely popular series "American Horror Story" (FX, 2011-).