There are some things that follow you throughout your entire life. For Joan Collins, it was three words from her Dynasty producer that followed her for decades.
"Joan is Alexis."
That's what Aaron Spelling said about Collins and the cutthroat, unhinged character she played on the hit ABC prime time soap opera. And more than 4 decades later, at 92 years old, Collins is finally opening up about why those words were so hurtful.
"When Aaron Spelling said, 'Joan is Alexis,' that haunted me for so long," Collins told British Vogue in a new interview about her role as Wallis Simpson in her latest project biopic My Duchess.
She didn't just let it go, either. She confronted him directly.
"I said, 'Aaron, why did you say that? You know that's not true.'"
His response was brutally honest and completely cynical.
"Honey, it gets headlines."
When a Character Becomes Your Identity
Collins joined Dynasty in 1981 as Alexis Carrington Colby, the scheming, sharp-tongued ex-wife of oil tycoon Blake Carrington. The show was struggling to survive in its first season, but Collins' arrival changed everything. Dynasty shot to number one, and Alexis became one of television's most iconic characters on prime time.
But that success came with a price Collins is still paying.
Related: 1974 Horror Film's Most Terrifying Scene Took 27 Hours Straight to Shoot - Cast Went 'Insane'
In one of his final interviews before his death in 2006, Spelling 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."
On one level, it was a compliment. Collins brought something special to Alexis — the wit, the glamour, and the ability to deliver cutting lines with perfect timing made her irreplaceable.
It also alluded to something else: that Joan Collins and Alexis Carrington weren't that different. And, that the scheming, ruthless woman on screen was just Collins being herself.
And that, Collins says, simply wasn't true.
? SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox ?
The confusion between the star and the characters she played had real consequences. Collins became synonymous with the "bitch" label that followed Alexis, even though she saw the character very differently.
"I happen to think that Alexis was a very vulnerable and sad character," Collins told PEOPLE in 2023. "Because she had been banished from her children by Blake Carrington, who was a murderer. You know? We never hear about this, of course, because he's a man."
She continued: "It was never mentioned that, perhaps, Alexis Carrington became somewhat of a bitch because of the way she was treated, when she also was extremely witty and had great, great lines of dialogue, and was a big go-getter in terms of what she achieved."
Collins played Alexis for eight of Dynasty's nine seasons, from 1981 to 1989. She poured everything into herself into creating a complex, layered character — vulnerable beneath the armor, wounded beneath the wit.
But all anyone wanted to talk about was whether Joan Collins was really just Alexis in real life.
And when her own producer said it out loud — and admitted he said it just for the publicity — it hurt in a way that lasted decades.
Some headlines aren't worth it.
Hence then, the article about 80s dynasty star joan collins says one comment from her producer haunted her for 40 years was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( '80s Dynasty Star Joan Collins Says One Comment From Her Producer 'Haunted' Her for 40 Years )
Also on site :
- Box Office Smash That ‘Saved Cinema’ Is Now Streaming Free for the First Time Ever
- Politics latest: Reeves to cut food costs and offer free children’s bus rides in cost of living package
- Samsung dodges global AI chip shock