With Shoulder Pads Intact, Dame Joan Collins Looks Back in New Book

"Dynasty" became staple viewing for LGBTQ+ audiences in the 1980s largely because of the larger-than-life Alexis, played to perfection by Joan Collins. Today the 90-year-old continues to thrive with her latest book that she discusses with EDGE.
In the 1980s, there was no bigger fashion trend than the shoulder pad in women's fashion. It was seen by some as a statement on how women were smashing the glass ceiling. And no one personified the look more than Joan Collins on the iconic ABC series "Dynasty." She was added to the cast at the start of the second season as the ruthless Alexis Colby Carrington, and within weeks turned this Aaron Spelling soap into must-see TV for a generation of queer men. When the series aired on Wednesday nights, gay bars throughout the nation were packed for viewing nights to watch Alexis's power plays against her ex-husband Blake Carrington and her shading his second wife Krystle Jennings (Linda Evans).

The shoulder pad became so identified with the British superstar that she references it in the title of her lastest book, "Behind the Shoulder Pads," which she doesn't want thought of as an autobiography, but rather a collection of funny and charming anecdotes from her 70-year career.

Today Collins still astounds fans with her youth-defying looks, most recently when she attended the Emmys to present an award. She literally defines the term diva in the most glamorous way possible. She is also one of the few remaining stars from Hollywood's studio system, coming to Hollywood in the early 1950s under contract with 20th Century Fox. But after a decade with the studio, where she was featured in such films as the cult classic "Land of the Pharaohs" and (loaned to MGM), "The Opposite Sex," a musical version of "The Women" in which she played a part made famous by Joan Crawford. Back in England in the 1970s, Collins established herself as a ruthless and sexy power-broker in pulpy, B-movies like "The Stud" and "The Bitch." Their success led to Aaron Spelling casting her on "Dynasty" as a no-nonsense, calculating Alexis. Her addition pushed the show to the top of the ratings. Collins was nominated for one Prime Time Emmy for the role, as well as six Golden Globes. When she won the latter in 1983, she thanked Sophia Loren for turning down her role.

Nor did her career end when "Dynasty" went off the air in 1989. Her movie and television career thrived, as well as her stage career. She toured throughout the world in a pair of solo shows in the early 2000s, then joined "Dynasty' co-star Linda Evans in a 2007 North American tour of "Legends," in which she played an aging Hollywood star asked to appear in a Broadway show opposite her longtime rival.

Since then Collins continues to thrive, whether popping up in television adverts, British series (such as "The Royals"), independent films (such as "Absolutely Fabulous: the Movie"), and American television ("Hawaii Five-0" and as part of Ryan Murphy's repertory company as Evan Peters mother on "American Horror Story: Apocalypse."

In 1997 Collins was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This was followed in 2015 with the title Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her philanthropic work.

EDGE spoke to the illustrious and opinionated Dame about what to expect in her book, her late sister, successful author Jackie Collins, and her "Dynasty" experience.

EDGE: Tell us about your new memoir, "Behind the Shoulder Pads."

Joan Collins: I want to make sure that everyone knows it's not a memoir. It's a collection of anecdotes, funny stories, and weird things that have happened to me during my career. It jumps around from when I first arrived in LA as a 20-year-old innocent Hollywood starlet under contract to stories from my days on "Dynasty." A lot of fun stuff from my memory bank.

For example, I took a trip to Hong Kong with my best friend, Judy, on a press junket. We get caught in a terrible storm and we're being dragged out to sea. Judy had just bought this lovely new wig at one of the shops in Hong Kong and decided that we should go up on deck. I pulled my hair back because we going to see all these sailors in little boats desperately trying to pull this boat back from going out to the South China seas, and her wig flies off. I have to say, I started screaming with laughter, and I said, "I told you not to wear it."

It's the sort of book that you can jump back in and out of. It doesn't do all the stuff about my parents and my childhood. I touched briefly on my parents. My mother was a wonderful caring mother who loved me so much that she didn't want anybody to touch me. When I was a baby, she put a sign on my stroller: Please do not kiss me. I think the reader is going to enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

EDGE: Do you still wear shoulder pads?

Joan Collins: Yes, of course. Who doesn't? Everyone should. I think they are a bit chic and should always be in fashion. It doesn't matter what size they are, but it's very important to make your shoulders look smart and broad. I believe it makes you feel more powerful.